| Montel Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Jackson at UFC 232 in 2018 | |
| Born | Montel Samuel Jackson (1992-04-24)April 24, 1992 (age 32) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.[1] |
| Other names | Quik |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 136 lb (62 kg; 9 st 10 lb) |
| Division | Bantamweight |
| Reach | 75.5 in (192 cm)[2] |
| Fighting out of | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Team | Red Schafer MMA[3] Pura Vida BJJ/MMA[4][5] |
| Rank | Purple belt inBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu[2] |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 14 |
| By knockout | 8 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 5 |
| Losses | 2 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record fromSherdog | |
Montel Samuel Jackson[6] (born April 24, 1992) is an American professionalmixed martial artist. He currently competes in theBantamweight division of theUltimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of July 23, 2024, he is #15 in theUFC bantamweight rankings.[7]
Jackson started training in wrestling at high school to get away from street life as most of his friends ended up in jail or dead.[8] With good results in wrestling, Jackson set his goal to be an Olympic wrestler; however, he chose to stay back and take care of his sick grandparents and turned down the opportunity to wrestle in college. Jackson did an invitational wrestling match, Team USA vs. Team Japan and started training in the Olympic training center in Marquette, Michigan.[9] During this time, one of his friends, Devondrick Bankston, was preparing for a fight against Raufeon Stots, and asked him to help on wrestling drills at Red Schafer MMA gym. At the gym, he met Gato, a Puerto Rican, who managed to talk him into competing in aBrazilian jiu-jitsu tournament without a real class instructions. Eventually, Jackson gave up his Olympics dream and transitioned to mixed martial arts.[10][1]
Jackson started his professional MMA career in 2017 and fought primarily on the regional circuit in theMidwest United States. He amassed a record of 6–0 before being signed by UFC.[8][3]
Jackson faced Rico DiSciullo on June 12, 2018, atDana White's Contender Series 9.[11] He won the fight via technical knockout on round three.[12]
Two month after the win over DiSciullo, Jackson made his promotional debut on 11 day notice, replacing Benito Lopez, on August 4, 2018, againstRicky Simón atUFC 227.[13] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[14]
Jackson was originally scheduled to faceBrian Kelleher on November 3, 2018, atUFC 230, replacing injuredDomingo Pilarte.[15] At the weigh-ins, Kelleher weighed-in at 137 pounds, 1 pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit of 136 pounds. He was fined 20 percent of his purse, which went to Jackson.[16] On November 3, it was reported that Kelleher withdrew from the bout due to illness and thus the fight was cancelled.[17] The pairing was left intact and rescheduled for December 29, 2018, atUFC 232.[18] At the weigh-ins, Jackson weighed in at 137 lbs, 1 pound over the non-title fight bantamweight limit of 136 lbs. Jackson was fined 20 percent of his purse to Kelleher and the fight proceeded at catchweight.[19] Jackson won the fight via submission in the first round.[20]
Jackson facedAndre Soukhamthath on April 13, 2019, atUFC 236.[21] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[22]
Jackson faced Felipe Colares on January 25, 2020, atUFC Fight Night 166.[23] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[24]
Jackson facedBrett Johns on July 19, 2020, atUFC Fight Night 172.[25] Despite knocking Johns down in the first round, Jackson lost the fight via unanimous decision.[26][27]
Jackson faced Jesse Strader on March 20, 2021, atUFC on ESPN 21.[28] At the weigh-ins, Strader weighed in at 137.5 pounds, one and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at a catchweight and Strader was fined 20% of his individual purse, which went his opponent Jackson.[29] After knocking Strader down twice, Jackson won the bout via TKO in the first round.[30]
Jackson was scheduled to faceDanaa Batgerel on September 18, 2021, atUFC Fight Night 192.[31] However, Batgerel was pulled from the event due to visa issues and he was replaced by JP Buys.[32] Jackson won the fight by unanimous decision, setting the record for the most knockdowns in a bout in UFC Bantamweight history with four.[33]
