04 August 2023 , 17:18
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PFL featherweight contender Jesus Pinedo has vowed to hand Bubba Jenkins a similar fate to the one suffered by Brendan Loughnane in his upset of the year regular season win.
The former UFC star was one of the biggest underdogs of the season heading into his bout with Manchester's Loughnane, who had been on a brutal tear of knockout wins. The Brit had taken home the gold, and the $1million that accompanies it, last season - defeating Pinedo's opponent tonight in San Antonio Jenkins.
However, the Peruvian will have to overcome an automatic point deduction after missing weight for tonight's bout, even after shaving his head in an effort to shed the final pounds. But having struggled to get down to 145lb for the Loughnane bout, Pinedo is evidently still a dangerous prospect for promotional veteran Jenkins.
"I'm guaranteeing a finish," Pinedo told Mirror Fighting via a translator ahead of his showdown with Jenkins. "Whether it comes by knockout or submission, Bubba's style is a very comfortable fighter and this matchup favours myself so I'm guaranteeing the knockout, this fight will not go the three rounds.
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"Bubba's a great grappler, a really good wrestler but I'm prepared to face anybody whether it be Bubba or any other striker. I'm preparing in my training camp to go all three rounds, make it a war. When I get the finish it will feel better for me, but I'm focused on getting my hand raised."
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Pinedo had to strike with Loughnane, while it is expected that Jenkins will use his renowned wrestling to make it a more awkward fight in San Antonio. But Pinedo is not concerned about his ability, noting that he has been working with some of Peru's top grapplers in preparation for the bout.
"I'm not worried about his wrestling at all," Pinedo declared. "Here in America I guess people don't really know that the training academy that I have in Peru I am training with some amazing training partners and the main base of the dojo that I'm at is wrestling so since I started training at this gym my wrestling has been foundational to my MMA game."
Jesus Pinedo faces Bubba Jenkins tonight in the playoffs of the PFL featherweight tournament. British fans can watch from 11.30pm live on DAZN.