TUF Times with Zak Jensen and Justin Wren – Episode 2

Episode two of TUF is behind us and now its time for an inside look at the show with Team Rashad’s Justin Wren and Team Rampage’s Zak Jensen.

Q: With two episodes under Spikes belt, how do you feel at Kimbo getting so much attention?
Zak Jensen: If I said I didn’t care I would be lying. We all had to bust our asses to get to where we are in this sport, he beat up untrained people in the street. That being said he does bring viewers to the show. The first episode broke a record for views so he is good for the show. Next week will be crazy since he is fighting.

Q: Do you think its taking time away from other things they could show?

Justin Wren: I definitely do think its taking time away from the 15 other fighters in the show. The viewers are rooting for him this year and they want to keep those viewers and I understand what they are doing, but I think they are going to start showing the rest of the guys soon.

ZJ: Yes, but people want to see Kimbo, I think it was interesting but the more people that watch the better it is for everyone.

Q: Now that you have gotten into a typical groove with the training, whats a typical session consist of?

ZJ: Well this last fight took place a half hour after Abe’s and Jon’s fight so it was still only the 5th day and the 1st day was team picks. The second was media day with interviews and all the promo photos. Out first practice was the third day after the pics. So a grove has not been set, the first few where cardio based like the rope drill that was shown in the first episode. We sparred and grappled also but no groove established yet.

JW: Definitely, I felt like I was in a groove once we started. Greg Jackson, Rashdad, Trevor Whitman and Mike Van Arsdale are excellent coaches. They really know how to take your game to the next level. They taught us to train like champs. It was awesome since I come from a wrestling background and now I’m starting to train BJJ and striking, but here I am getting the total package from the best coaches in the world.

A typical session depends on the day. We did a whole lot of conditioning, they just really wanted to make sure we were in shape when we fought. The first two guys were doing their own thing, since the first two fights they showed happened in the same day and I thought they were going to show those both in the first episode since they were back to back. But the rest of the team was in the groove, they had us sparring, wrestling, ju-jitsu, just everything world class MMA fighters do.

Q: Were the NFL guys picking up the MMA game well at this point in the show?

ZJ: Like I said before it is only the fifth day, but Marcus is already good at BJJ and Wes is a big strong athletic guy so the answer is yes. I cannot say anything about Matt or Brendon being that I have not seen them train in person.

JW: If you’re talking about Brendan Schaub, he’s been a martial artist his entire life. His dad was a black belt and he has been training MMA for 3 or 4 years. Matt Mitrone was picking things up slower, his ground game needed alot of work, kinda like KImbo. real big explosive guy but they’re athletes, the pick it up quick. I worked with Brendan on his wrestling and takedown defense and that guy is super athletic. Those guys have been training for about several years in MMA except for Mitrone and they are MMA guys now, not just NFL.

Q: Was kimbo getting more attention than the other fighters during training?

ZJ: As you seen Rampage told us to glove up and he said to Kimbo “We have specialness for ya.” So yes he was.

Q: Team Rashad had a pow wow after training, what were you guys discussing?

JW: We did that almost every day after practice. I think we were discussing that the coaches are here for a reason and we are here to respect them and take their input. It was directed at Roy Nelson since he’s the biggest veteran out of all of us and been in the biggest fights, and they were just trying to get all of us behind the coaches and get us to trust them. If we just listened to them, we could go a long way.

Q: Thoughts on Roy Nelson being called “uncoachable”? Was he problematic to deal with on the mats or in the house?

JW: A little bit of yes and no. Roy was my major training partner in the house and he was great because of how skilled he is and because of that experience. But on the other hand he was a little difficult to work with because of that experience and he thinks that he’s been there, done that and knows it all and I think its more of a game too. He’s not going to train hard with someone he has to fight down the line and show them all his tricks.

ZJ: I never worked out with him so I cannot say about on the mat. In the house he was great, he nice and friendly. He cooked and cleaned which curtain people did neither throughout the 6 weeks. I think it was just a clashing of two veterans and champions.

Q: Later in the show, they showed Kimbo showing some of his war wounds. What are some of your battle scars (inside or out of fights)?

JW: In 2005 I was living at the Olympic Training center for Wrestling and I wrestled against the 2002 champ and got my elbow dislocated, fractured and tore a ligment AND had nerve damage. So I had to have surgery where they took a tendon out of my hamstring and replaced the ligament in my elbow. Other than, just lots of black eyes, bloody noses and busted lips.

ZJ: As you saw my face is covered in blood in the previews not nearly as bad as Abe but it still was a pain in the ass to deal with, I had a total of around 50-60 stitches during the 6 weeks. Since they showed me bleeding I think that’s okay to say, at least I hope so. I also have been cut in other previous fights. Also I have had 2 ACL reconstructions and another knee surgery for a total of three. That was all from college wrestling and also numerous broken hands from football, wrestling and in the cage.

Q: What’s it like during meal time in a house full of 16 hungry heavyweights?

JW: Meal time was amazing! It was six weeks of heavyweight heaven! We could eat whatever we wanted, they literally got us thrasher shark, jumbo prawns, Australian lobster, bison steak, filet mignon. The food budget was out of this world! Kimbo has amazing steak cooking skills, so Kimbo was a steak guy, Marcus Jones was a grilled chicken guy, Scott Junk was a seafood guy since he’s hawaiian. We had great cooks in the house and i may have cooked myself one meal the entire time i was there.

