By James Eakin
As the curtain falls on the 2022 IMMAF Amateur MMA World Championships, let’s take a look back at one of the most impressive debutants that managed to steal the show in the Men’s Senior Middleweight division, New Zealand’s own Fergus “The Future” Jenkins. Walking away as champion of the world, Jenkins defeated Iusup Magomedov via split decision capping an incredible end to his first IMMAF competition. Jenkins was interviewed after the event and said:
“I knew it was a close fight. I felt like I was the one who was pushing the fight more and looking for a finish. I was landing more shots on the cage, I was the one looking for submissions, I got more takedowns, so I think it was a good decision.”
When asked about how the event went, Jenkins described it as:
“Honestly, life-changing. It’s been crazy. It’s been very mentally taxing but it’s given me a lot more exposure. It’s changed my perspective and it’s going to help me grow as a person and take my MMA game to the next level.”
With a victory against Magomedov, Jenkins brought home New Zealand’s only gold medal of this year’s world championships. Giving credit to his incredible coaching staff at the event and back home in New Zealand, Jenkins said:
“My coaching staff were amazing. Not my usual coaches but I’ve been doing my strategy with my coach back home in Christchurch, Karl Weber, but I’ve had Matt Toa, Carlo Meister, Jason Vorster, all the boys that are actually from rival gyms. But we all came together for the greater good of New Zealand, and they’ve just given me great strategy, great advice and I’ve put that into action and believed what they said and believed in myself.”
When questioned further about what he attributed his success to, Jenkins stated:
“Self-belief, and I’ve also focused on one step at a time. I haven’t watched the other side of the bracket. The first time I watched my opponent for the final was just after my last fight in the semi-final. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself at any point.”
When asked if he planned on coming back to defend his new crown, Jenkins said:
“I don’t know. I’m going to have to go back to my coach and see what he reckons. I think I wouldn’t mind getting a few more of these in because I doubled my fights in one week. If I can rack up more experience before I go pro, that would be amazing, but at the same time, I was planning to go pro soon, but we will see. I am tempted to come back for more.”
What a way to cap off your championship debut, and there will no doubt be more success to come in the young career of New Zealand’s Fergus “The Future” Jenkins!
