Jack Jenkins helped Alex Volkanovski prepare for some of his biggest fights. Now Jenkins could be the next Aussie fighter to fight in the UFC’s biggest events.
Jenkins is the latest Australian to hit the UFC scene. The 31-year-old from Bacchus Marsh in Victoria is 2-1 in the UFC’s featherweight division and is looking to become our next champion.
‘Phar’ is a former Eternal MMA featherweight title holder. He won the belt by defeating Jessie Medina at Eternal MMA 57. Following his first successful title defence against Rod Costa at Eternal MMA 64, Jenkins famously helped Volkanovski prepare for his UFC 273 title defence against The Korean Zombie in 2022. Later that year, he got an invite to fight in Dana White’s Contender Series and he made the most out of his opportunity.
Facing Freddy Emiliano Linares, Jenkins scored a third-round TKO win. Unfortunately, Jenkins didn’t show much of the kickboxing style that he was advertised to have. Instead, he took Linares down four times and pounded him on the mat.
After the fight, UFC President Dana White called Jenkins a ‘one-trick pony‘ but despite the criticism, he rewarded Jenkins with a UFC contract. Jack won his first two UFC bouts, defeating Don Shainis via unanimous decision at UFC 283 and winning a split decision against Jamall Emers at UFC on ABC5.
Unfortunately, he suffered his first UFC loss when he dislocated his elbow against Chepe Mariscal at UFC 293. The defeat snapped a 9-fight winning streak that began in 2019 when Jenkins was still at the Hex Fighting Series promotion.
Phar is now back in good health and is awaiting his next assignment from the UFC. At the start of the year, he said he planned to fight three times his year but to date he is still unbooked. Overall, Jenkins has a record of 12-3 with 5 knockouts and 3 submission victories.
Although he still isn’t well-known globally, his peers consider him one of the top prospects in the UFC’s featherweight division. Jenkins is known for his deadly leg kicks and he has a crowd-pleasing style.
Just before leaving for the UFC, Jenkins introduced himself as a fighter during an interview with Eternal MMA.
“I probably sit somewhere between a Chad Mendes and a Jose Aldo,” said Jenkins. “I probably kick like an early version of Jose, but I probably move a bit more latterly and go to the body a bit more like Chad Mendes. Those were the two main guys when I really started getting into the UFC – I think I blend a style between those two.”
During the same interview, Jenkins was asked about his goals, now that he is already in the UFC.
“I want to be a world champ,” he answered. “First and foremost, I want to win that UFC belt. I want to fight in Vegas, I want to fight at Madison Square Garden, and I want to sell out Marvel Stadium.”