LOS ANGELES – Bubba Jenkins believes he’s finally coming into his own.
The 2011 NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion and Bellator veteran is the current Brave Combat Federation featherweight champion, and Jenkins relished the moment of sitting down with a stable of top level fighters during the Dominance MMA media day.
“I’m the diamond in the rough that hasn’t been found and I’m here with guys who have shared PPV, who have shared championships, who have shared different things,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins (14-4 MMA) is coming off his first Brave CF 145-pound title defense, when he ran through UFC veteran Lucas Martins, pounding him out in the first round in a July bout. Jenkins hinted at big news a short while ago, and having signed with Dominance MMA and manager Ali Abdelaziz, he hopes doors and opportunities for his career will open.
“I’m the champ right now at 145 in Brave and my ranking in the world is going up,” Jenkins said. “I guess you could saying I’m buzzing like a bee after steamrolling a pretty famous Brazilian fighter and I think I’m just going to listen to the kingmaker (Abdelaziz). He’s got all these people here, he’s done a lot of good things for their career.”
“The big news is that I’m finally living up to that ability that I would say the game knew I was going to come with.”
Jenkins who trains at Blackhouse MMA, was chose by Mackenzie Dern to be her wrestling coach, as the strawweight star has decided to downsize her training camp in preparation for her fight vs. Amanda Ribas on Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 19 in Tampa.
And with his strong wrestling background, Jenkins has been able to build and develop into a well-rounded fighter as he looks to let the world know who he is.
“I knew that I was going to be good and I knew that I could do great things with my wrestling ability,” Jenkins said. “And just the fact that I was a smart athlete and putting the striking, the MMA, the jiu-jitsu, putting it all together to complete science of who I am. I stopped trying to mould myself into all these other things that people wanted me to be. I started to see the game for myself and I made my own vision of what I wanted to be and now I am that, and I’m walking in that. I finally know who I am and what I am so that’s what clicked.”
For more from Jenkins, click on the video linked above.
'Diamond in the rough' Bubba Jenkins believes he's finally living up to his potential