The start of the 2024 PFL regular season marks a full-circle moment for Bubba Jenkins, and also an opportunity to leave a bitter rivalry behind.
Jenkins (21-7), who had a stint under the Bellator banner from 2013-16 before arriving at the PFL in 2021, is excited to see how the new chapter unfolds now that the companies have merged.
“The thing about it is, it’s kind of like a new terrain, a new everything, really,” Jenkins told reporters during a media scrum at XTreme Couture. “It’s like me and a couple of my boys left and then the new squad of Bellator. But it’s cool because I’ve had both worlds already. It’s kind of like everything is coming back full circle.”
Jenkins is focused on the tasks that lie ahead, which begin with a 2024 PFL 3 matchup against Kai Kamaka (12-5-1) on April 19. He has done his best to erase the memory of his last scheduled bout, a trilogy fight against a bitter rival in Chris Wade that fell apart on the scale. Wade missed weight for their November bout, leading to the cancellation of the fight.
“I showed up a complete professional like I was all year,” Jenkins said. “Every fight I showed up ready to fight, making weight, and it didn’t happen. I signed my part of the contract, I came and I showed, and that was that. I have had results that have varied, and every time I’ve come to be a professional I’ve done my job. That’s all I ever want to be remembered for is a man that came and was professional and did his job. Yes, I have fun, I do my antics, I’m going to leave a little ‘Bad Man’ taste on you, but I definitely come like they all come.”
As far as Wade, who Jenkins split the first two meetings with, that name and their once-heated rivalry is a thing of the past.
“I don’t even say that name,” Jenkins joked. “I don’t speak on it, I don’t think about it. I don’t even know what we’re talking about at this moment. Bigger and brighter things.”