Get Newsletter

Getty Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or clip. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for: actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or clip, and, where appropriate, the costs of collection and/or statutory damages up to $150,000 (USD).

Dustin Hazelett

TRAINING: Every day is different but every day is hard. Eat, train, eat, train, sleep, repeat

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started martial arts when I was a sophomore in high school. Unfortunately for me, it wasn’t just as a hobby. I was tired of getting picked on and not being able to do anything about it. So I started training, hit a growth spurt, and things started getting better. Then I saw a tape of the first UFC, and thought to myself "that is awesome." I knew I had to do it, so I started taking BJJ when I was 16.

What ranks and titles have you held? I'm a black belt in BJJ, I have roughly 25 medals and trophies from grappling tournaments, two belts, and two swords. I am also one of the few Americans to have beaten a Gracie (Rhalan).

Do you have any heroes? I don’t look up to superheroes like a lot of people. I look up to my parents (Carl and FaDana Hazelett) and Jorge Gurgel for their values, work ethic, and most importantly of all, teaching said traits to me.

What is your favorite technique? Anything with the word flying in it.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It is the first step to the realization of a goal I've had since high school. For those people who played a lot of sports growing up, they are used to having a crowd cheer their name, they are used to having fans. Before I started fighting I was not. To have the ref raise your hand and hear the crowd scream your name is possibly one of the best feelings I have ever found.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I am currently a sophomore in college. I just moved to Ohio to train and teach at Jorge Gurgel’s main academy in Middletown. I won’t be able to afford college until I can claim residency here; so I'm taking a semester off. I started out in criminal justice, but switched to management after my first year.

What was your job before you started fighting? My first fight was the day after I graduated high school. Then I went straight into college full-time and turned pro my freshman year. So my parents were kind enough to keep me so that I could train and go to school at the same time. However I did work one day on the coal mines with my brother, my father’s idea, and this summer I worked some construction to make ends meet.