It wasn’t that long ago that featherweight Jack Jenkins was toiling on the regional scene. Now, he’s one of several Australian stars adorning UFC 293, which takes place in Sydney, Australia this weekend.
That, Jenkins (12-2) explained during this week’s UFC 293 media day, is “just gratification. You spend such a long time on the local scene, like you said earning your bones, and the stars kind of have to align. I know a lot of guys who probably had the talent to get here, and even the wherewithal, but got injured or the timing was wrong for them or something like that.”
For Jenkins himself, “there’s an element where I’m just stoked to be here and happy I get the chance to do it, but then there’s a secondary part where, I did the work, and I never wanted to just get here and take part, as Conor [McGregor] would say,” he explained. “I wanted to get here and really leave my mark. And I think after this fight, that’s going to be pretty clear.”
Following his win over Jamal Emmers, Jenkins called out Nate Landwehr. He didn’t land that fight, but it was all about playing the game in the end.
“You try and put yourself in the matchmakers shoes and see what kind of path they’re taking me on in terms of building me up as an asset for the company. And I think the Jamal fight, they put that one in front of me as a test, because I was really pushing to get on in America.”
The UFC, believes Jenkins, “were really keen to have me wait to have less risk that I was going to miss this [Sydney] card. And I was really keen on getting over and getting another fight in this year. So they were like ‘alright, here’s Jamal,’ a guy who’s coming off a win over a Russian who’s 26-0 and touted as the next big thing at featherweight. So when I went out there and took the win, I think they sort of went ‘alright, we’ve got something to work with here.'”
Against Chepe Mariscal, Jenkins is expecting another big night. “They’re putting me in a fight that’s going to be action, because I’m not going to have to take the fight to Chepe. He’s going to bring it to me.”
Watch the full UFC 293 media day appearance by Jack Jenkins above.
