With less than a week to go until Brawl in the Burgh 2, it’s time to take a closer look at the two men involved in the main event of the evening. 247’s inaugural featherweight championship will be on the line, as John de Jesus of Pittsburgh takes on Ethan Goss of Altoona. This battle of two of the top featherweights in Pennsylvania is the perfect main event for our action-packed year-end fight card.
Red Corner- John de Jesus
John “Platano” de Jesus will be fighting out of the red corner in this all-Pennsylvania matchup. Coming into this fight as the number three featherweight in the state, de Jesus has fought for promotions like LFA and King of the Cage. He has a lot of experience competing against top competition, with 18 career fights under his belt so far.
John de Jesus fights out of The Academy, the gym owned by current UFC fighter and our former lightweight champion, Khama “The Deathstar” Worthy. At the Academy, de Jesus trains with Worthy, Justin Patton, Jake Schilling, and Chaka Worthy. Between The Academy and The Mat Factory, de Jesus has really been putting in work in the wrestling department and feels great heading into this fight.
“I’m feeling great physically, faster and stronger than ever,” de Jesus said. “As for my mindset, I’m looking to do some real damage and show everyone what they must’ve forgot, that I’m a real problem!” As for training with the most successful fighter in western Pennsylvania (Worthy), de Jesus wants one thing to not be forgotten. “Khama has his days and I have my days; he’ll tell you the same. But don’t get it twisted, I’m the best fighter in the area, people just don’t know it yet. They’ll all learn really soon, believe that!” he finished.
“I 100% belong at the top”
John de Jesus feels really great about how he matches up with Ethan Goss in this fight. “I know that he’s a wrestler that thinks he can strike,” Platano said. “I’m going to be too fast, too strong, and my cardio is levels ahead of his. It’s going to be a good night.” De Jesus would go on to say, “I don’t care who it is. A fight is a fight and it doesn’t take much to turn off that switch. I respect him as a fighter and person. But I’m going to show him something that he’s never seen or felt before.”
Training with the Best
All of that said, de Jesus realizes just how important a win over Goss can be for his career. “It’ll get my career back on track. The end game is UFC or Bellator. I’ve been in this game for over a decade now,” he said. “I’ve competed against and trained with UFC and Bellator fighters. I know 100% that i belong at the top, I just have to put it together when it counts. But, first things first. Ethan Goss has to go to sleep!”
Confident and hungry is a combination that makes any fighter dangerous. Mix in the experience of John de Jesus, and you see why he’s the kind of guy we love to have fighting for the chance to be our promotion’s first featherweight champion.
Blue Corner- Ethan Goss
Ethan Goss is a name that original fans of our promotion will remember, and they know exactly why he’s worthy of fighting for this title. Back at our first ever fight card, Goss was victorious via second round submission in the co-main event on that night.
He hasn’t fought since that night last April, and he feels the time off has given him some time to heal up and really improve his skills. “I was originally planning on fighting on the July card (Brawl in the Burgh) but I had a couple nagging injuries that we let heal up instead.” Earlier in his career, Goss would fight five or six times per year and even fought twice in ten days once. Now, he thinks a little extra time off isn’t a bad thing. “Honestly, I feel amazing everywhere. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I’m just in a really great place right now.”
Never satisfied
This might surprise anyone who watched Goss’ incredible performance back in April, but he actually wasn’t happy with the way he fought. He also knows he’s taking a huge step up against a fighter the caliber of John de Jesus. “Really I felt like I didn’t have that great of a performance in my last fight. So it definitely showed us some stuff that needed worked on and we’ve been working since. But you’re never done evolving as a fighter, which is what makes it awesome,” he said.
Training out of Gorilla House Gym in Altoona, Ethan Goss truly has some of the best coaches around. “My coaches are absolutely amazing,” he said. “They’re like the old school hard nose type of coaches. When you mess up, you’re getting yelled at. When you’re tired, you’re getting pushed harder and when you’re hurting, you’re being told to toughen up. I absolutely love that coaching style and click with them unbelievably.”
“A win over a guy like John looks great on my resume”
With western Pennsylvania being such a hotbed of MMA talent, it is no surprise that Ethan Goss has crossed paths with several guys from The Academy. Despite being friends with Worthy, Goss understands that business is business. “Khama and I get along great. But this is business and it’s nothing new to us as I’ve damn near fought every teammate he’s had that competes at 145. There’s no hard feelings between me and anyone at that gym,” Goss said.
As for John de Jesus, Goss recognizes that he presents some challenges as a fighter. “John is a tough dude who brings a unique striking style with him. He is very quick and rangy. On the ground, he’s definitely scrappy and looks hard to hang onto. I saw that he’s a purple belt and they don’t just hand those out, man,” Goss added. “It’s going to be an interesting matchup and a challenge but I feel that I am capable of beating any man at my weight class on any given night.”
Searching for Opportunity
Ethan Goss is aware that winning this championship can do big things for his future moving forward. “A win over John looks great on my resume. Hopefully it opens up another opportunity for Bellator, the Contender Series, or even ONE,” he said.
Both of these guys are truly top level martial artists, and we are beyond excited to watch them do battle. With a championship on the line, this intriguing matchup gets all the more exciting. To purchase tickets to see John de Jesus, Ethan Goss, and all the other great fighters on this card, visit 247fighting.com.