Rising MMA and now UFC star Jack ‘Leg-Breaker’ Jack Jenkins is now training with an AFL star who he believes would easily crossover into boxing and be a success.
Jenkins, who remarkably has been able to break the legs of five opponents during his whirlwind and meteoric MMA career, regularly trains with Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey and has first-hand knowledge of his talents.
Speaking on Fox Sports, the rising Aussie featherweight UFC pugilist was full of praise for De Goey’s abilities.
‘In training, we go hard and Jordie is really talented,’ the UFC featherweight said.
‘If he wanted to look at a different career after footy … yeah, he’s got great hands and is super explosive.
‘It just means that every now and then I have to put him on the ground, do a bit of wrestling, just to remind him who is who.’
AFL Magpie bad boy Jordan De Goey is training with UFC star Jack Jenkins who believes De Goey has astonishing power that would work in the boxing ring
Jenkins was asked to work with De Goey following his Bali scandal last year and happily obliged, forging a friendship with the Collingwood star
Former Bulldogs and Sydney Swans firebrand Barry Hall was the last AFL player to transition to the boxing ring, pictured fighting former NRL star Paul Gallen
Their unfashionable combination as training partners came about when the Magpies management decided De Goey needed time away from his teammates following an incident overseas.
Twelve months ago De Goey, 27, landed in trouble after visiting Bali during the club’s bye that resulted in a $25,000 fine and the ban from club training.
It even put doubts in the mind of some Collingwood board members and his future with the club was discussed.
A contract offer which had been put to him before the Bali trip was reportedly torn up unless he immediately got his act together and turned over a new leaf.
So, abandoned and isolated for three weeks, he went to the Absolute MMA gym to stay fit and strong and that’s where he met Jenkins for the first time.
Jenkins, who at the time wasn’t in the UFC but was literally ‘busting’ his way through the MMA fights, took him under his wing and they became training partners – and then friends.
‘When he was outed, somebody reached out to his manager and said ‘hey I reckon it would be worthwhile for Jordie to meet up with this guy and do some work with him’, Jenkins explained.
‘So, eventually I had a meeting with his manager who asked if I would be interested and I said ‘yeah, absolutely’.
‘I just said to them that because I didn’t know Jordan, if we trained and didn’t get along then I wouldn’t continue because it wasn’t going to be worth my time.
‘But, first session we got on great; we were laughing, taking the p … out of each other — he couldn’t have been a better bloke.
‘And we’ve been mates ever since.
‘We started out doing private sessions – ran together, boxed together — and it’s now turned into a great friendship where we hang out together, hit pads and I go watch most of his games.
‘We’ve really been able to help each other which is great.’
De Goey (above with mystery woman) was fined $25,000 and banned for three weeks from being with his teammates last year following a trip to Bali
Aussie UFC star Jack Jenkins (right) will fight American Jamall Emmers in Florida on June 25
On the football Magpie De Goey, as a damaging, goal-scoring midfielder who often leaves opponents in his wake
This year, after maturing and developing a new and seasoned attitude toward his footy career, De Goey is coming into his own at the ‘Pies. After finally signing an extension with the club he has become a premier midfielder.
As for Jenkins, he is something special.
Ranked among the nation’s most exciting MMA prospects, Jenkins will be looking to continue his historic and profoundly disturbing record stretching eight fights — of five broken legs — against American Jamall Emmers at UFC Florida on Sunday, June 25.
‘If I see that leg there this Sunday I will break it,’ the fighter said this week from his camp in Jacksonville, Florida.
‘He [Jamall] is 100 per cent aware — he has to be aware,’ he continued.
‘And if not, I’m going to keep kicking it.
‘If any opponent stands in such a manner where I can get access to that leg, I’m going to blast it.
‘And everyone knows if I blast it, you won’t move well.’
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