Tonight in the main event of Bellator 301, the welterweight title is on the line. Undisputed champion Yaroslav Amosov (27-0) will look to defend his title and keep his perfect professional record intact as he takes on “The Ass-Kicking Machine” Jason Jackson (16-4).
Starting with Jason Jackson, he has been on an incredible run to earn this shot at the welterweight title. Starting in 2019, Jackson started a run that has seen him win six straight fights including wins over Paul Daley, Benson Henderson, and former welterweight champion Douglas Lima. Now, he gets the chance to become welterweight champion himself.
To do that however, he’s going to have to defeat one of the best fighters in the world in Yaroslav Amosov. Amosov returned to action back in February after taking time off to fight for his home country of Ukraine. While he was out, Logan Storley had become the interim welterweight champion.
When he returned at Bellator 291, Amosov completely dominated and overwhelmed Storley over the course of five rounds. That win moved Amosov to a perfect 8-0 in the promotion and he’s looking to move to a perfect 9-0 and 28-0 overall tonight.
Bellator 301 Prediction
When looking at these type of matchups, I always like to look at the dangers that the challenger presents to the champion. In Jason Jackson, he’s not really elite in any area of MMA. However, he’s incredibly solid wherever the fight goes and that’s what makes him so dangerous to many fighters.
However, I don’t know how dangerous he’s going to be facing off against the current Bellator welterweight champion. Amosov is going to be able to match the wrestling of Jackson where Jackson typically enjoys his greatest advantage. I would give the striking advantage and volume advantage to Amosov.
With that in mind, I think this is setting up to be a win for the champion. I just think Amosov is going to get the better of the striking and I don’t see Jackson being able to take him down. In what might be the final Bellator event, I think it’ll end with hearing ‘And Still’.
Prediction: Yaroslav Amosov by Decision