Montel Jackson

Fighter Facts

• Pro since 2017
   
• Six wins by KO, one by submission (D’Arce)
   
• Five first round finishes
   
• Has won five of his last six and two in a row
   
• Had 8-1 amateur record
   
• Origin of nickname: “I got the nickname because I worked at the Kwick Pantry (a neighborhood store) and because I'm fast.”

UFC History

UFC Fight Night (9/18/21) Jackson won a three round unanimous decision over JP Buys
UFC Fight Night (7/19/20) Jackson lost a three round unanimous decision to Brett Johns
UFC Fight Night (1/25/20) Jackson won a three round unanimous decision over Felipe Colares
UFC 236 (4/13/19) Jackson won a three round unanimous decision over Andre Soukhamthath
UFC 232 (12/29/18) Jackson submitted Brian Kelleher via D’Arce choke at 1:40 of the first round
UFC 227 (8/4/18) Jackson lost a three round unanimous decision to Ricky Simon

Dana White's Contender Series, Season 2
Week one (6/12/18) Jackson stopped Rico Disciullo via strikes at 2:15 of the third round

Q&A

TRAINING: Ground/Cage work with Jake Klipp. Pad workout with Solo. Go to lunch with friends or coaches. Home, take a nap. Return for striking and grappling classes. Go to work. Night run before bed. 
When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training the summer that wrestling was dropped from the Olympics. My friend Devon asked me to wrestle with him on Sundays to prepare for his upcoming fight against Raufeon Stots. After wrestling with Devon, Red Schafer would have open mats where I met this guy named Gato and he gave me the basic rundown of Jiu-Jitsu and grappling. After Devon’s fight I continued to go to the Red's open mats on Sunday to roll with Gato and received pointers on my jiu jitsu. Gato said I was good at this, so I should do this Jiu-Jitsu tournament in a month. I was unsure because I didn't have any formal classes on grappling other than Gato telling me what to do at open mats. I wasn't sure of my skills entering into that Jiu-Jitsu tournament. Gato didn't give up or quit talking s**t every Sunday, and I entered the Jiu-Jitsu tournament and won with coaching from Gato. A guy in the division was upset about losing and started talking s**t, saying that I was a sandbagger. Gato said the guy was mad that I kicked his ass and he had more experienced grappling than me. Gato told me to sign up for MMA with Red, so I did and I met Solo and Scotty and started fighting MMA.
Do you have any heroes? Torrance “TNT” Jackson, Demetrious Johnson, Roy Jones, Jon Jones, Anderson Silva, Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Mike Tyson, Jay Gatsby, Errol Spence Jr, Giorgio Petrosyan, Ernesto Hoost, Pernell Whitaker
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It means I get to cross a small goal off my list.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I went to a technical college but never finished because I started fighting and because of the failing health of my grandparents at the time.
What was your job before you started fighting? Manager of liquor store
Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? Two-weight amateur champ for XFO.
Ranks in any martial arts styles: Blue belt in Jiu-Jitsu 
Favorite grappling technique: Japanese necktie 
Favorite Striking technique: 2-piece spicy