This is a rematch from 2018 where Montel was taken down 7 times by Ricky. But given that the first fight was 8 years ago, we put it to the side and break this fight down fresh.

Montel Jackson is a very good striker and in every breakdown i go out of my way to emphasize what a good wrestler he is as well. But his MMA wrestling and his on the mat wrestling are not the same thing. In MMA his offensive takedowns are fine, but his defense isn’t and this is exactly the fight where defense matters. I think Ricky can bomb overhands that have Montel worrying about the random power before he shoots takedowns. So I understand people picking ricky here, but thats a risky underdog pick because Montel will be the better striker, Ricky’s takedowns haven’t looked great lately, and this is Las Vegas so even a couple well timed takedowns won’t steal the decision. To me, this is closer to 50/50 than the current odds, but Montel will be the pick.

Montel Jackson

Montel Jackson has made a name for himself with his power, but he’s a good wrestler who added striking late. He’s very well rounded and has a resume full of KOs, Decisions and Submissions. His takedown accuracy is 63% with an average of more than 2 per fight. Often times people focus on his power and not his wrestling credentials. At one point in time he was at the Olympic Training facility and had hopes to compete at that level. He is coming off the decision loss to Roani Barcelos where he had a knockdown, had the better striking but was taken down 6 times.

Ricky Simon

Ricky Simon is a high energy wrestler who will dive on leg after leg with 100% energy over and over until he gets a takedown. If he doesn’t get a takedown, plan b is to bomb overhands and then go back to the takedowns. His biggest asset is his gas tank and willingness to stick to a plan. He is not a technical striker but it is there to setup his takedowns and he does have some very real power. He is coming off the draw to Adrian Yanyez but most people feel he lost that fight