Athletes
Damon Jackson Would Always Choose Fighting
The Always Exciting Damon Jackson Steps Into The Co-Main Event Slot Against Alexander Hernandez At UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Curtis 2
The question doesn’t come out very often, but when it does, it’s very specific and geared towards a very specific kind of fighter.
Damon Jackson, if there was such a thing as a time machine and you were transported back to 1993, would you be okay with being a UFC fighter?
“Yeah,” Jackson says without hesitation. “I think that it would be better if there was no time limit; that way every fight gets finished. They should definitely get back to that. I think people play it safe nowadays and they want to do everything right by the judges, so I like the fact that you go out there and get finishes. I would definitely like to go back to the basic rules.”
If you didn’t know him, you might think the featherweight veteran is waxing poetic about the good ol’ days just to be a good quote. But he’s not built that way. When you talk to the 35-year-old, he gives it to you straight, so when he says he wouldn’t mind fighting until there’s a finish, consider that in 30 professional fights, he’s only been to the scorecards five times. And it’s that kill or be killed approach to the sport that has started to build him quite the following without him being an active participant in the social media game.
Plus, it doesn’t hurt that every fight that the UFC matchmakers put Jackson in looks to be a barnburner, at least on paper.
“I just think a lot of people underestimate me,” laughs Jackson, who faces Alexander Hernandez in Saturday’s co-main event at the UFC APEX. “I'm not some crazy, fast-twitch guy. I don't talk a lot of s**t. I think that just the consistency of me getting finishes and me beating people that I wasn't supposed to beat, I figured I would get more respect out of that, but, at the end of the day, I think it only builds it up for the other person because they're either thinking that they have to win the fight or they think that they're going to win the fight. So either way it's good for me.”
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I just think that when I see a card with Jackson’s name on it, I’m tuning in. That’s got to be some sort of compliment, right? Well, you know Jackson isn’t fishing for compliments.
“I don't really focus a whole lot on everybody or what they say, and I don't read too much into it,” he said. “I just know that I'm working hard, and I know that I'll be ready to go for this fight. And it's kind of like that every fight. I just know that I'm very well prepared and I'm really excited about this one. I know he has a lot of hype, I know he's always ready to fight and I know it's going to be a good one, for sure.”
It's what we expect from him. But what does Jackson expect should he come out with a win and then a couple more this year?
“I'm focused on getting out there and being in the best shape I can and then getting that bonus,” he said. “That's instant gratification.”
That’s Damon Jackson, no nonsense prizefighter.
UFC Fight Night: Allen vs Curtis 2 took place live from UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 6, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card Results, Official Scorecards, and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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