In the second fight on the Main Card for tonight’s UFC Fight Night, Montel Jackson goes toe-to-toe with Raoni Barcelos. Jackson suffered a split decison loss to Deiveson Figueiredo in his last bout, but remains No. 14 at 135 pounds. Meanwhile, Barcelos has won four straight and could find his way in the Bantamweight rankings with a victory. This card is headlined by No. 5 Aljamain Sterling vs. No. 7 Youssef Zalal.

Check out my best bet for Montel Jackson vs. Raoni Barcelos.

Montel Jackson to win by Decision (+185)

Before his last fight, Jackson won six consecutive fights from March 2021 to May 2025, with three coming by knockout. In his 18-fight MMA career, Jackson has yet to lose two straight bouts. Barcelos went 3-0 in 2025 with wins over Payton Talbott, Cody Garbrandt, and Ricky Simon. From June 2021 to August 2023, Barcelos went 1-4 in the UFC but has completely changed his trajectory.

In this contest, Montel Jackson has a major physical advantage, with an eight-inch edge in standing reach (75″ vs. 67″). This should make it tough for Barcelos to close the distance and be effective on the feet. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Jackson is a -185 favorite with Barcelos being the underdog at +154. The over/under for this contest is set at 2.5 rounds, with the over being -180.

Three of Jackson’s previous five victories have come by decision. With the major physical advantages, Jackson should be able to keep Barcelos at range while using all parts of his arsenal. Barcelos should struggle against Jackson, as it will be hard for him to close the gap. Jackson is also an elite defensive fighter, absorbing only 1.40 significant strikes per minute while having a 67 percent takedown defense. Since Jackson hasn’t scored a knockout in nearly two years, I’m taking him to win this contest by decision.