Damon Jackson is ready for a brawl.
Jackson will take on Kamuela Kirk on March 12 at UFC Vegas 50. His thoughts on Kirk indicate a level of being quite familiar and a readiness to impose his own skills this weekend.
“The kid’s solid,” Jackson told The AllStar. “He definitely has some solid jiu-jitsu. I’ve seen him get taken down a lot. So he does play off of his back a little bit. But I would say it makes him an even more comfortable striker whenever his jiu-jitsu is as good as it is. He throws his hands, throws his kicks well. Definitely a well-rounded fighter.
“Has struggled with his cardio and stuff. So I’m thinking that’s definitely going to be better than what it was. He had taken his last fight on short notice. So I couldn’t really judge him on that. It was a weeks’ notice and I did a similar thing. He’s ready, he’s well-rounded, and it’ll be a good fight for sure.”
Jackson does not feel like he’s going to be taken to the mat in this one. The confidence has been there for a while with the grappling but there is an ever-growing sense of well-roundedness in his approach.
The Fortis MMA staple is normally known for his ground game but the striking could pop up in this one. Potentially in emphatic fashion when describing the type of bout he wants someday.
“Maybe I can’t take this kid down and we end up standing up the whole time,” Jackson stated. “I told him, I said I would love a Forrest Griffin–Stephan Bonnar. I’ll be Forrest Griffin, let’s go. Let’s get that hundred K but he didn’t say anything back. I was trying to keep it chill but I want that fight one day. I would love to have an exciting fight like that. But it’s one of those things where you couldn’t make it happen because something would go wrong.
“No secrets in my game plan. Definitely looking for a takedown at some point. If I don’t find it, maybe we end up seeing that bloody, back and forth fight. We’ll see.”
A lot of great work is had at Fortis MMA where Jackson has spent a meaningful period of time. Teammates like Steven Peterson give the 33-year-old those kinds of high octane looks and that aforementioned frenetic striking style in the gym. So it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility we see a different version emerge in this bout.
That being said, his fight prediction aligned with a methodology we have come to expect from him at this point.
“That’s just me talking big, man,” Jackson quipped. “It’s probably not going to happen so don’t get your hopes up. If it does, I did say it first. So if it does happen, I’ll just say I predicted it. I say I’ll go out there and I’m going to be working forward.
“It looks like he kind of works forward but he’s also willing to go to his back. Besides a guard pull or anything like that, I see me winning the battle with the takedown. Getting to his back quickly and definitely looking for that finish, for sure.”
Fighter profile
Damon “The Leech” Jackson is a 33 year old male fighter from United States with 19 pro wins and 4 losses. Jackson is scheduled to fight Kamuela Kirk at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev on Saturday March 12, 2022.
Damon Jackson’s recent form coming into this matchup
Damon Jackson has gone 3-2 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Win vs Charles Rosa • Decision R3 5:00 • 2021-10-09
- Loss vs Ilia Topuria • KO/TKO R1 2:38 • 2020-12-05
- Win vs Mirsad Bektić • Submission R3 1:21 • 2020-09-19
- Win vs Mauro Chaulet • Submission R1 2:11 • 2020-03-06
- Loss vs Movlid Khaybulaev • KO/TKO R1 0:10 • 2019-05-23
Damon Jackson’s next opponent: Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk’s recent form coming into this matchup
Kamuela “The Jawaiian” Kirk is a 27 year old male fighter from United States with 11 pro wins and 4 losses. Kirk is scheduled to fight Damon Jackson at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs. Ankalaev on Saturday March 12, 2022.
Kamuela Kirk has gone 3-2 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Win vs Makwan Amirkhani • Decision R3 5:00 • 2021-06-05
- Win vs Daniel Swain • KO/TKO R2 5:00 • 2021-05-14
- Win vs Guilherme Santos • KO/TKO R1 4:25 • 2021-01-15
- Loss vs Bruno Souza • Decision R3 5:00 • 2020-07-10
- Loss vs Billy Quarantillo • KO/TKO R3 0:22 • 2019-07-23
How to watch and bet on Damon Jackson vs Kamuela Kirk
Use the AllStar’s directory to find the best sportsbooks and recommendations on where to place MMA bets online. If you just want to play for fun, head over to our Fantasy MMA picks app to make your fight predictions for Damon Jackson vs Kamuela Kirk totally FREE.
The AllStar also has a comprehensive MMA betting guide and MMA Odds Comparison tools to help you find the best online betting opportunities.