Bellator middleweight Jared Hess is about as tough as they come.

How many other people could go four rounds with Hector Lombard and then actually sign on the dotted line to have to go through three separate fights just to earn another shot at that beast of a man?

 The talented Oklahoma wrestler seemed well on his way to doing just that in the season two middleweight tournament before a freak knee injury against Alexander Shlemenko not only cost him the fight but took a year away from his MMA career.

Hess returned to the cage this past April, choking out the significantly heavier Chris Bell in less than two minutes to punch a ticket to his third Bellator tournament. He'll be matched up against season two runner-up Bryan "The Beast" Baker in the quarterfinals this Saturday night (September 17, 2011) at Bellator 50 and the winner will likely be a favorite to win the whole tournament.

Hess spoke with MMAmania.com in part one of this five part Bellator middleweight tournament series about recovering from that brutal knee injury, his regrets and his expectations for the upcoming tournament.