WEC bantamweight and Jackson Submission Fighting product Frank Gomez began his MMA career after wrestling collegiately at San Francision State with Strikeforce stars Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez.

After dropping out of school he decided to try his hand at the sport professionally and turned to another wrestling contact and fellow WEC fighter Damacio Page to get hooked up with famed MMA trainer Greg Jackson. Jackson decided to take on Gomez and has help to shape the diminutive fighter into a one man wrecking crew.

Gomez is currently 7-1 in the division and will be gunning for his second WEC victory this Wednesday when he takes on the dangerous Seth Dikun at WEC 44.

The Jackson protege recently sat down with Tommy Kail of FiveKnuckles.com to discuss his upcoming fight with Dikun, how he got into MMA and what lies in store for this young up-and-coming bantamweight.

FiveKnuckles.com: How did you get into MMA?

Frank Gomez: I'm originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico and after high school, I accepted a wrestling scholarship to San Francisco State. While I was up there, I met Jake Shields and Gilbert Melendez who both wrestled there. I stopped going to school after my first year and that's when they took me in and worked with me off of the wrestling base I already had. I instantly fell in love with the sport. Seeing how good Gilbert was doing in PRIDE really motivated me at that time so I followed his lead because I knew MMA was something I could do and be successful at.

FiveKnuckles.com: Did you expect to be fighting in the WEC so quickly and at such a young age?

Frank Gomez: No, I definitely did not. I started in MMA a little over three years ago. At first, it was something that I just wanted to try. As I progressed, I wanted to test myself to see what I was made of. I just didn't want to look back at my life with any regrets. I definitely did not think I was going to get to this level so quickly. I owe that to Greg Jackson.

FiveKnuckles.com: How did you cross paths with Greg Jackson and what makes him such an elite trainer?

Frank Gomez: I actually fell into a good situation because I'm from Albuquerque and I wrestled here growing up. I was close with Damacio Page. He's the one that got my foot in the door with Greg, but talk is cheap and I had to prove myself there just like everyone else. As far as the training goes, I've never seen a gym where the sparring so closely resembles an actual fight. Having a ton of successful fighters there provides motivation and keeps me from being lazy. I train with Donald Cerrone, Leonard Garcia and a bunch of other fighters that push each other and help each other out. A fighter can progress much faster if he pushes himself in a camp like Jackson's.

The best thing about Greg is that he's open minded to everything. I always hear of coaches trying to change a fighter's style or trying to stop them from doing the things that they're already accustomed to. Greg embraces the strengths of a fighter and builds off of them. He always makes sure a fighter is ready to compete. He's a...