Jack Jenkins has no problem throwing down against the tallest UFC featherweight ever.
Like who cares if America’s Sean Woodson stands almost 20cm taller than him? Or boasts a staggering 15cm reach advantage?
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“Because in the UFC,” Jenkins explains, “you’re always chasing fights where reward matches risk … and that’s exactly what this one is”.
Long ranked among Australia’s most exciting Octagon stars, Jenkins is now readying for what shapes as the biggest test of his career in every sense – a showdown with Woodson at UFC Shanghai on August 29.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia this week, the popular Melburnian talked excitedly about the challenges presented by the towering featherweight, especially given the winner will almost certainly shift into the division’s top 15.
And then from there … well, all the biggest fights come into play.
But first, that biggest of fighters.
Standing 189cm (or 6’2’’ in the old scale), Woodson is widely considered the tallest man to ever throw hands in the UFC featherweight division.
Elsewhere, the hyped striker from St Louis, Missouri — and a former Golden Gloves boxing champion, no less — also boasts a whopping reach of 198cm.
Which for clarity, is the same as UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
But Jenkins?
“I’m 5’7’’,” the Aussie grins, “which points me at the shorter end of the division.
“And I’m fighting a guy who they say is the tallest ever.
“But being the size I am, it also means every opponent has always been taller than me. Same as all the tricks and tools I use, they suit me being the shorter guy.
“So we’ve got a really good game plan for this one …”
Pushed on that plan, he continued: “This guy was a Golden Gloves champion. As an amateur had something like 88 fights, and only lost five.
“So to not respect that would be silly.
“Also for this fight, I have to break the range. And when I do that, I have to make him pay for it.
“I can’t do the work to get inside his range, and then let him circle out.
“So the cage fence is going to be my friend in this one, keeping his back as close to that cage fence as I can.
“I’ve also got a few things with the way I move that will surprise him.”
While Jenkins has gone win, loss, win, loss through his past four appearances, Woodson was on an unbeaten tear stretching seven fights until losing most recently, and as favourite, against longtime title challenger Dan Ige.
“And when someone is being hyped in the UFC,” Jenkins continues, “and when the betting companies are favouring you, it’s rarely wrong.
“So when somebody comes through like Woodson has, it’s with good reason. He really presents such a unique challenge in the featherweight division. He knows what he has to do to win, and does that well.”
But again, Jenkins stresses, this is exactly the challenge he needs, while also aware this is his fastest path to becoming ranked — and everything that then comes to those sitting top 15.
“There are times in the position I am, trying to move up the rankings, where fighting can feel like a job,“ he explained.
“Yes, I love fighting. And I love what I do.
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“But there will be those times where you go into a fight that mightn’t have a whole lot of upside, but you still have to get out there and get the job done.
“This fight though, it’s the complete opposite. In this one, the reward absolutely stacks up with the risk I’m taking. For me, this fight feels like opportunity …“
Soon after, Jenkins doubled down saying: “I really believe the winner of this fight will go top 15. And that makes this one the biggest opportunity of my career by far.
“It has also ensured I’m so locked in for this fight. And that’s why everything is coming easy. Like the diet, or getting up early for training, which at the moment is brutal. I’m so positive with it all because I know a positive result absolutely changes my life.”
Elsewhere, Jenkins stressed he has no concerns about fighting for the first time in China, a country he has never even visited before.
“There’s a UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai,” he says, “so we’ll have all the tools we need.
“Plus, the same time zones are also almost exactly the same as here in Melbourne. So there will be no major adjustments in that regard.
“We’re expecting the humidity to play a bit of a role in fight week, but that’s it. I’m really excited for this opportunity.”