Jackson was scheduled to faceDanaa Batgerel on March 26, 2022, atUFC Fight Night 205.[34] However, Jackson had to pull out of the bout and was replaced byChris Gutiérrez.[35]
Jackson facedJulio Arce on November 12, 2022, atUFC 281.[36] He won the fight via unanimous decision.[37]
Jackson facedRani Yahya on April 22, 2023, atUFC Fight Night 222.[38] He won the fight via knockout in the first round.[39] This performance earned Jackson his firstPerformance Of The Night award.[40]
Jackson was scheduled to faceChris Gutiérrez on October 7, 2023, atUFC Fight Night 229.[41] However, Jackson withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons, and was replaced byAlateng Heili on four days notice.[42]
Jackson was scheduled to faceSaid Nurmagomedov on June 22, 2024 atUFC on ABC 6.[43] However, Nurmagomedov withdrew from the bout for unknown reasons and was replaced byFarid Basharat.[44] The next month, it was reported that Basharat was unable to compete due to an injury, so the bout was scrapped.[45][46]
Jackson faced Da'Mon Blackshear on July 13, 2024 atUFC on ESPN 59.[47] He won the fight by knockout eighteen seconds into the first round.[48] This fight earned him anotherPerformance of the Night award.[49]
Jackson is scheduled to faceDaniel Marcos on May 3, 2025 atUFC Fight Night 256.[50]
| 16 matches | 14 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 8 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 0 |
| By decision | 5 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 14–2 | Da'Mon Blackshear | KO (punch) | UFC on ESPN: Namajunas vs. Cortez | July 13, 2024 | 1 | 0:18 | Denver, Colorado, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 13–2 | Rani Yahya | KO (punches) | UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes | April 22, 2023 | 1 | 3:42 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 12–2 | Julio Arce | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 281 | November 12, 2022 | 3 | 5:00 | New York City, New York, United States | |
| Win | 11–2 | JP Buys | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann | September 18, 2021 | 3 | 5:00 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 10–2 | Jesse Strader | TKO (punches) | UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland | March 20, 2021 | 1 | 1:58 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | Catchweight (137.5 lb) bout; Strader missed weight. |
| Loss | 9–2 | Brett Johns | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 | July 19, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | |
| Win | 9–1 | Felipe Colares | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. dos Santos | January 25, 2020 | 3 | 5:00 | Raleigh, North Carolina, United States | |
| Win | 8–1 | Andre Soukhamthath | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 236 | April 13, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlanta, Georgia, United States | |
| Win | 7–1 | Brian Kelleher | Submission (D’Arce choke) | UFC 232 | December 29, 2018 | 1 | 1:40 | Inglewood, California, United States | Catchweight (137 lb) bout; Jackson missed weight. |
| Loss | 6–1 | Ricky Simón | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 227 | August 4, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Los Angeles, California, United States | |
| Win | 6–0 | Rico DiSciullo | TKO (knee and punches) | Dana White's Contender Series 9 | June 12, 2018 | 3 | 2:15 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 5–0 | Daron McCant | KO (elbows) | Driller Promotions: A-Town Throwdown 13 | March 10, 2018 | 1 | 0:57 | Austin, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 4–0 | Jesse Wannemacher | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Driller Promotions: No Mercy 7 | February 7, 2018 | 2 | 3:16 | Mahnomen, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 3–0 | Terrence Almond | Decision (unanimous) | KOTC: Mercenaries 2 | January 13, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Sloan, Iowa, United States | Bantamweight debut. |
| Win | 2–0 | Sean Huffman | TKO (punches) | Pure FC: Pure Fight Night 1 | August 11, 2017 | 1 | 1:08 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Lightweight debut. |
| Win | 1–0 | Josh Wiseman | TKO (punches) | Pure FC 7 | June 24, 2017 | 1 | 1:44 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | Featherweight debut. |
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Updated to 4 March 2025 | ||||||
