By MATT MOLGAARD
MMANEWS.COM Staff Writer

Jaime Jara is a man of few words. It seems this California representative prefers to express himself inside the cage, as is evidenced by a nine year career that includes 30 victories (27 of which have come by knockout, technical knockout or submission). All the same, the tattooed veteran isolated a few minutes to chat with us here at MMAnews, and, for a guy who appears so menacing, Jara is cool as ice, with an easy going attitude and a healthy sense of humor. “El Cucui” is, in short, a class act who “just loves to fight”.

Check out our brief one-on-one session with Jara - who recently participated in one of the greatest bouts in Bellator history against Waachiim Spiritwolf, at Bellator Fighting Championships 35 - below.

MMANews.com: You’ve been fighting mixed martial arts professionally for about 10 years now. What compelled you to turn to the fighting game, and what was it about MMA rather than say, boxing that called to you personally?

Jaime Jara: I have done martial arts and wrestling since i was younger... [I] always wanted to fight since the first UFC... [but] I was more of a ground fighter at the beginning. So I think that’s why I gravitated more towards MMA than boxing.

MMANews.com: After all these years, you’re still competing on a very frequent basis. What kind of a toll does that take on your body, and how difficult is it to recover from injuries at this stage of your career?

JJ: My body is falling apart, but as long as I can train every day, i will continue to fight. I heal pretty quick, even though i have a few on-going injuries.

MMANews.com: You’ve beaten some really tough guys, Kyacey Uscola, Anthony Ruiz, Carter Williams for just a few examples. Any specific victory mean more to you than others?

JJ: Every time i beat an undefeated fighter... there’s nothing like handing out the first loss.

MMANews.com: At over 40 years old you’re entering Randy Couture territory in the fact that you’re defying Father Time’s odds, and still winning on a regular basis. In fact, the argument can be made that you’re still improving as a fighter. How do you do it?

JJ: I push to improve my game every fight... I train to get better. As long as my body allows me too and my mind is right, I’m going to keep fighting.