| Zak Jensen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Omaha, Nebraska, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight | 263 lb (119.3 kg; 18.8 st) |
| Division | Heavyweight (265 lb) |
| Style | Wrestling, Free style |
| Fighting out of | Hopkins, Minnesota |
| Team | Gorilla Combat |
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 18 |
| Wins | 10 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 4 |
| Losses | 8 |
| By knockout | 3 |
| By submission | 5 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Zak Jensen is an American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights.
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Jensen played football and wrestled at both Northern Illinois University and Augsburg College. Jensen suited up as a defensive lineman for two years at NIU while spending his last two years with Augsburg.[1]
Zak Jensen earned a professional record of 7-3 on the local circuit before being picked to become a member of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights. However, Jensen lost in the first round to Darrill Schoonover. His time on the show was notable for Zak being an outcast with the other competitors. This led to the other fighters betting on when he would have a breakdown and playing pranks on him.[2]
After fighting in smaller promotions once again, Zak Jensen signed on to face Neil Grove at Bellator 47.[3] After slugging it out in the opening minutes, Jensen lost the fight via first round TKO.[4]
Jensen returned to the promotion in October 2011, replacing Thiago Santos in the fifth season heavyweight tournament. He faced Blagoi Ivanov in the opening round at Bellator 52, losing via second round technical submission when he got caught in a guillotine choke.[5]
In 2003-2005, Zak was known for a few super human feats of strength while at Augsburg College. He was known by students to be able to pull stop signs out of the ground as well as being able to lift city bus benches. He was never convicted for vandalism by the Minneapolis police, or Augsburg Campus Security.
In 2004, Zak was reportedly seen by 8-10 witnesses in an Augsburg College apartment to have come home from the bars, pop the easy pour off of a 1.75L bottle of Whiskey with his keys, and continue to chug the rest of the 2/3rd's content left in that bottle. His status gave him an on campus "larger than life" complex, as the alcohol consumed unphased him due to his massive body size and his tolerance to alcohol during that time in his life.
In 2009, Zak Jensen faced a wrongful death lawsuit involving the death of a Minnesota college student on a spring break trip in March to Mexico.[6] The suit involves an altercation that Jensen had in Mexico during a spring break trip in March 2009 when Jensen was serving as a bodyguard. At the time of the lawsuit, it seems that the victim passed out in the bathroom and ultimately died after aspirating his own vomit, but it is unclear whether it was due to his blood alcohol content of .12 or due to an altered mental state resulting from the alleged altercation with Jensen.[7]
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 18 matches | 10 wins | 8 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 3 |
| By submission | 4 | 5 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 10-8 | Blagoi Ivanov | Technical Submission (guillotine choke) | Bellator 52 | October 1, 2011 | 2 | 2:35 | Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States | Bellator Season 5 Heavyweight Tournament Quarterfinal |
| Loss | 10-7 | Neil Grove | TKO (punches) | Bellator 47 | July 23, 2011 | 1 | 2:00 | Rama, Ontario, Canada | |
| Win | 10-6 | Jason Ackerman | TKO (punches) | EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 7 | November 27, 2010 | 1 | 0:16 | New Town, North Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 9-6 | Zach Thumb | Submission (kimura) | Crowbar MMA: Fall Brawl | September 11, 2010 | 1 | 1:28 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 9-5 | Tim Hague | TKO (knees) | AMMA 4: Victory | July 9, 2010 | 1 | 2:11 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |
| Loss | 9-4 | Gabriel Salinas-Jones | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Seconds Out / Vivid MMA: Combat on Capital Hill 1 | May 21, 2010 | 1 | 2:08 | St. Paul, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 9-3 | Richard White | KO (punches) | Crowbar MMA: Spring Brawl | April 24, 2010 | 1 | 0:28 | Fargo, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 8-3 | Preston Shane | Submission (guillotine choke) | Seconds Out/Vivid MMA: Tour of Duty 1 | February 27, 2010 | 1 | 0:16 | St. Paul, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 7-3 | Matt Hirsch | KO (punches) | Brutaal: Fight Night | February 21, 2009 | 1 | 1:20 | Lacrosse, Wisconsin, United States | |
| Loss | 6-3 | Ryan Kotzea | TKO (punches) | TCI: The Cage Inc. | February 13, 2009 | 1 | 0:24 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 6-2 | Mike Linger | KO (punch) | Brutaal: Fight Night | September 5, 2008 | 1 | 0:12 | Maplewood, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 5-2 | Heath Roth | Submission | Brutaal: Fight Night | June 13, 2008 | 1 | 1:25 | Minnesota, United States | |
| Loss | 4-2 | Mike Whitehead | Submission (armbar) | EB: Beatdown at 4 Bears 2 | May 10, 2008 | 1 | 2:06 | New Town, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 4-1 | Chris Clark | TKO (punches) | Brutaal: Fight Night | May 2, 2008 | 1 | 2:36 | Maplewood, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 3-1 | Mike Radnov | TKO (corner stoppage) | Extreme Challenge 85 | October 6, 2007 | 2 | 5:00 | Bismarck, North Dakota, United States | |
| Loss | 2-1 | Brad Imes | Submission (gogoplata) | WFC: Downtown Throwdown | September 14, 2007 | 1 | 1:31 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 2-0 | Calvin Wittner | Submission (brabo choke) | KO: Productions | August 11, 2007 | 1 | 3:09 | Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 1-0 | Justin Cox | Submission (guillotine choke) | EFX: Myth in Maplewood | August 2, 2007 | 1 | N/A | Maplewood, Minnesota, United States |