Athletes
Damon Jackson Gets His Second Wind
Featherweight Feeling Great, Ready To Fight Every Time His Phone Rings. He Meets Chepe Mariscal Saturday In Las Vegas.
“I was ready to go.”
Damon Jackson should trademark that phrase and put it on t-shirts, because if anyone in mixed martial arts is always prepared to get into a fistfight, it’s him. So when Dan Ige withdrew from his July 20 bout with Chepe Mariscal to fight Diego Lopes on a few hours’ notice at UFC 303 on June 29, Jackson got on the phone to manager Jason House.
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“I want this fight,” Jackson texted House.
A day later, he was locked in for a July 20 matchup with Mariscal - for about a half hour, until everything got moved to this Saturday. Then back to the 20th, then finally, August 10. New date, no problem.
“I was like, all right, man, just let me know, I don't care,” Jackson laughs. “This is crazy. But I was ready to go.”
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And despite his constant readiness, the 36-year-old will never turn down a little extra time to prepare.
“You always feel like you're ready to go when they call your name,” he said. “If it's short notice or something, you're always ready. But honestly, another two or three weeks is probably the best thing that could have happened.”
And while Jackson is more than busy as a family man and gym owner, he’s been itching to get into a fight since his April win over Alexander Hernandez, and he tries to keep things uncomplicated when it comes to that process. There’s no analysis, no deep diving on prospective opponents. He simply leaves his phone on and makes sure his manager is one text or call away.
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“Honestly, there's not anyone that I'm going to ever turn down for a fight,” Jackson said. “And if the UFC needs me to step up, that gives me a huge advantage mentally. I know that they need me, they know they want me to perform, and I'll be good to go. You can have an awesome training camp and then have a crappy performance, or a crappy weight cut. So there's a lot of variables to it. At the end of the day, though, if you're feeling good, I'd say go for it.”
Winner of five of his last seven, Jackson’s approach has been working, and he doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. So, just putting it out there, if he emerges unscathed from a fight, he’s more than down to go six times a year.
“I would love that,” he said. “I just got a new contract, and I'm like, if I got a new contract and I could bust out two more this year, this one plus two more, then I would just be freaking so happy.”
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“I feel like I have to beg these children to come in and train with me twice a day,” Jackson laughs. “I'm like, ‘You guys need to step it up, man.’ I'm hitting that second wind and some of these guys are falling out. I tell them, ‘You guys better step it up. I’m coming in heavy this year.’”
And he’s loving it.
“Fighting is a great sport because you got to just shut up and fight,” he said. “And once you get in there and mix it up with those guys, whatever they think in their head, they know what's going on and they know they got a fight on their hands no matter what. And so, as long as I'm performing like I am right now in practice, I'm going to fight until I'm in my forties, for sure. I feel so good.”
UFC Fight Night: Tybura vs Spivac 2 took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 10, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
