UFC Denver: Montel Jackson vs. Da'Mon Blackshear Prediction, Pick and Odds

Though buried early on the prelims, Montel Jackson and Da'Mon Blackshear are likely to put together one of the best fights of the night at UFC Denver.

Jackson (13-2, 7-2 in UFC) has been hurt by recent inactivity but will enter the fight riding a four-fight win streak that spans over three years. With seven wins in the UFC, Jackson briefly entered the bantamweight rankings in April 2023 following his most recent knockout win over Rani Yahya at UFC Vegas 71.

Blackshear (14-6-1, 2-2-1 in UFC) has already had one of the most interesting careers in the UFC through five Octagon fights and is coming off a loss to Mario Bautista at UFC 292, a fight that he accepted on one week's notice. The week before losing to Bautista, Blackshear submitted Jose Johnson at UFC Vegas 78 with just the third twister finish in UFC history.

Track Jaren Kawada's daily picks and betting record on BetStamp here.

Montel Jackson vs. Da'Mon Blackshear odds and round toal

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Moneyline:

• Montel Jackson -148
• Da'Mon Blackshear +124

Total Rounds:

• 2.5 (Over -210/Under +160)

Montel Jackson vs. Da'Mon Blackshear best bet

As much of the public continues to back Blackshear, Jackson has been bet down to a highly favorable price. While Blackshear has proven himself to be a top 25 bantamweight, Jackson simply has the higher ceiling as the better overall fighter.

Despite Blackshear being able to match the size of Jackson at 5-foot-10, the former is much more of a grappler and does not have the striking to match that of Jackson, who manages his range and distance excellently.

Through 10 UFC fights, Jackson has racked up an absurd 12 knockdowns, including his record-setting four knockdown performance against JP Buys in 2021. In his last six fights alone, Jackson has knocked down every opponent with a total of 10 knockdowns since 2020.

In his two losses in the UFC, Jackson was taken down a combined 15 times by Ricky Simón and Brett Johns. While their volume was impressive, it took Simón 20 attempts to land seven takedowns and Johns 19 attempts to land eight.

In his 13 other fights, Jackson is 13-0 against opponents who do not shoot 19 or more takedowns. Blackshear, an accomplished wrestler, does not have that volume and has never shot more than seven times in a single UFC fight. That trend is unlikely to change in the altitude of Denver.

As a former wrestler once training for the Olympics, Jackson is far from a pure striker himself with elite grappling credentials. He would be best suited in this fight to use his striking advantage but the Milwaukee native has survived seven submission attempts in the UFC from elite grapplers to remain unfinished and has never been held down for more than one minute at a time.

Prediction: Jackson by decision

Best bet: Montel Jackson money line (-140)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.