Don Shainis knows he can’t leave it up to the judges against local fighter Jack Jenkins at UFC 284: “I know deep down if it is a close decision it probably isn’t going my way”

Don Shainis knows he has to finish Jack Jenkins at UFC 284 if he is going to win.

Shainis made his UFC debut last October on short notice and was submitted in 30 seconds against Sodiq Yusuff. Although the fight didn’t go his way, he already had his eye on Jenkins as he watched the Contender Series live the week of his fight and saw Jenkins get a win.

“I flew into Vegas on Tuesday for my last fight and Laura Sanko hooked me and my coach up with Contender Series tickets,” Shainis said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “He fought on that card so I watched him live not knowing I would fight him. I remember talking to my coach saying this would be a great matchup for me, not knowing we’d be fighting so soon.”

Although Shainis thought he would fight Jenkins, he wasn’t expecting it to be next. But, when he got offered the fight in Australia at UFC 284, he jumped at the chance, despite going to Australia presenting him with some challenges.

“There are pros and cons to it. Cons, the UFC pays for me and one corner, so that’s cool, I don’t have to worry about that. But, I get three corners so in order for the other two people to come, I have to pay for it,” Shainis explained. “So, I had one teammate I train with in Massachusetts and told him it was going to be a dope experience if you pay your own way you can corner me. Another cool thing is my dad didn’t get to go to my debut so he will corner me in this fight, so it is a cool way to give my dad something… If you look at my last fight, I’d be losing money if I paid what it is going to cost to get two corners.”

Even though Don Shainis won’t have his usual corner, he is confident he will get his hand raised at UFC 284. He knows Jack Jenkins is a tough out, but he knows his pressure will eventually lead to a stoppage as he knows he can’t go to a decision against the local fighter.

“You have to be crazy, I’m going into enemy territory from a different country, I already have this internal rule of not leaving it up to the judges,” Shainis said. “If you go to the judges, it’s basically a flip of the coin, no judge is going to favor it for me. I know deep down if it is a close decision it probably isn’t going my way… Can I knock him out on the feet? Absolutely. Can I out grind him? Absolutely. Can he knock me out? Yeah. Can I get submitted by a striker? Yeah, it just happened in my last fight. Who the f**k knows.”

If Shainis gets his hand raised, he says he already has a name on his mind to fight next time out. He also hopes a win at UFC 284 sets him up to have an active 2023.

“I got a name I want to call out… I want at least three or four fights this year, I’d love the UFC to come to Boston, and get my hand raised in the UFC,” Shainis said.

Do you think Don Shainis will beat Jack Jenkins at UFC 284?