Jamaican Jason Jackson produced one of the most surprising Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) outcomes of the year, dethroning the previously undefeated Yaroslav Amosov to become the new Bellator welterweight champion at Bellator 301 at the WinTrust Arena in Chicago on Friday.

Jackson, nicknamed “The Ass-Kicking Machine,” made Amosov uncomfortable from the outset, applying constant pressure and defending Amosov’s takedowns brilliantly.

In the third round, Jackson dropped Amosov with a straight right hand and then put the pedal down, finally ending the bout with a nasty short uppercut as Amosov tried for a desperation takedown.

Jackson moves to 17-4 and is the seventh fighter to hold the Bellator welterweight title, while the loss was the first of Amosov’s career, moving him to 27-1 overall.

Jackson was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica on October 30, 1990. At the age of 12 he moved to South Florida, graduating from Miramar High School, where he competed on the school’s wrestling team. He began training for mixed martial arts at the age of 19.

Heimir Hallgrimsson’s wait to register his first win as Jamaica’s Head coach has been prolonged, as his Reggae Boyz squandered an opportunity from the penalty spot, as well as a lengthy lead, and were held to a 1-1 stalemate by United States in their Concacaf Gold Cup Group A opening fixture on Saturday.

Defender Damion Lowe gave the Reggae Boyz a 13^th minute lead, which was later cancelled out by substitute Brandon Vazquez in the 88^th minute to rescue a point for United States in a contest that lived up to its billing in entertainment value for the massive crowd at the Soldier Field in Chicago.

Though they will be pleased with the point, the Jamaicans will also feel hard done given the fact that Leon Bailey should have converted from the 12-yard spot. But take nothing away from United States goalkeeper Matt Turner, whose save on his birthday proved the difference, though Reggae Boyz captain Andre Blake was also at his best between the sticks to spare their blushes.

Both teams started positively and signalled intentions with a few direct passes from the back into the attacking third to keep their respective defensive units on their toes.

Jamaica found a break in the eighth minute with Bailey finding debutant Demarai Gray out wide, the Everton winger showed glimpses of his nippy footwork and later played a dangerous pass inside that was cleared by the United States defence. 

The host responded almost immediately and caught Jamaica's defenders flat-footed with Jordan Morris finding loads of space in the final third to get a shot off from close range that was kept out by Blake who got down well to his left.

Still, United States struggled to deal with the pressure posed by the new look Reggae Boyz as again set pieces proved their undoing when the Jamaicans eventually broke the deadlock.

After Bailey was fouled by Jordan Morris, Gray delivered a perfectly weighted free kick which was expertly met by Lowe with a diving header that gave Turner in goal for United States, no chance at a save.

Jamaica should have doubled the lead from the penalty spot just before the half-hour mark when Amari’i Bell’s long throw inside the danger area was headed on by Michail Antonio to Kevon Lambert, who was taken out by Aidan Morris’s high boot.

Mexican referee Cesar Ramos quickly pointed to the spot and Bailey confidently stood over the ball, but the Aston Villa winger badly fluffed his lines, sending his penalty at a perfect height for Turner to save. He had a grand opportunity to make amends but steered the rebound wide as well.

That missed opportunity gave United States hope and they gradually found their rhythm, though they were assisted by some sloppy Reggae Boyz defending at times. One such occasion was in the latter stages of the first half, when Jordan Morris easily waltzed his way through on goal and it took some brilliance from Blake to deny him.

With momentum in their favour, United States came out lively on the resumption as Head coach BJ Callaghan made the adjustments with the introduction of Vazquez, Cristian Roldan and Djordje Mihailovic, who injected some tempo into their attacking thrust, as they probed for the equalizer.

A gorgeous interplay by United States in the 70^th minute paved the way for Roldan to get a shot off from close range, but Blake again came up big to keep the Reggae Boyz in front.

As the game drew closer to its climax, the Jamaicans withdrew into a defensive posture, desperately trying to preserve their lead which would have not only handed Hallgrimsson his first win eight games, but also condemned United States to their first Gold Cup opening loss.

The victory would have also been Jamaica’s second against United States at this tournament following their semi-finals triumph in 2015.

However, all that went out the window when Vazquez pounced on a poor clearance from a Jesus Ferreira cross to put the ball away from close range.

This stalemate represents an opportunity for Trinidad and Tobago or St Kitts and Nevis to assume early pole position in the group, provided they separate themselves in Sunday’s fixture.

