While he was able to finish out 2016 on a strong note with back to back wins, featherweight Damon Jackon started off his year on out on the losing end of a majority draw to Levan Makashvili at UFC on Fox 18, which ended up costing him his spot with the promotion.
When looking back on the loss, Jackson believes that by initiating most of the action, it should have been him who ended up coming away with the victory.
“I knew I was in a really bad position as far as getting released or what was going on,” Jackson told MMAWeekly.com. “I know I had to win, so the whole fight I kept pushing forward and moving in on him, and basically the whole first and second (rounds) was him circling away.
“They took a point away from him and then somehow they announced the fight as a draw. I was the one pressing forward the whole fight, putting pressure on him, and they took that point away from him, so I was sure I had the decision.”
Since the loss to Makashvili, Jackson has won both of his fights, but it was his win over Levi Mowels in October that set him up for his second bout of 2017, when his originally scheduled opponent, Kevin Aguilar dropped out of the bout.
“It all started was I was pissed off about (Aguilar) backing out of the fight, me having to get a new fight, change my game plan,” said Jackson. “I thought it was a real coward move on his end to pull out two weeks before that fight.
“It kind of got the best of me, and after that fight I was really emotional and said what I said. I don’t know the dude. I don’t know his family or anyone who has said anything positive or negative about him. I don’t know him outside of fighting. It just has to do with him backing out of the fight.”
On Friday in Bossier City, La., Jackson (11-1-1) will finally get his chance to face Aguilar (11-1) in the 145-pound championship main event of Legacy Fighting Alliance 4.
“I’ve just got to go at him like I do in every fight,” Jackson said. “He won’t be able to handle the pressure. He doesn’t deal well with people in his face. I’ll definitely be in his face the whole time. I’ll definitely get the finish – I don’t know in what round – but I’ll definitely get him at some point.”
Looking ahead into 2017, Jackson’s main goal is to remain active and see what challenges come his way and keep moving forward with whatever he’s given.
“For me right now, I just have momentum on my side,” said Jackson. “Hopefully I can get a win in this fight and move forward and see what happens from there. I don’t know if I’ll have a little break or if they’ll throw somebody else at me; either way I’ll keep moving forward with what I have.”
