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Jack Jenkins | The First Step On The Three Fight Trip
Featherweight Jack Jenkins Looks To Get Back In The Win Column When He Faces Ramon Taveras In Perth
Sometimes the record isn’t everything.
For Australia’s Jack Jenkins, his record inside the Octagon is 3-2. Of course, it isn’t great to see those losses, but when he looks at it from an outside lens, he believes that it isn’t as bad as it seems.
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“I'm really proud of what I've done so far in the UFC, and I think if you look at my two losses, Chepe Mariscal is 5-0, now, I think. and Gabriel Santos looks like he's the heir to the throne of that Chute Boxe Brazilian gym, so both of those losses, you can look at in isolation and think, you know, it's not good, five fights in to be 3-2, but I think if you look at them a bit more holistically that you see that they actually match up really well,” Jenkins said. “I think in both of those fights, I was doing well before I wasn't.”
Sunday morning local time in Perth, “Phar” gets to return to competition in front of the Perth crowd inside RAC Arena when he takes on Ramon Taveras. This fight will mark Jenkins’ third fight in Perth, and it’s a special place for him, as he made his UFC debut there over two years ago.
The 31-year-old has had great success in Western Australia, earning wins in both of his appearances inside RAC Arena.
“The first time I fought here was on the Islam (Makhachev) versus Volkanosvki card, and being my debut, I had probably 100 people from my hometown and from Melbourne fly over to watch, so to win in front of all of them was a dream come true for me,” Jenkins said. “Then the second fight I had here was against Herbert Burns, when I was coming back from an injury, and it was just a monumental win after a really tough injury to come back from.”
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Jenkins will look to channel that good energy he has had in Perth before, as he looks to rebound from a submission loss to Santos earlier this year in Sydney. Jenkins felt like things were going his way before the third-round submission and said the biggest takeaway from that fight was to not rush the finish, even if you get your opponent to the ground.
His opponent, Taveras, makes the walk to the Octagon for the first time this year after competing in January and December in his 2024 campaign. Taveras has split both of his outings, thus far, with a split decision win over Serhiy Sidey in January, and then falling to Davey Grant by unanimous decision in December.
In terms of preparation and game planning, the featherweight is only focused on himself. He knows that Taveras is tough and has good head movement, but he believes that good head movement could be a key to victory in Perth. At the end of the day, he wants to showcase the work he has been putting in at the gym and get back to his winning ways as he looks into the future.
“The only thing I'm looking to do in this fight is get in there and perform to the ability I know I'm capable of,” Jenkins said. “I've had a great fight camp. I've prepared really meticulously, and I think I set up in this fight to really launch myself into a good 12 months following this.”
The answer for how Jenkins envisions getting the job on Sunday is simple: a first-round finish. Getting things back on track and back in the win column is the main focus for Jenkins, but he does have a plan laid out for entering the rankings and ultimately a crack at UFC gold one day.
It all starts by defeating Ramon Taveras.
“I'm 31 and I think most people in the sport would say that you peak around 34 somewhere around there, so I'd like to get on a trajectory where I could have three fights a year for the next few years. Once you're in the UFC, you're only ever three good performances away from being in that title picture, and that's the reality of it, if you fight really well. So, Ramon is step one on that three-fight trip.”
UFC Fight Night: Ulberg vs Reyes took place live from RAC Arena in Perth, Australia on September 27, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
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