Preview: UFC Des Moines ‘Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo’

Bantamweights

Montel Jackson (14-2, 8-2 UFC) vs. Daniel Marcos (17-0, 4-0 UFC)

ODDS: Jackson (-205), Marcos (+170)

The UFC bantamweight division continues to be an embarrassment of riches, as two under-the-radar competitors square off in this excellent fight. Jackson might finally be turning a long-awaited corner seven years into his UFC career. He was raw but had plenty of potential coming off his 2018 win on the Contender Series, though even then, “Quik” had a lot of the necessary tools to succeed thanks to his long frame, knockout power and wrestling background. It has just always been difficult to depend on Jackson pulling the trigger, as he has been slow-paced to a fault. His losses to Ricky Simon and Brett Johns mostly came through his opponents’ dedication to activity, and even his wins provided a lot of time and space for his foes to get much more done than would be expected on paper. Add in that Jackson’s actual fight schedule isn’t all that active, with him rarely fighting more than once in a calendar year, and there have been some worries that he might not reach his obvious ceiling. However, it does seem like Jackson has turned a corner in his last two fights. He’s still prone to being overly patient, but he’s making his moments count a lot more, running through Rani Yahya before knocking Da’Mon Blackshear out in just 18 seconds. Naturally, Jackson has taken nearly another year off before making his return, but he could make another big statement with a win over Marcos.

Marcos was a revelation in his 2022 win on the Contender Series, particularly given his career up to that point. He was an unremarkable brawler on the Peruvian regional scene, but his three-year layoff prior to the DWCS appearance apparently worked wonders, as he returned as a shockingly sharp striker. Marcos hasn’t imposed a ton of dominance in his victories, but he has been consistently effective while taking advantage of his opponents’ flaws, picking his moments to land offense with enough grit to gut things out as needed. That could wind up with Marcos outworking Jackson over the course of three rounds. However, the read is that Jackson’s combination of size, patience and ability to pivot to wrestling should be enough to freeze Marcos out of the fight. The pick is Jackson via decision.

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Sandhagen vs. Figueiredo
Nickal vs. de Ridder
Ponzinibbio vs. Rodriguez
Jackson vs. Marcos
Sidey vs. Smotherman
Jones vs. Stephens
The Prelims