Montel Jackson was pegged as the biggest betting favorite at UFC on ESPN 21. He showed why in his fight with Jesse Strader.
Jackson (10-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) wasted no time going to work and getting the TKO victory in his bantamweight fight with Strader (5-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.
After Jackson scored a knockdown early in the first round, he remained composed and picked his shots until he dropped Strader again. From there, he jumped on top Strader and connected with a couple more that forced referee Keith Peterson to step in at the 1:58 mark of Round 1.
Check out the replay of Jackson’s win below (via Twitter):
LIVED UP TO THE NICKNAME ⚡️
'Quick' @Montello135 needs half a round to do it!
[ #UFCVegas22 – LIVE on ESPN2 and #ESPNPlus ] pic.twitter.com/cQl4qz21A6
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2021
1️⃣0️⃣-2️⃣!@Montello135 is one to watch in 2021. #UFCVegas22 pic.twitter.com/SfL4WkcmcP
— UFC (@ufc) March 21, 2021
For Jackson, the win was a solid way to rebound from his decision loss to Brett Jones in July. It was a disaster for Strader, though. He not only lost in less than two minutes in his UFC debut, but did so after missing weight by 1.5 pounds Friday.
“I feel great,” Jackson told Paul Felder during his post-fight interview. “I’m going to get with my coaches; talk to (Jason) House, my manager; and see what they want next. I’m going to take a traditional week off, then get right back to it.”
