Mike Jackson’s first pro MMA win came in a much different setting than where most fighters have their arms raised for the first time.
The welterweight did not win for the first time at a small-time event with only a couple hundred fans in attendance. He didn’t have to sell tickets himself like many regional fighters do, and his first pro win wasn’t in a small hockey arena with barely-working lighting.
Instead, Jackson picked up his first pro win in the world’s largest MMA promotion, live on pay-per-view. The Texas native met CM Punk in the first fight of the UFC 225 main card at a sold-out United Center in Chicago, the former WWE star’s hometown.