Montel Jackson

Overview

Four UFC losses, and not one of them ended before the final bell. Montel Jackson, a southpaw bantamweight out of Milwaukee, is 10-4 in the UFC (16-4-0 across all promotions), and all four defeats were decisions, two of them split.

The wins tell a different story. Five of the ten were finishes: four knockouts and one submission, with four of them coming in the first round. Jackson carries a one-fight win streak into his next bout, and his longest in the UFC is six.

UFC Career

Jackson reached the UFC after a third-round TKO of Rico DiSciullo at Dana White's Contender Series 2.1, a fight that sits outside the UFC record. His UFC debut at UFC 227 was a unanimous decision loss to Ricky Simon.

He answered at UFC 232 with a first-round submission of Brian Kelleher, then added decisions over Andre Soukhamthath and Felipe Colares. A unanimous decision loss to Brett Johns in July 2020 interrupted that run.

Then came the best stretch of his career: six straight wins. Jesse Strader was stopped in the first round, JP Buys and Julio Arce went the distance, and Rani Yahya was knocked out in the first round. Da'Mon Blackshear lasted 18 seconds. A unanimous decision over Daniel Marcos in May 2025 made it six.

The streak ended against Deiveson Figueiredo, a split decision loss to an opponent our model rates as elite. A second split decision loss followed, to Raoni Barcelos. Jackson then rebounded with a second-round TKO of Simon, the man who beat him in his debut, and it came at 2:39 of the second.

Rebounding is the pattern. Every loss has been followed by a win.

Fighting Style

Montel Jackson is a hard man to hit. He lands at a normal rate, but he takes far less damage than most fighters and his striking accuracy and defense both grade well. His edge comes from keeping fights clean rather than from volume.

On the ground, he is a strong wrestler on both sides of the ledger. He gets takedowns at a high rate and is tough to take down himself. He rarely hunts for submissions, which fits with just one submission win in ten victories.

His finishes come early. Four of his five stoppages ended in round one, and the other came in round two. When he doesn't get that early finish, fights tend to go the distance, where he has five decision wins and four decision losses.

Notable Wins

• Ricky Simon — KO/TKO, round 2, UFC Fight Night: Rosas Jr. vs. Barcelos (2026)
• Rani Yahya — KO/TKO, round 1, UFC Fight Night: Pavlovich vs. Blaydes (2023)
• Daniel Marcos — unanimous decision, round 3, UFC Fight Night: Sandhagen vs Figueiredo (2025)
• Brian Kelleher — submission, round 1, UFC 232 (2018)

Quick Facts

• Division: Bantamweight
• UFC record: 10-4 (professional record across all promotions: 16-4-0)
• UFC debut: 2018
• Stance: Southpaw
• Height / reach: 5'10" / 75.5"
• Team: Pura Vida BJJ & MMA
• Born: Milwaukee, WI, United States