Veteran grappler Rani Yahya took on hot prospect Montel Jackson at UFC Vegas 71 in the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Yahya entered the bout at 38-years old on the back of a two-fight winning streak. Amazingly, Rani had never been finished in nineteen UFC fights, but Montel Jackson looked to break the Brazilian’s streak. Jackson entered his ninth UFC bout with a 6-2 record, including three in a row going back to 2020. A win here could be huge for Jackson’s chances of getting a ranked opponent next in the stacked bantamweight division.
Montel Jackson came out trying to push back Yahya and use his long limbs to do damage. Yahya was unable to do much in the early going. Ninety seconds in he shot a single leg takedown and held on even as Jackson reversed it and pushed him to the ground. As a jiu-jitsu expert, Rani was presumably happy when he ended up in full guard. He locked down Montel’s arms and looked to throw up submissions but Jackson was able to escape and stand up.
With ninety seconds left in the round, Jackson countered his foe with a big left hook and dropped the veteran. Jackson was willing to enter Yahya’s guard and was proved correct in doing so as hammerfists finished the job, finishing Rani Yahya for the first time in the UFC.
Those @Montello135 hands are QUICK 👊 #UFCVegas71 pic.twitter.com/2JA3im5cXI
— UFC (@ufc) April 22, 2023
Official Result: Montel Jackson def. Rani Yahya by TKO (punches), Round 1, 3:42
