Ryan James Jensen (born September 20, 1977) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 1997 until 2015, he competed for the UFC,

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

, and Strikeforce.

Mixed martial arts career

Background

Jensen began training at the age of 15, under UFC 3 winner Steve Jennum. Following his first fight against Travis Fulton in February 1997, he did not compete again until June 2002. Jensen quit his day job in November 2006, and since then has been training and fighting full-time.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

His UFC debut was on August 25, 2007 at

UFC 74 ''UFC 74: Respect'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 25, 2007, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The main event was a UFC Heavyweight Championship b ...

; his initial opponent was supposed be Travis Lutter, however Lutter was forced to withdraw due to injury. Instead, Jensen faced late replacement

Thales Leites Thales Leites Lourenço (; born 6 September 1981) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist best known for competing in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Leites made his ...

and after a strong start, got caught by an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, p ...

submission in the first round. He followed this up with another loss to

Demian Maia Demian Maia (born 6 November 1977) is a Brazilian professional submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He competed in both the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Maia is regarded as o ...

before leaving the UFC. On March 29, 2008, Jensen accepted a fight against Joey Villasenor on four days notice in the Strikeforce promotion. Again, after a strong start, Jensen lost by KO with 15 seconds remaining in the first round at Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le. Since then, Jensen rebounded with a first round TKO over Mitch Whitesel at SportFight 23 in June 2008, as well as a first round submission victory over Aaron Praschack due to strikes in VFC 23. Jensen then returned to the UFC and was defeated by Wilson Gouveia at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer via submission (armbar). This was followed up by a win over Steve Steinbeiss at UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard via first round technical submission. Jensen faced Mark Muñoz at UFC 108 on January 2, 2010. He lost the fight via submission (punches) at the 2:30 mark of the first round. Jensen faced Jesse Forbes at UFC 114 on May 29, 2010. He defeated Forbes by guillotine choke submission in the first round. Jensen fought Court McGee at UFC 121. He lost the fight via arm triangle choke in the third round. Jensen was defeated by

Jason MacDonald Jason Anthony MacDonald (born June 3, 1975) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he is perhaps best remembered for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage, and the Maximum Figh ...

via first round submission at UFC 129 and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Post-UFC

One year after his UFC release, Jensen returned to MMA and faced Jason Louck at Disorderly Conduct: Warriors on May 19, 2012. He won the fight via a guillotine choke submission. He then faced Rudy Bears in the main event of Victory Fighting Championship 39 on March 30, 2013. Jensen won the fight via first round TKO. Jensen faced Victor Moreno at Victory Fighting Championship 40 on July 27, 2013. He won the fight via guillotine choke submission. Jensen then faced Ryan McClain at Victory Fighting Championship 42 on March 15, 2014. He won the fight via first round TKO.

Bellator MMA

After compiling a 4-0 record on the regional MMA circuit, Jensen made his

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

debut on April 18, 2014 at Bellator 117. He defeated Mark Stoddard by submission in the first round.

Personal life

Jensen and his wife have two daughters.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

** Submission of the Night (One time) vs. Jesse Forbes

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 21–8 , Matt Jones , TKO (punches) , VFC 45 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 , Ralston, Nebraska, United States , Catchweight (180 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 20–8 , Mark Stoddard , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Bellator 117 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:52 ,

Council Bluffs, Iowa Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area. It is loc ...

, United States , Catchweight (175 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 19–8 , Ryan McClain , TKO (punches) , VFC 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

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Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 , Court McGee , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , UFC 121 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:21 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Jesse Forbes , Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC 114 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:06 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 , Mark Muñoz , Submission (punches) , UFC 108 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Steve Steinbeiss , Technical submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:56 ,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Wilson Gouveia , Submission (armbar) , UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs Neer , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:04 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Mitch Whitesel , TKO (punches) , SportFight 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:42 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4 , Joey Villaseñor , KO (punch) , Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:45 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC 77 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:40 ,

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 , Curtis Stout , Submission (triangle choke) , VFC 19: Inferno , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Alfred Escobedo , Submission (punches) , IFC: Road to Global Domination , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:21 ,

Belton, Texas Belton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas on the Interstate 35 corridor between Austin and Waco. Belton is the county seat of Bell County and is the fifth largest city in the Killeen-Temple metropolitan area. In 2020, the population of Belto ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , BJ Lacy , TKO (punches) , IFC: Rumble on the River 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 in the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Rob Kimmons , Submission (choke) , VFC 14: Aggression , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Marlon Sims , Submission (rear-naked choke) , IFC: Caged Combat , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Danny Anderson , TKO (punches) , VFC 10: Championship X , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:16 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

Brock Larson Brock Orville Larson (born August 23, 1977) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions. A professional competitor from 2002 until 2016, Larson has formerly competed for the ...

, TKO (submission to punches) , Extreme Challenge 63 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Hayward, Wisconsin Hayward is a city in Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States, next to the Namekagon River. The population was 2,318 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sawyer County. The city is surrounded by the Hayward (to ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Neal Rowe , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Extreme Challenge 63 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Tyrone Roberts , Submission (triangle choke) , Victory Fighting Championships 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:46 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Josh Stamp , TKO (punches) , VFC 2: Bragging Rights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brian Robinson , TKO (submission to punches) , Victory Fighting Championships 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:20 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jensen, Ryan American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Nebraska Middleweight mixed martial artists Living people 1977 births Sportspeople from Omaha, Nebraska Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters