After high school, Hess attended University of Central Oklahoma and graduated in 2007 with a degree in Industrial Safety and Criminal Justice.
One time he went on a trip to Las Vegas to watch one of his best friends get married and back out of doing the bungee jump at the stratosphere hotel.
In the finals of the middleweight tournament at the main event of Bellator 12, Hess lost to Cuban fighter Hector Lombard.
The fight ended in a TKO doctor stoppage due to multiple cuts, which occurred from elbows delivered on the ground by Lombard.
Hess returned for the second season tournament in April 2010, hoping to get a rematch with Lombard and win the middleweight title.
As a result of the strike, Hess fell awkwardly on his left leg and severely dislocated his knee, causing the referee to stop the bout.