10 Questions With Ethan Goss

10 Questions With Ethan Goss

I first saw Ethan "The Wolverine" Goss at Complete Devastation 8 last March at the Blair County Convention Center in Altoona, Pa. when he defeated Daniel O'Neill by Unanimous Decision. Just three months later Ethan defeated Donald Bard at World Cagefighting Championships VI in Greensburg, Pa. Winning back-to-back fights helped put Goss on the map for up-and-coming amateur fighters in the area, and two months later Goss was asked to fight Julian Ramos for Pittsburgh-based promotion Pinnacle Fighting Championships at Pittsburgh Challenge Series 4. It was a tough fight, but the Wolverine won by Split Decision over Ramos. 

Not wanting to wait between fights, Goss took a fight against Walter Hess in November at CDMMA 9 at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona. Ethan was in control of the fight from the opening bell, and easily defeated Hess by Guillotine choke at 2:04 of round 2. After the fight word got out that CDMMA owner Drew D'Auria was interested in giving Goss a shot against the CDMMA Featherweight (145lb Ammy) champion Rich Cantolina.

But before that fight could officially be signed Pinnacle Fighting Championships made the match-up for their Featherweight Championship just eleven days after CDMMA 9 and Goss faced Cantolina at Pittsburgh Challenge Series 5 on November 27th, 2013. Goss was on a four fight win streak, and it was a very hard fought fight between two tough fighters. The fight could have gone either way, but in the end local fighter Cantolina got the Split Decision victory to become the PFC Featherweight (145lb Ammy) Champion.

Not satisfied with losing after a string of success, Goss was asked & took a fight against one of the toughest amateur featherweights in the region when he agreed to fight Jerrell "Thunderkat" Hodge for an Ohio-based MMA promotion at Caged Madness 27. Another tough fight went down January 18, 2014 and Goss was having a lot of success with his striking, but in the end the superior grappling of Hodge won out when the "Thunderkat" won by Rear Naked Choke in the 3rd round.

That fight in Ohio was to determine who would fight Cantolina at PFC's Pittsburgh Challenge Series 6 on March 29th for Cantolina's Featherweight title. This clash of the titans between Cantolina & Hodge definitely will determine who the "King of the Featherweights" will be for the region in my opinion!

Possibly as a reward for his valiant effort, Pinnacle signed "The Wolverine" to face Fight Club Pittsburgh fighter Cody Kremer on that same fight card.

The Pennsylvania region is home to some amazingly talented featherweight amateurs. Goss is making a name for himself among such noted fighters as champions Jerrell Hodge & Rich Cantolina as well as Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA submission specialist Cody "Lenny" Karlheim. Karlheim was considered to be among the very best Featherweights in the region until he was injured last year just prior to what was supposed to be a title fight for him at CDMMA 8 against Zach Schultz that ended up with Rich Cantolina filling in for Karlheim when he defeated Shultz to win that promotion's title. Now that Karlheim is healthy and fighting again on March 15th for Pittsburgh-based MMA promotion Gladiators of the Cage the amateur Featherweight division is worth paying attention to like never before! Four amazing Featherweights leading the way among a very stacked 145 lb Amateur fighting pool in the region only means that everyone will get better. The "Steel sharpens steel" saying definitely should benefit all fighters!

With the rumors of both Hodge & Cantolina considering making the jump to the pro ranks very soon and word of how both Goss and Karlheim wanting to stay as amateurs for awhile longer... it is reasonable to conclude that these two will be taking over when the current champions move on and that we could potentially see Goss Vs. Karlheim more than once for different MMA promotions. This is something that fight fans will come to appreciate because they are definitely fighters to watch and should all eventually move on to larger national MMA promotions. I could see by 2016 all four fighters fighting for promotions like Bellator, World Series of Fighting, XFC and/or the UFC.

Recently I had the opportunity to ask Ethan Goss a few questions about what has been going on & what is to come for "The Wolverine". He is a humble & grounded person as well as being an exciting & talented fighter... and I hope you enjoy reading this article as much as I did putting it together.

Here's 10 Questions With Ethan "The Wolverine" Goss.

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Ethan Goss.  I am 22years old and I am an amateur fighter fighting in the feather weight division.  I am supporting a 4-3 record at the moment and I am also known as the wolverine.  I’m pretty much just your average Joe coming from the heart of PA trying to chase his dream.

2. How did you get started in MMA?

Well I’ve wrestled ever since I was in the first grade. I also played football throughout my school years and I was always into contact sports.  I fell in love with MMA whenever I first seen the very first ultimate fighter.  I would just sit for hours and watch it and study everything I would see.  Finally I decided wanted to give MMA a try. I was 20 years old when I first trained and just really loved every minute of it.  I’m a little over a year into my career now.

