Dotseth’s Blog: Short Fights Sometimes Leave Long Memories
I have never been afraid to cheap shot the management side of Bellator, but I have always been careful to point out how much I enjoy their fights. Yes, the fights are not shown in HD, but if you can get by that you are usually rewarded with great action. That was the case again this past weekend when Zak Jensen and Neil Grove beat the hell out of each other for exactly two minutes, before Grove was declared the winner by TKO.
The sport is MMA which is short for Mixed Martial ARTS. There was nothing artistic in the Grove and Jensen scrap, outside of two guys doing everything in their power to win. This was plain and simple a fight. Not a bar fight, or a backyard brawl (which you can find thousands of on you-tube) no this was simply two guys (that most have never heard of) getting after it from the first bell.
Jensen stands 6’5 and has a record of 10-7. While he did appear on “The Ultimate Fighter”, he has never fought in a UFC event.
Grove stands 6’6, has a record of 11-3 and lost his only fight in the UFC. For every GSP headlining a UFC card in front of 55,000 screaming fans, there are thousands more like Grove and Jensen fighting for a couple of hundred bucks hoping that they still can get a shot at a major card.
Both guys came out firing, and before two long both were on the seat of their pants. As Grove applied an ankle lock, Jensen started firing punches to Grove’s body. Grove in turn started firing punches to Jensen’s face. I have never seen anything like it. It was rock’em sock’em robots from a sitting position.
Sorry, but I can’t stand watching guys like Jon Fitch fight. He is incredibly talented and also incredibly boring. I know he is a great technical fighter; his style is just not for me. Grove and Jensen did try a couple of submission holds, but in the end they went back to what they know best and that was firing hay-makers.
Will either guy get rich from MMA? No. Will this fight be remembered two weeks from now? Sadly, probably not. While Zab Judah slept walked thru his fight with Amir Khan in front of a much larger audience on HBO, Grove and Jensen went old school and had me on the edge of my seat.
I love it when people say only in a sport like MMA can a loss sometimes help your career. I don’t expect to see Jensen fighting Junior Dos Santos or Brock Lesnar anytime soon, but if Saturday’s fight gets him another fight on TV, that’s fine with me.
Maybe I should focus less on Bellator’s business side and just appreciate the fights, but what fun would that be? Congrats to Neil Grove and Zak Jensen. I’m sure you didn’t make jack sh*t in your paycheck, but anytime people are still talking about your fight two days later that’s a good thing.
