Before red-hot submission specialist Michael Hay looks for his fourth straight win against Corey Gower at Unified 32 on Sept. 29 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, LIVE on FITE.tv, the bantamweight sat down with ProMMANow.

How did you find MMA in the first place?

It was just something I’ve always had interest in from a young age, even when MMA was less popular. I’ve been following the sport for a long time and it was always something I wanted to get into. I started wrestling in high school with the idea of moving on to MMA after. I carried on and once I got good in high school, I started training and I’ve been at it ever since.

What’s the strongest aspect of your game?

I don’t think it’s much of a secret, but I’m a ground-game guy because of my jiujitsu – but I definitely consider myself a well-rounded fighter. I think that’s where much of my success has come from.

What are your credentials in BJJ?

In Canada, I’ve won a lot of regional tournaments. I haven’t won as many big tournaments in the US. I find that my jiujitsu style is a little different, like between sport jiujitsu and MMA; because sport jiujitsu is more of a game and MMA is much more chaotic – you are able to make things happen in MMA. I find most of my success in MMA through jiujitsu.

What have you sacrificed to make it this far?

I don’t think I’ve sacrificed anything. I’m doing exactly what I want to do. Sure, you sacrifice some time with other people who may not train MMA, but hey, I’m here, I’m doing my thing and I’m happy doing it. I’m not sacrificing anything, I’m doing exactly what I want to do.

How excited are you for your fight on the 29th?

Very excited. My fight back in March was another first round submission. I was uninjured and had actually just got over a couple of injuries and was ready to go. But I had my sister’s wedding the day of the fight, so I couldn’t fight. I’ve been at it all summer, training. I’ve been in shape all summer, waiting to go.

Do you have other hobbies outside of training?

I try to spend time out on the lakes out here, wakeboarding and stuff like that. But for the most part, between jiujitsu and MMA, everything like that, that’s my hobby, that’s what I’m doing.

-PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS JOSEPH PHOTOGRAPHY

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