Dave Jansen: ‘I’ll be setting off some metaphorical fireworks in Seoul on the 4th’

When USA West originally released its 2009 roster, Palace Fighting Championships lightweight champion Brian Cobb was listed as its lightweight representative. However, Cobb left USA West just ten days prior to the M-1 Challenge ’09 season opener on Feb. 21 in order to accept a contract with the UFC as a last-minute replacement at UFC 95.

Showing little hesitation, Team USA West owners Steve Bash and Roy Engelbrecht recruited a little-known prospect named David JansenWorld Cagefighting Alliance event in Atlantic City. to replace Cobb. Jansen was 9-0 at the time and had just fought two weeks prior at a

The last-minute move from Cobb to Jansen has paid massive dividends for USA West, as Cobb was TKO’d by Terry Etim at UFC 95 following a kick to the head that was proceeded by a barrage of punches and has not fought since.

Meanwhile, Jansen recorded a unanimous decision victory over Rio Heroes veteran Flavio Alvaro in at the opener in Tacoma. He then improved to 11-0 after racking up his second straight M-1 Challenge victory over Ui Cheol Nam of South Korea. And on July 4 in Seoul, South Korea, Jansen will look to improve his record to 12-0 overall and 3-0 under the M-1 Challenge banner when he faces Amirkhan Mazikhov as a part of USA West’s best-of-five showdown with Russia Imperial.

Jansen recently took a break from his training at Team Quest to speak with www.M-1Global.com.

M-1Global.com: You were a late addition to the USA West roster. What’s your experience been like since joining the M-1 Challenge and representing the U.S.?

Dave Jansen: This has turned out to be an incredible adventure. Fighting in Tokyo was a dream come true for me, and now I’m starting to feel like a real globe trekker as I’m gearing up to make the trip to Seoul to fight this 4th of July. And Clayton Hires, my boxing coach, has always been yelling at us during our bag rounds “Gentlemen, do it for your country!”, and now I’m doing just that.

M-1Global.com: Do you feel like your profile has increased since joining the M-1 Challenge?

Dave Jansen: Yeah, definitely. The coverage for the M1 Global Challenge has been great. I’ve gotten pictures in both the May and June issues of FightSport [Jansen will also be featured in an upcoming edition of Extreme Fighter Magazine], and it’s always a bonus to have my fights shown on HDNet. Also, fighting on a card that featured an exhibition between two icons like Fedor Emelianenko and Shinya Aoki was both a huge honor and opportunity, and I’m sure the international MMA community got to know my name at the least.

M-1Global.com: You come to the M-1 Challenge with a strong wrestling pedigree. At what age did you start wrestling and where did you wrestle in college?

Dave Jansen: I started wrestling when I was six years old at the local mat club. When I was twelve, I joined the U.S.A. Oregon Athletic Club in Portland, Oregon, and wrestled for the Cobras under the legendary Marc Sprague Sr., and I started to win some tournaments. Coach Sprague really gave me the tools to succeed in wrestling, and I credit him with a large part of my success in MMA as well. I wrestled for the University of Oregon for two years right after high school in 1999 and 2000, but my heart wasn’t invested in my college wrestling career, and I burnt out.

M-1Global.com: What prompted you to crossover from wrestling into mixed martial arts?

Dave Jansen: I had been out of wrestling for six years after I left the U of O, and I felt empty inside. I knew that I had left the sport of wrestling too soon, and that realization was eating at me. Plus, I hated working in restaurants, and I can’t pay the rent by wrestling, so fighting was a chance for me to carve a new career path with my wrestling skills.

M-1Global.com: You train out of one of the best fight camps in the world in Matt Lindland’s Team Quest franchise in Portland, Oregon. How did you get hooked up with Team Quest?

Dave Jansen: In 2005, I happened to be working with Chris Wilson at a restaurant and he encouraged me to check out Team Quest. I tried a submission grappling class and loved it, but I couldn’t commit to the training and the gym dues at that time. Over a year later, Chris’s pro career took off, and I saw him fighting for the IFL on TV, and I wanted to be a part of the Wolfpack. That’s when I dropped everything and joined Team Quest in June, 2006.

M-1Global.com: Ryan Schultz is a former IFL lightweight champion and most recently fought in Sengoku. He’s obviously another top lightweight coming out of Team Quest. Is he someone that you spar with?

Dave Jansen: Yeah, Schultz is one of my main training partners, and he usually gives me my toughest rounds. We try to get rounds in with fighters around our own weight, but we all end up sparring with everyone eventually. I spar a lot with middleweights like Ed Herman, Chael Sonnen, and Matt Lindland; and welterweights Pat Healy and Nathan Coy.

M-1Global.com: Who are some up-and-coming fighters from Team Quest that we should be on the lookout for?

Dave Jansen: Colt Tombs [son of pro wrestling icon Rowdy Roddy Piper] and Jake Weldon are two amateur fighters that I see going places in the future. On the professional side, Tyson Nam is the first fighter that comes to mind. Nam recently moved from Hawaii, and I can see him decimating all the opposition at bantamweight. Tyson Jefferies and Nathan Coy are two pro fighters that you’ll be seeing a lot of in the future as well.

M-1Global.com: All of your USA West teammates train with Colin Oyama in California. Since you come from different camps, how close are you with your teammates and have you had time to train with them at all?

Dave Jansen: I haven’t had the chance to train with any of my USA West teammates yet, but we all got to know each other a little better during the Tokyo trip. I met Colin and Raphael for the first time in Tacoma. I met Shane, Giva, and Fabio for the first time in Japan, and it was refreshing to see that all my new teammates had very positive attitudes. I’m definitely looking forward to rolling with Giva and Fabio sometime in the near future.

M-1Global.com: USA West is 2-0 and considered a favorite to win the 2009 M-1 Challenge Championship. Which country do you consider the biggest threat?

Dave Jansen: Team USA East is looking solid, but right now I’m focused on the task at hand, and that’s earning a victory against Team Imperial in Seoul.

M-1Global.com: You’re going to be spending your July 4 holiday in South Korea facing off against Russia Imperial. I wanted to get your thoughts on that.

Dave Jansen: It’s a good thing that Rocky Balboa already healed the Cold War era wounds between the USA and Russia by defeating Drago and inspiring everyone to put aside their differences, or else I’d be feeling so much more pressure right now. But seriously, I’ll be setting off some metaphorical fireworks in Seoul on the 4th.