Ben Moser will walk to the cage at Art of War Cage Fighting 3 (AOW 3) this Saturday as the bantamweight amateur champion, and he plans to leave with his title intact. Previously a damage controlman in the United States Navy, Moser now trains out of Ephrata Martial Arts under head coach Justin Press. It was during his service time that he was introduced to jiu-jitsu through by fellow sailors. Moser, who currently works as a salesman of new and used agricultural equipment, discusses his first title defense.

You had lost your fight prior to winning the 135lb AOW title. What did you learn in that fight, what did you do to work on it to help you in your title fight?

My loss to Matt Turnbull was tough. He was a tough fighter. I felt I should’ve won and my lesson there was to never leave anything to the judges’ decision.

What did it mean to win the AOW title? Did it feel different from your other wins?

It felt good to bring home the AOW title. I spent countless hours in the gym preparing to redeem myself coming off of a loss. The win felt great after a long, hard training camp preparing for the fight.

Your prior finish wins had been by submission, and then you won your title by KO. What led to your striking dominance? Has striking been a focus in your training lately?

 My submissions came because in regular amateur you can’t strike to the face on the ground. So I take whatever finishes come first. I now fight advanced amateur rules–I can strike the face on ground, so yes. We focused on a lot of ground and pound for my last two fights; defense and offense.

 What do you like most about mixed martial arts? On the flip side, what is the most challenging part of the sport?

 What I like most is the constant urge to grow and learn. I love the everyday challenges of pushing myself to my limits. The challenging thing about the sport is balancing my family life and training time. It gets tough sometimes, but I have an excellent support system in my family.

You have a full-time job, a wife, and a child. What is your motivation to compete in MMA on top of all of that? What role does your wife play in your success?

I have the best wife someone like me could ask for. She knows that I have the constant urge to compete and push my own limits. She’s super supportive and does my meal planning and preparation in and out of fight camp. She’s the real champ! She holds the fort down when I’m gone. We have a ten-year-old daughter who is also super supportive and is starting to take up interest in gymnastics and BJJ. The Moser clan is competitive and also looking to grow and learn and push forward.

You are five-foot-eleven and fight at 135 pounds; conditioning-wise, how do you build strength and explosiveness while staying lean?

I do my own strength and conditioning in the mornings before I head to work. I have a gym in my garage, and I lift and put together my own workouts I’ve gathered from watching some Navy SEALs and Crossfitters and just picking and choosing how and what I want to work on.

What do you feel is the greatest strength that you bring to your training and fighting?

I feel my strongest attribute is my mind. I firmly believe a strong mindset can get you anywhere and anything. You just have to want it and work for it. I’m looking forward to defending my title and seeing my friends and family at the event.

 

Tickets to AOW 3 be bought at the door. Fights start at 7pm on Saturday, October 14th. 

Follow Art of War Cage fighting and Ben Moser on Facebook.

(Photos courtesy of Ben Moser)