Teams: Jamaica -Andre Blake, Dexter Lembikisa, Damion Lowe, Adrian Mariappa, Amari’i Bell (Kemar Lawrence 65th), Bobby Reid, Joel Latibeaudiere, Kevon Lambert, Demarai Gray (Daniel Johnson 90th), Leon Bailey (Shamar Nicholson 90th), Michail Antonio (Corey Burke 75th)

Subs not used: Coniah Boyce-Clarke, Jahmali Waite, Dishon Bernard, Javain Brown, Kaheem Parris, Jonathan Russell, Dujuan Richards

Booked: Lowe (3rd), Lawrence (83rd), Blake (85th)

United States: Matthew Turner, Deandre Yedlin, Matt Miazga, Aaron Long (Jalen Neal 46th), John Tolkin (Brandon Vázquez 82nd), Alejandro Zendejas (Djordje Mihailovic 66th), Aidan Morris, James Sands, Jordan Morris (Cade Cowell 55th), Jesús Ferreira, Alan Soñora (Cristian Roldan 66th)

Subs not Used: Sean Johnson, Gabriel Slonina, Bryan Reynolds, Miles Robinson, Dejuan Jones, Gianluca Busio

Booked: None

Referee: Cesar Ramos (Mex)

Assistant referees: Alberto Morin (Mex); Marco Bisguerra (Mex)

Fourth Official: Fernando Guerrero (Mex)

Var: Erick Miranda (Mex)

Avar1: Jorge Perez (Mex)

Demarai Gray has had much success at the club level, coming through the youth system at Birmingham City, winning the Premier League with Leicester City, had a brief stint with German club Bayer Leverkusen and is now at home with Everton.

But Gray has always really enjoyed redefining the expectations of himself by pushing to the next level, which is why his move to represent Jamaica could not have come at a better time, as he believes there is much for him to achieve on the international stage.

The 26-year-old represented England at the under-21 level where he earned 26 caps between 2016 and 2018 and was a member of the senior team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia but did not feature in any game.

It is the lack of opportunities with the England senior team, that influenced Gray's decision to obtain a Jamaican passport through his maternal grandparents, and he has set himself a long-term goal of helping the Reggae Boyz reach a major tournament.

"Obviously the country has been trying to get a hold of me for a long time, so when you feel wanted and valued, it is always great for my confidence based on where I am at in my career and the things I want to achieve and stuff. Now is the right time to hit those targets and I'm getting to the peak of my career so I'm ready, I'm at a good point and I want to create memories and history with the country," Gray declared.

"We (the players) respect the support of the fans, me personally, I love the vibe and the culture and hopefully with the fans, we can come together as one big nation and create good things. Obviously, now it's time for the Gold Cup but in the long run, I think we will keep improving, keeping getting stronger as a team and with the support of the fans we can do special stuff," he added.

The winger's first assignment with the Reggae Boyz will be a baptism of fire of sorts, as Heimir Hallgrimsson's side are set to open their Concacaf Gold Cup campaign with Group A against reigning seven-time champion United States at Soldier Field in Chicago later this evening at 9:06pm Jamaica time. Trinidad and Tobago and first-timer St Kitts and Nevis are also a part of the group.

Having endured the lengthy process that comes with switching allegiance, Gray is intent on making it count by producing a string of his usual quality and eye-catching performances.

"It's good to finally be her I kind of feel like it's been a long time coming, it was not a simple process so to get it over the line in time for this tournament was important and good for me. 

I'm just grateful and obviously proud to represent Jamaica and hopefully I can put in some good performances, score some goals and create some history for Jamaica," Gray reasoned.

"I am feeling good after a fairly short break, I'm refreshed, obviously the conditions are tough here but over the next few days, hopefully, I will adapt to it and hopefully I'll get off to a good start," he said. 

That Gray found it so easy to settle in with the Reggae Boyz, comes from the fact that he has not only rubbed shoulders with the other English-based players before, but because they all have the same ambition and goal --to make Jamaica proud.

"I am excited to be around the boys I know it’s a strong team everyone is together, and the vibes is good and stuff so it's good so far. I played with A'mari [Bell] at the youth level and Bailey in Germany where he helped me settle in there as well and he was on me about joining the (Reggae Boyz) team and Wes Morgan as well when he was at Leicester told me about stuff here and the ambitions," Gray shared.

"Then I met the manager and he expanded on it, so collectively a lot of people influenced my decision but personally I've been looking forward to doing this, so it's good to finally settle in. Where I am at now in my career, there are things I want to achieve and I feel like I can do that here in Jamaica and like I said, the whole team is positive and I feel like it's a good start being here at the Gold Cup, it's an achievement," he noted.

Given his blossoming form, his confidence on the ball and his willingness to take on his man, the soft-spoken player will certainly complement the likes of Bailey, Michail Antonio, Shamar Nicholson and others in what is without a doubt, a quality team on paper.

"Like a lot of the boys are saying, it's probably the strongest squad they have been involved in, so I am happy to influence and play my part to help the team achieve things in the tournament and obviously in the future as well, reach the next World Cup and things like that.

"So, I think it's exciting times for Jamaica, not only now, because the next few years, it's only going to get stronger. So we can look long term, but for now, we are just focused on this tournament and making sure that we get a good start," Gray ended.