Jon Hess (born 1969) is an American martial artist, early

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

competitorJon Hess profile

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

.com and the co-founder of the Scientifically Aggressive Fighting Technology of America, or S.A.F.T.A., a

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

with roots in San Soo

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

. Hess, along with S.A.F.T.A. co-founder Lew Hicks, were students of Jerry Peterson, the founder of S.C.A.R.S. They took their San Soo Kung Fu black belt test together in 1993, and Hicks was chosen by Hess to corner him for the UFC. Hess's mixed martial arts debut came in the Ultimate Fighting Championship 5 tournament, where he defeated Andy Anderson by

TKO A technical knockout (TKO) is a professional fighting term. TKO may also refer to: Sports * TKO, the name of a professional wrestling move referring to either the cutter or stunner variant * TKO Group Holdings, a combat sports company Music Ar ...

. The fight is regarded as one of the dirtiest in UFC history,Big Words from Big Jon Hess
Sherdog.com and Hess was ultimately fined $2,000 for two violations of the rules against eye gouging.Gentry, Clyde. ''No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution'', 2002. pp. 88–89 Hess has defended his actions, citing that "The UFC billed itself as no rules," and therefore there were no rules to break. However, despite the marketing slogan, early UFC events did have a limited list of forbidden techniques, though infractions could only result in a fine.Gentry, Clyde. ''No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution'', 2002. p. 64 After victory over Anderson, Hess withdrew from the tournament with a hand injury. After his appearance in the UFC, Hess struggled to find another fight, despite publicly challenging dominant early UFC competitor

Royce Gracie Royce Gracie (; born 12 December 1966) is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist. Gracie gained fame for his success in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a member of the Gracie jiu-jitsu family, a UFC Hall of Famer ...

. Hess believes that this is because he was blacklisted by UFC promoter Art Davie. After an attempt to gain public support for a return to the UFC via opinions published in ''

Inside Kung Fu ''Inside Kung-Fu'' was a monthly United States magazine founded in December 1973. Its last issue was in April 2011. History The magazine featured articles on modern wushu and kung fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrel ...

'' magazine, Hess fought

Vitor Belfort Vítor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...

at ''SB 2-SuperBrawl 2'', where he lost by KO in 12 seconds. Hess has not fought professionally since this loss, but has stated he took the Belfort fight on short notice, that if he was allowed to come back he would be "world champ", and that Belfort was "on steroids" when he beat him. On April 25, 2010 Hess cornered Team Quest fighter Steven Tobias at Gladiator Challenge, where Tobias won his first pro fight. Since 2007, Hess has made several efforts to get into fighting shape and has suffered a number of injuries, including breaking three toes and an ankle.

Career accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Andy Anderson

Mixed martial arts record

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Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

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UFC 5 ''UFC 5: The Return of the Beast'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 7, 1995, at the Independence Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The event was seen live on pay per view in the ...

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Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hess, Jon Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Kung Fu San Soo Mixed martial artists from California 1969 births Sportspeople from Murrieta, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American wushu practitioners 20th-century American sportsmen