ZJ: Rashad’s team had the early practice times and we had the later practice so it was basically 8 at a time but the food bill was the highest they have had. Steaks, steaks and more steaks.

Q: Give us your analysis of Wes Shivers vs James McSweeney.

JW: I thought that both guys came in a little out of shape but it could be nerves since they fought right after Abe and John, like five minutes after. I don’t think any of us took into consideration how awkward it is to fight in a gym thats just you, your team, the coaches and a camera crew. Im used to fighting in front of big crowds, big arenas and thats what i thrive for. When you come out there, it almost feels like sparring. The fight came out flat, Shivers was gassed out and McSweeney, who I hear is a K-1 kickboxing champion, did not really show that in his fight. He did not impress me too much with his stand up but it could have just been nerves.

ZJ: The fight starts off and they are both feeling each other out and James leg kicks, than Wes takes him down, goes for a submission but can’t finish it and James escapes. The rest of the round is James pretty much kicking Wes in the leg and running. The second round was more of the same and Big Wes was tired and had a hard time chasing after the hit and running McSweeny. At the end of the second round, I, and a lot of the other guys, thought it was going to a third round. The judges did not agree, with 2 judges saying James won both rounds and the third judge said it should go to a third round. James won a Majority Decision with his feet. By that I mean he kicked and ran, kicked and ran.

Q: McSweeney seemed afraid to engage Shivers with anything more than one shot then backing away, any thoughts on the cause of this?

ZJ: Wes hits hard and is huge, McSweeny was smart to do that but it made for an extremely boring fight.

Q: Were you shocked that the fight did not go into an overtime round or did you think it was a conclusive fight?

JW: I am going to have to side with Dana on this one! I think these judges need to let it go to a third round sometimes. Too many times, the fights are too close and there are too many times it should go to a third round but the judges don’t let it go and it steals the fight away from a fighter.If it went to a third who knows what would happen.

ZJ: I wasn’t shocked, I was pissed off that it did not go to a third round. It was a round a piece and most of the guys thought it was also, so did one of the judges.

Q: If you were in place of your teammate for this match, what would your strategy have been?

JW: I would have taken Big Wes down. Put him on his back! A guy that big and inexperienced would have a tough time being on his back with an aggressive guy who is being relentless on top. Just get on top and working G n P and working a submission if it came.

ZJ: Take James down and GNP!

Q: The end of the show had the big announcement for Kimbo Slice VS Roy Nelson. Who did you pick to win this fight and why?

ZJ: Hey, I am a good teammate so I always had the back of who ever was fighting.

JW: Of course I want my team to win and thats who I wanted to win. I am not going to say who won since I will get in trouble for that, but people will be surprised the way the fight goes down! I definitely wanted Roy to win though. He was one of my best friends in the house and my main training partner.

Q: Were you hoping to be the one to fight him, especially Justin since you were talking trash at the start of the show?

ZJ: Well since we were picked on the same team, him first and me last, I could never fight Kimbo first. But before the picks, yes I did want to fight him first. I trained with him a lot getting him ready for his fight with Roy.

JW: I was the most vocal about wanting to fight him. i wanted to fight him since he was in Elite XC and I wish they would have showed more of me talking to the coaches asking for that fight. They asked every fighter, give us your top three of who you want to fight and I said I only have one, give me Kimbo! No disrespect to Kimbo, its just that fight was going to be a huge fight and would have been a great chance to fight him first. I may have gotten that opportunity later, who knows, but that first fight I wanted Kimbo. Me, being a 22 year old and a wrestler, if i went in there and smashed him in the first round it would have been great for my career!

Q: How do you feel about Rampages sudden decision to retire? Is he making the right choice to hang up the gloves? Will this affect ratings for the TUF show?

ZJ: I am pissed after all the talk about him wanting to beat Rashad up and shut his mouth. He says he hated the backlash and all the “haters” lets think about this if you had all those people cheering for you and then you just say the hell with it. Shouldn’t they have that right to get angry? You saw how Dana felt in his blog when he just had to change the date of the fight I can’t wait to see how Dana feels about this. I know what Rashad probably thinks and a lot of other people think the same that Rampage is just being Rampage- a big baby. Fight Rashad then do your movie thing. Uphold your commitment to the people who had your back at one of your lowest and darkest times. No I do not think that it will hurt the show.

JW: I don’t think he made the right choice. he has to do what’s best for him and if thats what’s best for him in his opinion then right on. But he made a commitment like Rashad, and you will see later there is a ton of trash talk. Just fight your fight with Rashad in December, go out on a good note and then end your career. Retire on top. But I think he is going to disappoint a lot of fans. Everyone was excited for this fight and thats why they made him a coach and now he’s not following through with his end of the bargain. I don’t want to talk bad about Rampage but you always want to make your fans happy and to tease them with being on TUF and not following through is a big bummer for his fans.

It might affect ratings from hardcore fans but when people start seeing the following fights they will be amped up. The first two fights were not the most exciting but I guarantee that the next fights on will be wars, knockouts, submissions and really athletic stuff!

Zak would like to thank the Hooters in Austin, Texas, which is where he watched this weeks episode and is grateful for their hospitality and great wings! Justin would like to thank worldfightsports.com and Buffalo Wild Wings! Stay tuned next week for the third edition of TUF Times with more from Zak Jensen and Justin Wren!