For lightweight prospect Justin Salas the path has been simple: set goals, achieve them, and then move on. It is upon this foundation that he has found his success in MMA.
As Salas himself told MMAWeekly.com, “Last year we had a list of things we wanted to get done.
Justin Salas at Ring of Fire 32
“Number one was to get a title and since then I’ve won two. Another marker was to get my wins into the double digits, which we accomplished with this fight. The last was to beat a UFC caliber guy, which was something we accomplished in this last fight as well.”
The fight that Salas is speaking of is his win this past weekend over UFC vet Rob Emerson for the Full Force MMA 155-pound title.
“He was a good, seasoned opponent, so it was a good win,” said Salas. “I feel that I controlled and dominated the whole fight, so I’m definitely really happy about that. I trained hard and it felt like it paid off.”
Despite injuring his foot in the first round, Salas was able to produce the kind of performance that he hopes will become his staple in the years to come.
“I chose where the fight was,” stated Salas. “If I wanted to stand, I stood, and when I decided to take it to the ground, we went to the ground. It allowed me to control the whole pace of the fight.”
Coming from a wrestling background, Salas has been able to make the transition to MMA with help from some of the best trainers and fighters in the business at the Grudge Training Center in Colorado and Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico.
Having an opportunity to work with such high level talent, Salas assessed his game as being at its absolute peak so far.
“Training with these guys, I’m not thinking where my game is, I know exactly where my game stands,” he commented. “With how I compare to some of the best guys at my weight, I feel I can match up with anybody.”
Salas’ goal of stepping up in competition may not be far off, but still, he intends to focus on the tasks at hand and not fall into the trap of looking beyond what stands in front of him.
“I definitely try to keep a level head,” he admitted. “I think people have set criteria out there and I feel like I’ve met those challenges. I’d like to get in there and get my chance, but at the same time, you can’t waste too much time worrying about it.
“If they give me the shot, I’ll take it, if not, I’m just going to look forward to the next step and take it one fight at a time.”
Meeting one’s goals is never an easy task, but if you’re able to do it like Salas has, then it could be the mark of something truly special and not to be missed.
“I’d like to give a shout out to Grudge Training Center, Jackson’s MMA, Relentless Fight Gear, and Bomb Entertainment,” said Salas in closing. “Look out for me, because I’m an exciting fighter, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I’m looking to beat the best guys. So if you see my name, come check it out because it’s going to be exciting.”
