I'll work to correct those problems right away. I know how to finish a kimura. What some people don't realize is that I've only been training MMA for a little over three years now. It takes time to become a proficient boxer. I'm just going to get back in the practice room and rededicate myself to training and making improvements in my game.

This wasn't my prettiest performance, but I got the win. I passed the test of my WEC debut on live television. That's what I'm taking from this fight and into my future WEC fights, the confidence that I belong here. I earned my keep last Saturday.

FiveKnuckles.com: What was your game plan coming into the cage and did it change throughout the course of the fight?

Dave Jansen: My original game plan was to out-strike Rich and use my wrestling to keep the fight standing by defending against his takedowns. Because I ended up getting the better part of 90% of the wrestling in the first round, and because I was eating some hard shots in the standing exchanges, Follis instructed me to clinch and get the fight to the ground during the first break in the corner.

I always assumed I was the better wrestler and grappler coming into this fight, but I knew Rich was no slouch there, so that was more of our plan "B". I worked hard for this fight. I did a lot of extra conditioning, and some speed and agility training, as well as all the usual rounds, mitt work, and grappling.

FiveKnuckles.com: A lot of fighters had trouble slipping on the canvas. Did it seem slipperier than normal to you?

Dave Jansen: I've fought on slicker surfaces in the past, but a lot of fighters did seem to lose their footing throughout the evening. It felt like standard canvass to me though, the kind that leaves the nastiest raspberries on the top of my feet and knees from rock-over-stepping while shooting double leg takedowns.

FiveKnuckles.com: How frustrating was the referee's decision to stand you up so quickly and many times without warning?

Dave Jansen: I've had the same thing happen before, but not to that extreme. In the locker room, referee Jon Schorle told me he'd give me a warning by saying "stay busy" or "action" before standing us up. He must have forgotten about that during the fight, or he wanted to take the fight away from me. I'll never know his true intentions. It wasn't worth it for me to argue about the crap stand-ups during the fight, but in hindsight, that kind of officiating is really frustrating.

FiveKnuckles.com: You came into this fight as a relative unknown and definitive underdog. Does this bother you?

Dave Jansen: I always figured that I was the favorite, but I can see why some fans and media would assume that I'd lose. The only MMA site that I checked WEC 43 predictions on had me winning a decision through superior wrestling. I thought I'd win, and so did my cornerman, and those are the two most important opinions concerning my success.

FiveKnuckles.com: Did the WEC 43 schedule shuffling help or hurt you?

Dave Jansen: The five week delay from Sept. 2 to Oct. 10 was definitely disappointing. I think I may have performed better if the fight went on as originally scheduled in September because that's when I peaked...