After a strong start to his pro MMA career, bantamweight prospect Jose Ceja hit a bit of a snag and ended up missing over a year and a half before making his return to the sport earlier this year. “I competed as an amateur boxer and got into amateur MMA, then had three pro fights,” Ceja told MMAWeekly.com . “I won my first two, but lost my third, and then I had a layoff and came back earlier this year and won a very decisive victory (over Gerzan Chaw) with a dominant performance. “I needed to take some time off (between my second and third fights). There was a school I started, and also I tore my ACL, so I had to rehab from that.” Though he missed nearly two years, Ceja didn’t allow doubt about not returning to fighting creep in. Instead, he used his time as productively as he could and became a better fighter.