SALT LAKE CITY —
You just spent four seasons getting your spine impacted, your teeth rattled and your bell rung as a defensive lineman for BYU. But afterward, you land a nice, sedate gig as a midday radio host on 1280 AM The Zone.
So what happens next?
You find something even more violent than football, naturally.
Move over, Butterbean Esch. Outta the way, Tank Abbott and Randy Couture. Brock Lesnar, you're goin' down!
Jan Jorgensen is in the cage.
Jorgensen will debut as a mixed martial arts participant on Sept. 24 at Utah Valley University's UCCU Event Center. A longtime MMA fan, he'll be matched against former UCLA defensive tackle Jerzy Siewierski.
"It's not just my first pro fight; it's my first fight," Jorgensen said. "It's an amateur fight. I'm not even getting paid for it."
Here's to getting your brains scrambled for free.
In some ways, Jorgensen is a natural for the ultra-macho sport. He is 6-foot-3, 259 pounds and has biceps the size of footballs. He also has a shaved head and an above-average death glare.
"I've been kicked and punched in (MMA) training, and all it does is make me mad," Jorgensen said. "But it's something that I'd rather have than be scared of it."
In many ways, Jorgensen is as gentle as a golden retriever. He's polite, helpful and humorous. He doesn't have tattoos or body piercings and is mindful not to snarl in public. He served an LDS mission to Boise.
At the same time, he also looks like he could wrestle an alligator.
Asked if he fits the mold of the typical MMA tough guy, he said, "Not a whole lot. I'm not all tatted up and whatever. I'm definitely not that guy, at least I don't think I am. People say, 'If you're so nice, how did you get in there?' I say it's a sport. It's not like I'm going out to kill someone. It's a sport, just like football."
MMA has long been the preference of the energy-drink crowd, but its popularity is quickly spreading. Originally, sports fans were drawn to boxing, with its collection of down-and-out palookas and glamorous self-promoters. Then came pro wrestling and its comic book characters. Finally, there was MMA, a blend of jujitsu, boxing and wrestling. It is less phony than wrestling and has more action than boxing. Participants can kick, lift and toss their opponents.
Sort of like street fighting, except with (occasional) rules.
Proponents say the sport is not as gross as many think. It only looks that way when a guy is simultaneously having his neck wrenched, his back bent and his teeth rearranged.
The urge to fight started for Jorgensen when he was 3. He soon enrolled in wrestling competition and continued through high school. Around age 12, he became aware of UFC fights on TV and eventually joined a studio. That led him to The Academy, a sponsor of next Friday's event, which is being billed as Showdown Fights' "Respect."
Also on the card is MMA veteran and former Cottonwood High football player Josh Burkman.
Jorgensen is training twice per day for several hours, which raises the obvious question: Why do this for free?
"When football ended faster than I thought it would, my body still felt good, and I wasn't ready to finish competing, so I went into it," he said.
Just because Jorgensen was an all-conference defensive lineman doesn't mean it impressed the MMA crowd. In fact, some fighters take it as a challenge.
"It definitely does happen," said Jorgensen, "but the nice thing is that a lot of the guys I train with really have no idea who I was. They just see me as this big guy."
MMA, he continued, is more intense than football, due to the conditioning work, but "the day in and day out beating on the body is actually tougher in football."
And the atmosphere?
"Every time you fight, it's like BYU-Utah," he said.
Now that's violent.
e-mail: rock@desnews.com