Damon Jackson RETURNS, fights Mirsad Bektic tomorrow night
Luiz Eduardo Garagorri OUT, Mirsad Bektic will now fight Damon Jackson at UFC event on September 19th.
Damon Jackson (17-3-1, 1 NC) will be returning to the promotion TOMORROW night, at UFC Fight Night 178. He will be back in the UFC after 6 years last fighting Levan Makashvili, which the fight ended in a draw that night and will now face Mirsad Bektic (13-3) in a featherweight matchup in his return to the promotion in 2020. Luiz Eduardo Garagorri was originally scheduled to face Bektic, but the Uruguayan was pulled after one of his cornermen tested positive for COVID-19. Jackson has since confirmed the matchup on his Facebook page.
Jackson will be making his way back to the UFC after a lengthy stretch in the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) and after an 10-second career in the Professional Fighters League. His May 2019 bout in the PFL saw him divorced from his consciousness in 10 seconds with a picture perfect flying knee from Movlid Khaybulaev, on the other hand, Khaybulaev scored the fastest knockout in LFA’s tenure.
Bektic is currently on a two-fight skid, having conceded his first-ever consecutive losses in his career in the hands of Josh Emmett and Dan Ige. Up to date, Bektic dropped a close split decision to Ige at UFC 247, while Emmett knocked him out in 2019. The loss to Emmett ended a win streak that saw the Tristar Gym prospect finish Godofredo Castro and defeat Ricardo Lamas in 2018. Born in what is now known as Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian fighter started his career at 11-0 before a shocking upset, comeback of the year contender loss to Darren Elkins in 2017.
UFC Fight Night 178 takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas tomorrow night, where it will be headlined by a welterweight grudge match between Colby Covington and Tyron Woodley. The co-main event sees MMA staple Donald Cerrone try to snap a unforgettable skid against Niko Price in his return to welterweight, and Khamzat Chimaev will try to continue his unbeaten resurgence when comes face to face against Gerald Meerschaert at 185 pounds. A win will see him face Demian Maia on UFC’s return to Fight Island, Per Dana White.
