Damon Blake Jackson (born August 8, 1988) is an American professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. A professional since 2012, Jackson competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

and he was the former

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

Interim Featherweight Champion.

Background

Born in Oklahoma, Jackson began

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

from a young age and was talented. In high school, Jackson also competed in baseball and ran cross-country and track. Jackson was a state runner-up before continuing his career at

Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College is a private college that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Marshall, Missouri. The college was founded in 1889 and supports 40 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,500 students. Misso ...

where he was an All-American and had a fifth-place finish at the national tournament in 2012. Shortly after, Jackson began pursuing mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Jackson held an amateur MMA record of 6-1 before making his professional debut September 2012, winning via TKO in the first round. He would go on to win his next two bouts, both via submission.

Bellator MMA

Jackson debuted for Bellator on January 24, 2013 at

Bellator 86 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

against Zac Church. Jackson won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. On June 19, 2013, Jackson defeated Keith Miner via TKO due to strikes in the first round at

Bellator 96 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

, improving his record to 6–0.

Legacy Fighting Championship

In October 2013, Jackson fought and defeated Javier Obregon by submission in the second round at Legacy FC 24. Jackson would win his next bout via rear-naked choke submission at Legacy FC 28 against Hunter Tucker on February 21, 2014. Jackson then faced WEC and

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

veteran

Leonard Garcia Leonard Garcia (born July 14, 1979, in Plainview, Texas) is an American former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of the Legacy Fighting Championship, and is the former Legacy FC Featherweight Champion. ...

for the Legacy FC featherweight championship at Legacy FC 33 on July 18, 2014. Jackson won the fight via submission in the first round.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Stepping in as a late replacement for an injured Justin Edwards, Jackson faced

Yancy Medeiros Yancy Medeiros Jr. (born September 7, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforc ...

UFC 177 ''UFC 177: Dillashaw vs. Soto'' was a mixed martial arts event held on August 30, 2014, at the Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California. Background The event was originally planned to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev ...

on August 30, 2014. Jackson lost the fight via submission in the second round, suffering his first loss of his career. Jackson faced

Rony Jason Rony Mariano Bezerra (born March 21, 1984), better known as Rony Jason, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, B ...

on May 30, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 67 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 67'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 30, 2015, at the Goiânia Arena in Goiânia, Brazil. Background The event was the second that the UFC has hosted in Goiânia ...

. He lost the fight via triangle choke submission in the first round. On June 18, 2015, it was announced that Jason tested positive for

hydrochlorothiazide Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic medication often used to treat high blood pressure and swelling due to fluid build-up. Other uses include treating diabetes insipidus and renal tubular acidosis and to decrease the risk of kidney stones in tho ...

, which is a banned

diuretic A diuretic () is any substance that promotes diuresis, the increased production of urine. This includes forced diuresis. A diuretic tablet is sometimes colloquially called a water tablet. There are several categories of diuretics. All diuretics in ...

, therefore his submission victory against Jackson was overturned and he received a nine-month suspension. Jackson faced

Levan Makashvili Levan Makashvili ( ka, ლევან მაყაშვილი}; born January 7, 1989) is a Georgian-American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of Absolute Championship Akhmat. A professional competitor sinc ...

on January 30, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 18 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Bader'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 18'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 30, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background The event was headlined by a potential UFC Light Heavyweight C ...

. The bout was ruled a majority draw (28-28, 28-28, 29-27) after Makashvili was deducted one point in the third round due to an illegal knee and eye poke.

Legacy Fighting Alliance/PFL

After going 6-1 fighting under the

(LFA) banner, Jackson won the Featherweight Interim Legacy Fighting Alliance championship on August 10, 2018 against Nate Jennerman at Legacy Fighting Alliance 47 via knockout in round two. He would sign with

PFL PFL may refer to: Science * Pyruvate formate lyase, an enzyme important in the regulation of anaerobic glucose metabolism * Positive feedback loop * posterior frontal lobe Sport * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pio ...

to face

Movlid Khaybulaev Movlid Khaybulaev (born October 16, 1990) is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed in Fight Nights Glo ...

on May 23, 2019 at PFL 2, getting knocked out with a flying knee 10 seconds into the bout. After the loss, Jackson returned to the LFA at LFA 83, submitting Mauro Chaulet in the first round via rear-naked choke.

