The opening main card bout at UFC 177 is a three-round lightweight bout between Damon Jackson and Yancy Medeiros. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Jackson is a -105 favorite (bet $105 to win $105) while Medeiros is also a -105 favorite (bet $105 to win $100) in a Pick ’em bout. MMA linesetter Nick Kalikas opened Jackson at +100 and Medeiros at -120 indicating slight action on the dog Jackson since the opener. No doubt this is a tough fight to pick but I understand why there has been more action on Jackson, as I think he will win the fight as well. Jackson (9-0) won the Legacy FC featherweight championship in his last fight, where he absolutely smoked Leonard Garcia en route to a first-round submission victory. Overall in his career the 26-year-old American has seven submission victories in his career, and overall he’s finished opponents in all nine of his victories. He is a super prospect and could make waves when he drops down to 145lbs in his next fight. The UFC called upon Jackson to take on Medeiros on just 10 days’ notice so his conditioning could be a concern here, but at the same time he has so many stylistic advantages in the fight that it makes sense he’s been bet on by the betting public so far. Medeiros (9-2) hasn’t looked good in the UFC, going 0-2, 1 NC with losses to Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jim Miller and a No Contest against Yves Edwards. He is only 26 and still improving, but for whatever reason just can’t put it all together. To be fair to Medeiros, he has fought the top guys in the weight class, but still, he hasn’t looked good at all outside of the knockout over Yves Edwards (that was changed to a NC after Medeiros was busted for marijuana). He does have fantastic striking, but if he can’t stop takedowns then he won’t get to use his hands, and once on the ground he is fairly poor overall. Medeiros certainly has an advantage with a full camp heading into this fight, but he hasn’t looked good at all lately, and unless he’s drastically upped his takedown defence and sub defence since his last outing at UFC 172, he could potentially be in store for another bad night here at UFC 177. I believe that while Medeiros will be the bigger fighter, sometimes bigger isn’t always better and in this case I don’t think it will matter. I believe Jackson has the wrestling skills to take Medeiros to the floor, and on the ground he has the ability to get the submission. And with Medeiros showing holes in his sub D game in his last fight, I think Jackson is catching him at the perfect time. At the same time, though, he’s taking this fight on only 10 days’ notice and that’s obviously a huge concern, as is the fact Medeiros has had a whole training camp. And if Jackson can’t get the takedown and the fight stays standing, Medeiros should have the edge there. I think Jackson at -105 is the right side here and I can’t blame anyone who takes a shot on him in his debut at a Pick ’em price.
