King of the Cage MMA fans are in for a real treat when the promotion is back in action at Black Bear Casino on Feb. 21st. Slated on this card are two of the local industry’s ranked fighters, meeting at 150 – Brandon Jenkins vs. Nick Compton.
Jenkins is a Fight to Finish sponsored fighter, and we last saw him in the cage as he delivered a hard-fought win on the promotions’ debut live-televised event. Jenkins knows this next match-up will be just as tough, if not tougher, and is prepared for the win to land in his corner.
Jenkins is from Prior Lake, MN and trains at American Top Team – Savage. He holds a spotless 5-0 professional record and is ranked #7 at MNMMANews.com at 155. Jenkins has been training and fighting for five-and-a-half years and shows no signs of slowing down.
“I had my first fight when I was 18,” said Jenkins. “What keeps me coming back to the cage is the correlation between life and fighting.
“Life itself is a fight, and just like in MMA, there are so many ways to succeed and so many ways to falter. In the cage you’ve got to be well rounded and ready for anything. The same can be said in life, because life is going to throw so many different obstacles at you.
“You’ve got to be able to adapt, dig deep and fight your way back to the lead. Every time I step in there I’m not going to give up. I’m going to show you my skill, and I’m going to show you my heart.”
Jenkins hopes to inspire others as he gives the sport he loves his all. “I want to be remembered and I want to inspire people who are facing adversity to not give up,” he said. “This is who I am and this is my dream — don’t be afraid to follow yours.
“A lot of people float through life, never chasing anything,” he said. “No matter what position you are in you can always change it for the better. Like my coach Eric Aasen always says, ‘You can’t ever really lose if you never give up.’”
With 22 fights to his name, Jenkins is not one to give up. He once accepted a pro fight that was out of his weight class. “My most memorable fight was against Mike Jue,” he said. “I was 2-0 and he was 3-0. I went up two weight classes to fight him because both of our opponents backed out. He is a huge guy and threw me around like a rag doll for three minutes, and kneed me in the face. I eventually came back and knocked him out with a couple seconds left in the first round.”
Jenkins’ next fight could be his toughest yet. “My next opponent is Nick Compton and he’s probably the most well-rounded fighter I’ve ever faced,” he said. “He’s pretty good at a lot of things, so my camp has just been preparing me to be the best MMA fighter I can be. I’m going to go out there and just out-fight him.”
Although he is passionate about the sport, and fights with his heart on his sleeve, Jenkins shared something about himself that might surprise fans. “What a lot of people don’t know about me is I actually don’t like hurting people and I usually feel horrible afterwards,” he laughed.
At a young 23 years of age, Jenkins sees plenty of future ahead of him.”My long-term goals in this sport are to win a world title and eventually coach my own team,” he said. But for now, his only focus is preparing to perform his best when he faces Compton in less than 10 days.
If you want to see the Jenkins/Compton fight, grab your tickets before they are sold out! Tickets are available here: http://www.kingofthecage.com/shows_page/public-enemy/
Fight to Finish 