Return to UFC

Jackson returned to UFC to face

Mirsad Bektić Mirsad Bektić (born February 16, 1991) is a Bosnian-born American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Background Mirsad Bektić was born on February ...

, replacing Luiz Eduardo Garagorri on September 19, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 178 ''UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 178'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 36'' and ''UFC Vegas 11'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 19, 2020 at th ...

. He won the fight via a submission in round three. This win earned him a ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' bonus. Jackson faced

Ilia Topuria Ilia Topuria ( ka, ილია თოფურია) (born January 21, 1997) is a Georgian and Spanish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of December 13, 20 ...

on December 5, 2020 at

UFC on ESPN 19 ''UFC on ESPN: Hermansson vs. Vettori'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 19'' and ''UFC Vegas 16'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 5, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enter ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. Jackson was scheduled to face T.J. Laramie on May 1, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 188 ''UFC Fight Night: Font vs. Garbrandt'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 188'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 46'' and ''UFC Vegas 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on May 22, 2021 at the UFC Ape ...

. However in late March, Laramie pulled out of the fight for undisclosed reasons, and he was replaced by

Luke Sanders Luke Daniel Sanders (born December 12, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Strikeforce an ...

Jackson faced

Charles Rosa Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Charles is of Italian descent and, the son of Chucky and Mar ...

on October 9, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 194 ''UFC Fight Night: Dern vs. Rodriguez'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 194'', ''UFC Vegas 39'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 52'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 9, 2021 at the UFC ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Jackson was scheduled to face

Joshua Culibao Joshua Alvin Culibao (born May 24, 1994) is an Australian mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background The youngest of 4 siblings in a Filipino family, with his mother from Bor ...

on March 12, 2022

UFC Fight Night 203 ''UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 203'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 61'' or ''UFC Vegas 50'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 12, 2022 at the UF ...

. However, Culibao was pulled from the event for undisclosed reasons and he was replaced by Kamuela Kirk. Jackson won the fight via an arm triangle submission in round two. Jackson was scheduled to face

Darrick Minner Darrick Minner (born April 28, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in Auburn, Nebraska and raised in Nebraska City, Minner wrestled at Nebras ...

on June 4, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 207 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 207'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 65'' or ''UFC Vegas 56'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 4, 2022, at the ...

. However, for undisclosed reasons, Minner was pulled from the event and he was replaced by newcomer Daniel Argueta. Jackson won the bout via unanimous decision. Jackson faced

Pat Sabatini Patrick Daniel Sabatini (born November 9, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Bristol, Pennsylvania, Sabatini initially played ...

on September 17, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 210 ''UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 210'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 68'' and ''UFC Vegas 60'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 17, 2022, at the ...

. He won the fight via technical knockout in round one. This fight earned him the

award. Jackson is scheduled to face

Dan Ige Daniel Alexander Ige (born August 6, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in UFC's Featherweight division. A professional since 2014, he has also competed for the Legacy Fighting Championship, Pancrase, the RFA, and Tita ...

January 14, 2023, at

UFC Fight Night 217 ''UFC Fight Night: Strickland vs. Imavov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 217'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 75'' and ''UFC Vegas 67'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 14, 2023, at the ...

Personal life

Jackson is married and has four daughters.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

(Two times) *Legacy Fighting Championship **Legacy FC Featherweight Championship *Legacy Fighting Alliance **Interim LFA Featherweight Championship *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Ma ...

**2020 September Submission of the Month

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 22–4–1 (1) ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs. Song , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–2–1 (1) , Nate Jennerman , KO (punch) , LFA 47 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:33 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–2–1 (1) , Chris Pecero , Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) , LFA 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–2–1 (1) , Luis Luna , Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 28 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:58 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–2–1 (1) ,

Kevin Aguilar Kevin Aguilar (born September 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Aguilar was the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Featherweight champion and he currently competes in the featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

, KO (punch) , LFA 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:05 ,

Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area. In 2020, it had a ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–1–1 (1) , Charles Cheek III , Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:24 ,

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Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Rony Jason Rony Mariano Bezerra (born March 21, 1984), better known as Rony Jason, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, B ...

, NC (overturned) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Alves , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Hunter Tucker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Legacy FC 28 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:24 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Damon Living people 1988 births American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu