Zak Jensen (10-6 MMA, 0-0 BFC) will enter the cavernous Bellator cage for the first time Saturday night.It's a new beginning for the Minnesota native, who is approaching the four-year anniversary of his professional MMA debut.
He faces Neil Grove (10-3 MMA, 2-1 BFC) on the MTV2 televised main card of Bellator 47. The event takes place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, Canada.
"I'm glad it's actually happening," Jensen recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). "It was supposed to happen back in May and then Neil got hurt. I was just glad they were able to put it back together."
It's been quite a struggle over the past year for Jensen, who has lost three of his past four fights on the regional circuit.
"The first one (loss) was a really tough jiu-jitsu guy, (Gabriel Salinas-Jones)," Jensen said. "I got caught there in a choke. I'm a stubborn bastard and I didn't tap, so I actually went out.
"Then the Tim Hague fight, I took that on four days notice. I went out there and was doing pretty well and I got caught. He caught me with a nice knee. He's a good fighter. And, then the last one I lost, [Zach Thumb] was better than me that day. When you're stuck in that rut, it's hard to get out."
He officially climbed out after disposing of Jason Ackerman by first-round TKO in November 2010. He has not competed since.
Jensen is certainly no stranger to the first round finish. In fact, all of his career fights have ended in the first stanza except for one. He's adopted the classic "kill or be killed" mentality.
"I always try to go out there and try to get it done as fast as I can," Jensen said. "It's funny because I always have a gameplan going into a fight, but as soon as the bell rings it kind of just goes out the door, and I just go in there and try to finish the fight."
He'll get the chance to add arguably the biggest name to his resume with a win over Grove, who is a UFC veteran and was also a finalist in Bellator's 2010 heavyweight tournament.
While Jensen did get the opportunity to fight Darrill Schoonover on the 10th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he technically never competed inside the UFC octagon officially.
In other words, not only is Grove one of the toughest tests of his career, but it will also come on the biggest stage.
For some fighters this could potentially manifest itself into an adrenaline dump on fight night and a potential "deer in headlights" moment.
Jensen, however, doesn't forecast this kind of scenario at all.
"It's just like every sport I've ever played, you know, the pre-game jitters," he said. "It's just there. You get the butterflies in your stomach. The only times I've never had those, bad things happen. The nervousness helps. It gets you on edge. It gets you ready and more focused, I believe."
UFC champion Jon Jones stated prior to his fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua he had his butterflies "in formation." This is the same kind of confidence and calm Jensen appears to have adopted.
A win over Grove should lead to bigger and better things for Jensen. A spot in a future heavyweight tournament could potentially be on the line, though Bellator's management has not confirmed.
"Somebody told me Neil was already announced as being in the tournament," Jensen said. "I guess I kind of have to do the 'Zoila Frausto thing' and change their minds by winning this fight."
by Derek Bolender
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