One-on-One with Bubba Jenkins

Love him or hate him, Bubba Jenkins is an entertainer. He wrestled with flair and always spoke his mind. Jenkins' college wrestling career, which started at Penn State and concluded at Arizona State, was filled with ups and downs, but it could not have ended on a much higher note than it did. Jenkins pinned his former teammate at Penn State, previously-unbeaten David Taylor, on the biggest stage to win the NCAA title at 157 pounds this past season. Now Jenkins is planning on taking his talents to MMA.

InterMat caught up with Jenkins and talked to him about what he has been up to since winning his NCAA title, what his plans are with MMA, his relationship with David Taylor and whether he has spoken to him since the NCAAs, Jordan Burroughs' future in freestyle wrestling, who he thinks will represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games at 66 kg in freestyle, how he wants to be remembered by wrestling fans, and more.

First off, what have you been up to since winning your NCAA title?

Jenkins: I've been getting my shirts out to people who ordered them. I've got some new national championship shirts out. I've been dealing with that and trying to graduate. I only have about two weeks left, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm getting ready to start MMA. I have to decide if I'm going to stay back and coach another year ... or ship out and get my career started in MMA. I've been talking to my mom and the people who are closest to me in my life to help me with my big decisions.

Any idea where you might train?

Bubba Jenkins finished his senior season at Arizona State with 21-3 record en route to winning the NCAA title (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Jenkins: Agents have been calling me left and right. The possibilities are real big. Everybody thinks I'll be pretty exciting and pretty explosive on the scene. I've just been weighing my options and I'll probably make a decision soon on what I'm going to do next. But right now I don't know. Everything is just pretty new to me.

You mentioned coaching. That's a possibility?

Jenkins: Yeah. I like coaching. I liked coaching when I was on the team. I like coaching wherever I'm at. That's definitely a possibility.

What factored into your decision to choose to pursue an MMA career over an international wrestling career?

Jenkins: I feel like I've done a lot in wrestling. I've done pretty much everything that I wanted to do in wrestling. I think I need to open up my athleticism a little bit more. I feel like I can open up my athleticism more and use my personality more in the sport of MMA.

You won a Junior World title in freestyle in 2007 and many believed you would eventually be training to win World and Olympic medals in freestyle wrestling. Were your goals different when you won your Junior World title? And if so, what caused your goals to change?

Jenkins: I think my goals changed because the money situation changed. People are making big money. I have a lot of friends who are making good money in the sport. I know that I will be really good at it ... and still be able to compete. I feel like I can open up a lot more ... strikes and kicks ... things I'm not allowed to do in wrestling.

Who are some of the MMA fighters that you admire?

Jenkins: Phil Davis, Urijah Faber, Jon "Bones" Jones, Rashad Evans, GSP, Jake Shields. My boy Chandler is doing a real good job. Askren is a real good fighter. I'm just a big fan of the sport in general. I like anybody who is going to be exciting. If you're going to take somebody down and ground-and-pound, and you're exciting, I like that. If you're going to be on your feet and try to knock somebody out, I like that too.

Arizona State has produced a lot of MMA fighters, including UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. Even one of Arizona State's coaches, Ben Askren, is actively fighting. Did Arizona State's ties to MMA factor into your decision at all to become a Sun Devil?

Jenkins: A little bit. I had aspirations of wanting to become an MMA fighter when I was at Penn State ... just from hanging around Phil Davis all the time and going into the gym. Being around that scene a little bit more made me want to go into it. But definitely coming to Arizona State made it a more real situation ... being that so many Arizona State Sun Devils are in MMA. They say that Arizona State is one of the top schools for MMA ... and that's just because the area out here is so big and everybody wants to compete in that type of atmosphere. That's what everybody does.

I can imagine you're happy with how everything turned out at Arizona State. But had Penn State coach Cael Sanderson given you a full release to transfer to any college, do you think you would have been a Sun Devil?

