Montel Jackson lived up to his nickname “Quik” with a fast night at the office that was preceded by a perfect commentary call from former UFC champion Dominick Cruz.
“Watch the straight punches from Jackson,” Cruz said as the fight began. “They’re just lightning-like, straight down the pipe.”
A split-second after the prophetic words were spoken, Jackson (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) fired off a fast two-punch combination, putting Da’Mon Blackshear down and out just 18 seconds into their bantamweight preliminary bout at UFC on ESPN 59 at Ball Arena in Denver.
A right to the chest and a left hand to the chin knocked Blackshear (14-7-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) out, and the referee rushed in to stop Jackson from connecting with more follow-up punches on the ground.
ONE AND DONE @Montello135 gets it done in just 17 SECONDS! #UFCDenver pic.twitter.com/pnwAUJAc7p
— UFC (@ufc) July 14, 2024
Jackson is no stranger to first-round finishes in the UFC, as this was his fourth in 10 fights. However, this was easily his fastest; his previous best time was 1:40 in a submission win over Brian Kelleher at UFC 232 in 2018.
The result pushes Jackson’s winning streak to five, including three first-round finishes. Additionally, he holds the record for most knockdowns in the bantamweight division with 11, and has tied Chuck Liddell, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Cody Garbrandt and Josh Emmett with seven consecutive knockdowns, according to UFC research analyst Michael Carroll.
Blackshear, whose last win in the UFC was a very rare twister submission of Jose Johnson last August, has now dropped two straight.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 59 results include:
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 59.
