UFC Fight Night 289 video: Montel Jackson tears through Ricky Simon - MMA Junkie

Montel Jackson had a measure of revenge on his mind against Ricky Simon – and he got it with style points.

Jackson (16-4 MMA, 10-4 UFC) put Simon (22-8-1 MMA, 10-7-1 UFC) away with a second-round TKO courtesy of a left hand he landed throughout the fight and had sat Simon down with previously. The stoppage came at the 2:39 mark of the middle frame in their bantamweight rematch at UFC Fight Night 289 at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas.

Simon had a decision win over Jackson in 2018 in Jackson's UFC debut. That loss was the first of his career. But with his Saturday win on the preliminary card, he snapped a two-fight skid – and also extended his UFC bantamweight record for most knockdowns.

Jackson landed several solid left hands early in the fight as part of a lightning-fast 1-2 combination. But after about 100 seconds, Simon was able to get past the reach and punches to elevate Jackson into the air for a takedown. With a minute left, Jackson hammered that 1-2 again and put Simon on his butt and forced him into defensive wrestling mode. They scrambled through submission attempts late in the round, but headed to the middle frame.

In the second, Jackson kept the pressure on with that same game plan – hit him with the left and eventually put him away. That's exactly what happened. Midway through the round, the missile of a left landed again, and it was too much for Jason Herzog to allow the fight to continue.