Q: You’ve been in countless ring battles since you began fighting MMA, but what has been the best advice you’ve ever received during a fight?

Scott: “The best advice I’ve ever had comes from my college wrestling coaches and my coaches in MMA which is, ‘Go out there, be prepared for anything and make sure you have fun.’ That’s the mentality I have during each fight. But sometimes I need to put it in perspective, because what’s fun to me might not always be the smartest thing.

I came from a wrestling background but somewhere along the lines I learned that I liked to stand up and throw hands. But I’ve also learned the best fighters – and the best Scott Jorgensen – are relaxed, calm fighters who go in there, have fun and their stress levels are low.”

Q: How often would you suggest a young fighter should train if they want to get to the level you’re at in the sport?

“The advice I give to all the guys who ask me that question is if you want to be the best in the world, don’t just talk about it. Find a gym, preferably one that is close so you’re able to have the dedication to go there on a regular basis, and go train five or six days a week. Even when you don’t have a fight coming up, your training may not be as intense, but you should still be training.

You should always be trying to learn something, get a little bit better, learn more about your body and how far you can push yourself. You need to know how to have the dedication and will so when your friends are going out for a drink and you have practice, you know you’ll go to practice.”

Q: What would you say these young fighters should be looking for in a good MMA gym nowadays, as there are a number of pretenders out there?

“Especially since I’m a gym owner myself, I think a well ran gym always has to have a clean training area and has to have instructors who give you time. We have a number of instructors at our gym, and even though most of the people who come here come for fitness, we have also have our coaching staff who will work with guys one-on-one if they have a fight coming up.

Look for a gym that has got the time for their fighters. You may have to earn their respect too, as sometimes it may take a week or two for them to believe in you. But find a way to earn that and when they acknowledge it, you’ve probably found a good gym.”

Q: A lot of fighters have rituals to help them to relax before a fight, but what do you do to get you in the mind-set to perform?

“A typical fight day for me consists of waking up, eating, then having a 20, 30 minute workout to get a good sweat going and get my heart rate up. Then I’ll go back to my room to sleep. When I get to the locker room I just chill out with my buddies. Fight nights aren’t stressful for me because I want to do this sport, I want the limelight and I want to fight in front of millions of people. I enjoy that, so my fight days are pretty relaxed.”

Q: If you could give any up-and-coming fighter one final piece of advice, what would it be?

“Train hard, dream big and have a never-fail mentality no matter what. You can learn from losses, you can learn from a victory. You can roll over and quit or you can push through the tough times and be the best you can be. That’s how you find out what type of fighter you’re going to be, because when s**t gets tough, are you going to roll over or push through it?”

Scott, half-Caucasian and half-Japanese, has a 15-12 MMA win-loss record. In 2016 he was released by UFC.