3. What gym do you train at and what is it like training there?

I train at Titan Fitness which is located in the Lionheart gym in downtown State College.  It’s literally smack in the middle of the University.  I love it there, it’s amazing.  I’m definitely getting to work with some of the best guys PA has to offer.  You never know who you’re going to get to work with that’s the best part of being in a college town man, there’s always new talent coming in.

4. What do you feel your strengths are as a fighter?

I believe my strengths as a fighter are my height, reach advantage, and my wrestling base.  I believe wrestling is one of the toughest parts of MMA to learn so it’s great to have that background.  I’m pretty tall for my division and having a reach advantage I love.  Once you learn your range and what just fits your style you can just go to town with it.  Also being a southpaw fighter seems to throw a lot of other fighters off their game so I guess that’s and advantage of mine as well and I love it.

5. What do you feel you need to work on to be a more complete fighter?

I definitely believe that I need work in all areas of the game to become a more complete fighter.  You can never stop getting better I think.  I train my butt off and try to get a minimum of 6 days a week in.  I’ve really worked my stand up for the most part of training and it has came along great but it all depends on my opponents style for how I’m going to train.  Definitely need improvements in all areas though.

6. You lost two epic title fight battles against Jerrell Hodge & Rich Cantolina, what is next for you?

Yeah those were two tough fights.  I took the one with Rich on a 10 day notice and Rell is considered the best on the east coast, but I will be returning to action on March 29th for Pinnacle Fighting Championships in the featherweight division.  I will be going one on one with another Fight Club Pittsburgh guy by the name of Cody Kremer so I’m expecting him to be tough.

7. If you could play match-maker, which fighter(s) would you like to fight?

Oh wow the question I’ve been waiting for.  If I could pick a fight I wouldn’t mind fighting FCP’s Jake Schilling. He seems like a very tough guy with some solid wrestling that’s not afraid to stand and bang as well.  I most certainly would love to rematch both Rich and Rell.  The reason for Rich is because he and I put on one heck of a show that many are calling it amateur fight of the year for 2013 and like I said earlier I took that fight on a 10 day notice so I would love to fight him with a full camp.  I would like another shot at Rell because he is considered by many as the best in the area and I only want to fight the best guys I can.  Rell and I also had a very good fight that was fairly even going into the third round.  I believe I proved in the Hodge fight that I’m capable of competing with these fighters that are on the elite level and I’d love to prove that I can beat these fighters such as Rell and Rich that are in the elite level.

8. Who are some of your role models?

I can honestly say that I was always inspired by the Rocky movies.  I was always a fan of someone who displays heart.  As a fighter I look up to Frankie Edgar a lot. The man is one of the toughest in the UFC and has an unbelievable amount of heart.  What he did in the second Gray Maynard fight just completely amazed.  I defiantly look up to my mother as well.  No matter how tough things get for her she always keeps her faith strong for what she believes in.

9. What are your plans for the future?

I plan on staying in the amateur division for the rest of 2014 hopefully getting in 6-7 fights this year then if everything works out right start out 2015 as a pro. My ultimate goal that I’ve set for myself is that I want to be the best in the world at what I do.  I don’t want to settle for a regular job working regular hours and making an average wage.  Another goal of mine is that I really want to bring the UFC/MMA in general to Central PA.  It’s all around us but its not that big in the State of PA yet. A very big dream of mine is to headline a UFC event at the Bryce Jordan Center.  I think that would be amazing.  I just really want to bring it to this area instead of chasing it to the west coast where it’s already big.

10.Is there anyone you'd like to thank?

Yes, I would love to thank absolutely everyone who has been involved with my fighting career.  My coaches and teammates are amazing people and I could never repay them for what they do for me.  These guys dedicate countless countless days and hours out of their busy lives and schedules because they want to see me improve and achieve my goals. They are truly some of the greatest people I’ve ever encountered in my entire life and they have become more like family to me.  To anyone who has ever followed me, supported me, and has helped me with my career I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.  It means the world to me to have to support system I do when I’m chasing my dream. I’d also like to thank my parents for raising the way they have.  My mother for always teaching me to keep my faith no matter what happens and my father for teaching me how to be a hard worker and to give it my all. Most importantly I want to thank God for everyday he gives me and blessing me with these opportunities that he has.

Last but not least thank you Jeff for giving me the opportunity to do this interview.  God bless you and the rest of the Wolverine fans for your support!

Ethan Goss With Rich Cantolina