Featherweight Jack Jenkins carried an eight-fight win streak with him heading into UFC Jacksonville at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on Saturday, where he was paired up with Jamall Emmers.
Emmers had ended an 18-month hiatus in February when he served up the first defeat of Khusein Askhabov’s career.
A bit of a feeling out process played out to start off Emmers vs. Jenkins. Jenkins spent a good part of the round walking Emmers down, and found success with his kicks both low and high. Emmers, with the height and reach advantage, was explosive at times, and employed some stance switches while using long punches and shots to the body to keep Jenkins outside. Another body kick landed for Jenkins, which in turn led to a calf kick, later in the frame, a sequence that repeated itself.
Just prior to the end of the round, however, a low blow doubled Jenkins over, leading to a break in the action.
Jenkins came out and went back to the low kick in round two, then trailed it with a hook up top. Next up was a high kick form Jenkins that sailed wide. A back-and-forth round would play out in the second, with Jenkins continuing to find success with his kicks. Jenkins had the edge in output, though he slowed somewhat on the volume front as the round progressed. Emmers continued to do his best work at distance, and landed a solid right hand at the end of the round — but three unanswered kicks by Jenkins underscored the advantage he had.
Jenkins landed a takedown late in the frame, only for Emmers to reverse.
Emmers changed things up in the third, landing an early takedown. He would spent twenty of time on top, with Jenkins closing his guard for a bit. The ref would issue a warning to stay busy; Emmers ultimately couldn’t make too much happen, and they’d end up back on the feet. Not for long, with Jenkins getting the fight back down. He didn’t stay in control for long, with Emmers getting on top. The more time Emmers spent in control on the ground, the more puzzling his choice not to wrestle in the opening two rounds became. Emmers clearly had the third round, but would lose the fight on the scorecards thanks to Jenkins winning rounds one and two on the feet.
Official Result: Jack Jenkins def. Jamall Emmers by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
