‘Oh, s**t’: Aussie’s brutal plan to cut towering UFC giant down to size in career-defining fight

Jack Jenkins has the biggest fight of his UFC career this weekend.

And, quite literally, he is taking on the biggest fighter the featherweight division has ever seen.

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Standing 189cm tall – or 6’2” in the old scale – and boasting a staggering 198cm reach, Sean Woodson possesses dimensions almost unheard of for a man competing at 145 pounds.

To put that figure in perspective, Woodson has the same reach as UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

Yet Jenkins is promising to cut the towering American down to size when they collide at UFC Shanghai on Saturday night – predicting an early finish as he looks to finally build some momentum inside the Octagon.

Woodson has described the contest as an attempt to break Jenkins’ jaw before the Aussie can break his legs.

Jenkins, however, believes that assessment overlooks one pretty significant detail.

“I would say that’s very accurate,” Jenkins told Fox Sports Australia.

“Except I’m also trying to break his jaw, so I’ve got the two options.

“He’s only got the one.”

So unusual is the challenge presented by Woodson that Jenkins was forced to search interstate for somebody capable of replicating the American’s extraordinary frame.

The Melbourne featherweight eventually found his man in Perth, flying 6’3” boxer Abdalla Biyada across the country to join his camp.

“It was very hard,” Jenkins said.

“I had to fly in a guy from Perth, from Jack Della’s gym, named Abdalla Biyada.

“He came across. He’s 6’3”, has handy boxing, so I brought him in to help me get ready.”

Woodson is not simply tall.

A former Golden Gloves boxing champion, the American has built his UFC career around his sharp hands, movement and ability to punish opponents from a distance few featherweights can match.

Jenkins has therefore spent more time studying Woodson than almost any previous opponent, paying particular attention to his stoppage loss against Dan Ige at UFC 314.

“Dan picked him apart in the ways that mattered and did a few things that I thought I could take notes from,” Jenkins said.

“But there are a few fights that I think you can take notes from.

“I’ve done a lot of tape study on this fight, probably more than I normally would because he’s such a unique opponent.

“I’m confident I’ve got the right plan.”

Unsurprisingly, a major part of that plan involves the brutal leg kicks which have made Jenkins one of Australian MMA’s most feared limb hunters.

The Melburnian has already broken the legs of at least three opponents during his career.

And when it comes to Woodson’s impossibly long frame, there is certainly no shortage of real estate to attack.

Yet Jenkins knows the American will have spent much of his own camp preparing for that threat.

“He’s going to have to come in with some kind of plan to deal with them, isn’t he?” Jenkins said.

“If you look at me on paper and look at him on paper, you can’t imagine that he’s sat on his hands for the last six weeks and not tried to find a way to stop that leg-kick game.

“So it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out in that first round.

“But in saying that, I’ve had a lot of guys who I’ve fought, and they all think they have the answer for the leg kicks.

“None of them do.”

“I think he’ll go southpaw a little bit to try and stay away from it, which is going to open up some secondary stuff for me,” he said.

For all the intrigue surrounding Woodson’s dimensions, however, the biggest element of Saturday night’s fight may be what it means for Jenkins’ career.

Asked whether he considered it the biggest fight of his career, Jenkins said there’s no debate.

“Easily,” he said.

“Fighting is completely sliding-doors moments.

“Every fight, your career can take a trajectory hard in either direction.

“My last five, I’ve gone win, loss, win, loss, win.

“It’s been tough to keep the momentum going and I’m hoping to start that with this fight.”

That is why Jenkins jumped at the opportunity when Woodson’s name was offered.

“I was just excited,” Jenkins said.

“He’s a risk-versus-reward positive fight.

“There’s big risk there, but the reward matches or outweighs that risk.

“So I’m just excited to get in there now.”

Despite Woodson’s enormous physical advantages, Jenkins believes the American will be shocked by how quickly he can close the distance.

“I think he’s going to be surprised at my speed,” Jenkins said.

“I think he’s going to really go, ‘Oh, s**t! When this guy gets inside, he’s hard to deal with.’”

And Jenkins does not expect Woodson to be dealing with him for long.

“No, I don’t think this goes the distance,” he said.

“I think it’s a first or second-rounder.”

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And if Jenkins does cut the UFC’s tallest featherweight down to size?

The celebration will be considerably less violent.

“I’m going to get some Peking duck at a nice restaurant somewhere here,” he laughed.

“Get some duck pancakes. That sounds like what I want.”