Good article about former IFL welterweight champion and current Affliction fighter Jay Hieron in the Las Vegas Sun. Hieron turned his life around after a youth of thuggin’ and has become a top notch MMA fighter:

In 2003, Jay Hieron was at a crossroads in life.

After years of dealing drugs in Brooklyn, N.Y., Hieron had been arrested and was facing jail time. To escape the stress of a lengthy court process and the looming threat of a prison sentence, the former high school and junior college wrestling champion turned to mixed martial arts.

When the judge opted to give Hieron five years probation, Hieron felt like he had a new lease on life and decided to dedicate that life to the sport that had helped him through the rough times.

Today, Hieron, 32, a Summerlin resident, is the International Fight League welterweight champion and preparing for his next fight at Night of Combat II at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday.

“(Mixed martial arts) changed my life,” Hieron said. “It was an outlet for me. It relieved my stress and let me get my mind focused on something. Before that, I was just looking for fast money and — coming from a not-so-good neighborhood — that was what I thought I wanted.”

Mixed martial artists turns to sport to escape trouble @ Las Vegas Sun