Bubba Jenkins celebrates (Photo/Larry Slater)

Jenkins: Well, who knows. I'm not sure if I could have been made it at Cornell. I liked Cornell. I looked at Maryland and a couple other schools. But I respect loyalty. Stith was on me for a long time. Stith had always told me, 'If anything ever goes wrong, you always have a spot in Arizona ... as long as you're wrestling and doing your thing.' We got in touch after Cael released me and the rest is history.

Did Penn State's national championship this past season surprise you at all?

Jenkins: No, it didn't surprise me. I knew the caliber of guys that were in the room. I know Cael reaches people and on certain levels can inspire them. I was in the room with them. These were the same guys I drilled with, ran with, and hung out with. I wasn't surprised. I knew how good they were. I said my fifth-year senior year that Penn State would win a national title. I thought I was going to be a part of that national title. But I knew Penn State would win a national title and they got it done. I was happy for them.

Did you stay in touch with many wrestlers at Penn State when you were at Arizona State?

Jenkins: I was focused on winning nationals at Arizona State, but I did stay in touch with some people at Penn State. There were a lot of new guys that came in at Penn State and a lot of the old guys that shipped out. I definitely talked to a lot of the guys after the season.

In 2007, you were on a Junior World Team with David Taylor. Is that when you first met him?

Jenkins: I think I might have met him before that. I knew who he was then. He was cool. We had practices together. He wrestled one of my teammates, Eric Caschera. David has always been on the wrestling scene. I've always heard of him coming up. He's a good kid and I think he's going to have a really bright future. He's going to be great.

David Taylor has talked about how when he first arrived at Penn State, he took a lot of lumps in the practice room wrestling against you, Cyler Sanderson, and others. What do you remember about wrestling with David Taylor when he first arrived at Penn State?

Bubba Jenkins locks up a cradle on David Taylor in the NCAA finals (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)

Jenkins: That he keeps fighting. I knew he was going to be good. He's a fast learner. He doesn't make the same mistakes over. He learns quickly and adapts well. That's what I remember. At that time he wasn't strong enough, fast enough, or explosive enough when he was wrestling with Cyler and me. I watched him grow across the mat when we were teammates and I also watched him grow across the country when I was at Arizona State. I knew he was shaping up to be real good.

Have you talked to David Taylor since the NCAA Championships?

Jenkins: No, I have not talked to David since then. I haven't reached out to him. I think we're Facebook friends. I wouldn't contact him because I don't want it to seem like I'm rubbing it in his face. I wouldn't want that. If he wants to talk to me, I'm all ears. But I wouldn't contact him because I don't think that would be right.

Jordan Burroughs recently won the U.S. Open in freestyle at 74 kg. What kind of future do you think Burroughs has in international wrestling?

Jenkins: I think he has a bright future. I don't know who is going to beat him. He's tough to beat. Very few people beat him in college. It's going to be very tough to beat him when he's able to just focus on wrestling. People don't understand that he actually has school and all these other things to deal with. When he's able to just focus on wrestling and training all the time, he's going to be unstoppable. I can't wait to watch him.

You have competed with a lot of the wrestlers at 66 kg in freestyle. If you were to make a prediction right now, who do you think will be representing the U.S. at 66 kg at the 2012 Olympic Games in freestyle wrestling?

Jenkins: I think Metcalf probably will. I haven't looked at the freestyle scene too closely. I was focused on winning this year. But every time I go somewhere, they're talking about Metcalf. I'm not sure what Caldwell plans to do after the season with his shoulder injury. I know Metcalf is a determined person. I think he's going to get the job done. There are going to be some guys who come up and want to challenge him in freestyle. But right now I think it's his spot.

Now that your wrestling career is over, how do you want to be remembered by wrestling fans? Do you care?

Jenkins: I do care. Everybody kind of cares what people think about them, whether they admit it or not. I was just a real person. I spoke with my heart. I never tried to hurt anybody. I just liked to have fun. I had a great career. I beat a lot of good guys. I hope I'm remembered as one of the most exciting wrestlers. You didn't know what I was going to do. It wasn't pin or be pinned for me ... because I didn't get a lot of pins and I wasn't pinned a lot. I just tried to be exciting, put on a show every time, and get the job done at the end of the day. I just want to be remembered. Period. I don't care how people remember me ... Just remember me.

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