Justin Jaynes wowed MMA fans back in June when he stepped into the UFC octagon on short notice to fight Frank Camacho, a powerful puncher with a tendency to have wild fights. All Jaynes did was put on his gloves and do something that no lightweight had done in 13 years – knock out the Guamanian. Not only did he knock him out, but he did it in a mere 41 seconds and took home an extra 50k.
The fight was certainly a reason for the 20-fight veteran to celebrate. A lifelong goal had been achieved and had netted him a nice paycheck. However, there wouldn’t be much time to celebrate at all.
“I was at the bar drinking a beer after this last fight, my manager called and he said ‘hey, we have Gavin Tucker in three and a half weeks. Do you want it?’” Jaynes recalled. “Well can we get an extension for a week or two? I’m a little heavy. And he’s like ‘no, it’s this or nothing.’”
Not only was Jaynes walking around heavy, but this fight would be at a weight class lower than he met Camacho. Despite needing to drop down to featherweight for the first time in years, Jaynes had no hesitation because he already had said he would.
“Here’s the thing, my mouth writes checks and my body has to cash them,” Jaynes shared. “I told Sean Shelby, I told Dana White, 145lbs, 155lbs, welterweight [170lbs] – I’ll show up and I do my thing.”
With years of wrestling in high school and college, along with a laundry list of pro and amatuer fights, Jaynes has no worry that he’ll make weight. With a week to go before weigh-ins, he was hovering around 160lbs and felt like the cut was going just fine.
As for performing at 145lbs, there’s no worries there for Jaynes either. The Michigan-born fighter is sure he’s going the strength and the power no matter what weight class you find him at.
“I got to answer the door and I’m not just answering the door. I’m kicking that door in. I like to say I hit as hard as a welterweight and I’ve always said that,” he stated. “Being short, and I have shorter arms, I can turn those punches over and if I can land a left hook or an overhand right, it’s going to hurt my opponent, no doubt.”
Jaynes’ bout with Gavin Tucker can be seen as part of the UFC on ESPN+ prelims for UFC Vegas 6: Lewis vs Oleinik this Saturday.
