Damon Jackson had every reason not to compete at UFC Fight Night 210 if that’s what he chose, but the thought never crossed his mind.
Jackson’s brother, Bradley, died suddenly at 37 this past Tuesday. Rather than withdraw from his fight against Pat Sabatini days later to cope with a family tragedy, Jackson pushed through.
In doing so, Jackson honored his brother with the ultimate tribute, needing just 1:09 to finish Sabatini for a TKO victory Saturday in Las Vegas. The finish started with a front kick that stunned Sabatini and ended with punches that caused a verbal submission.
ACTION JACKSON WASTED NO TIME 👊 #UFCVegas60 pic.twitter.com/VV0lo2o06b
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2022
The moments after the finish were an emotional scene with Jackson’s family in attendance at the UFC Apex (via Twitter):
.@damonbjackson dedicated his #UFCVegas60 win to his brother, Bradley, who died last week. pic.twitter.com/tAhZyPld11
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) September 17, 2022
Just days after his brother's death, Damon Jackson pulled off an epic, emotional win over Pat Sabatini.#UFCVegas60 | Results: https://t.co/Zyte58YEH2 pic.twitter.com/OOxVTUzD6T
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) September 17, 2022
“It still doesn’t feel real yet,” Jackson told Daniel Cormier during his post-fight interview inside the octagon “… It means a lot for me to come out here and compete. There was no chance of me not fighting. …
“I never even second-guessed competing. I knew I had to do this. I knew I had to come out here and do what I always do. This is the only time I feel normal, is when I get to come out here and compete. All the emotion I’ve been holding back this whole week is kind of coming out right now. I never cried in front of a group of people. I just want to be around my mom and around my dad and see my family.”
With the finish, Jackson (22-4-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) pushed his winning streak to four fights and halted Sabatini’s winning streak at six.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 210.
