Local MMA pro Josh Jackson's rapid win in Canada is time well spent
Jun. 29—It took Josh Jackson six hours to get up to Ontario, Canada, last week for a mixed martial arts fight that would end a frustrating eight-month drought.
The local brawler's bruising business was completed in some 30 seconds Friday. And not an hour later, he was watching a full replay of himself, courtesy of the UFC Fight Pass streaming service where he had appeared live from the Niagara Falls Convention Centre.
All in all, it was time well spent for the Frederick High alum. Jackson hopes his performance in a first-round technical knockout turned some heads other than that of opponent Bobby Poulter — a Canadian whom he blistered with a left hook to the chin that was the beginning of the end of their Unified MMA 51 welterweight bout.
Jackson polished off the victory shortly thereafter, expanding his winning streak to three — all in the past year — and his record to 8-3.
It's the kind of run that fighters like Jackson dream of — because they can lead nowhere but up from the regional level where he's been battling.
"The biggest [takeaway] was how prepared I am to take that next jump, whether it's to UFC or another organization. Hopefully the UFC, of course," Jackson said of the sport's premier company. "[My team has] prepared me for everything. I know how to travel and travel well. I know how to block out what needs to be blocked out and prepare for the fight. You can only control the things that you can control, and that's what you have to worry about."
He was in full control Friday, registering the quickest win of his career by eight seconds.
Without significant intel on Poulter, Jackson's plan was to pressure him from the get-go to see how he would respond. Jackson had his answer in no time. As Poulter backed toward the cage about 20 seconds in, he attempted a right leg kick just as Jackson unleashed that lightning hook.
"I was just trying to put my hands on him," Jackson said. "And it happened to work out where he was on the one foot [after throwing the kick]. When you're on the one foot, all that shot goes straight to your head, and you can't really absorb it in your legs. And that's what happens."
Poulter (4-2) crumpled, then desperately latched onto the waist of Jackson — who sprawled and followed up with six more unanswered strikes, causing official Todd Anderson to intervene.
"As far as the gameplan itself, it really couldn't have gone better. I won in 32 seconds," Jackson said. "I think he might have hit me one time. I actually rolled my ankle at some point. That was like the biggest injury I got from it. But other than that, it was almost flawless."
Jackson's entire road trip to Canada turned out to be just about perfect, from the way he handled the travel and weight cut, to the way he finished his foe, to the way he ignored a partisan crowd that was largely against him.
He's been in the pro fight game since 2018. And, at age 31, the former multi-sport high school and college athlete is being driven as much by urgency as he is competitive desire.
It took months for Jackson's management team to line up the Poulter fight after several other matchups fell through in the time since his previous win in November 2022. He remains fresh, and he's still the guy who worked his way back from the unplanned pandemic hiatus, followed by a series of broken hands.
He has little time to waste.
"I was actually in the gym Wednesday," said Jackson, who fights out of Groundswell MMA in Frederick and also trains with Urbana grad and UFC fighter Matthew Semelsberger in Elkridge. "I didn't take really any damage [against Poulter], so there's no reason to wait around. I'd like to get back in there if an opportunity presents itself."
