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• Jamaica’s Jason Jackson hands Yaroslav Amosov first loss to become Bellator Welterweight Champion

  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.

• De La Hoya promises to quit boxing if Ngannou beats Fury

  Tyson Fury has no chance of losing to Francis Ngannou in the pair's exhibition fight this weekend.

  That is according to former boxer turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who promised to quit his job if Ngannou pulls off a shock victory.

  MMA fighter Ngannou, who has won 17 of his 20 professional fights, is making the move into boxing to face WBC heavyweight champion Fury in a lucrative exhibition bout in Saudi Arabia.

  De La Hoya, though, is giving Ngannou little hope.

  "As a boxing expert, as a fight expert, as a promoter now and as a boxing historian, if Ngannou beats Tyson Fury then I'll quit my job," De La Hoya told Stats Perform.

  "And I love boxing, so I don't plan on quitting! 

  "I think Tyson, inside a boxing ring, he's been in there with [Wladimir] Klitschko, he's been in there with [Deontay] Wilder, there's nothing that Ngannou can do to even make Tyson flinch. It's not going to be a good night for Ngannou."

  Hall of Fame fighter De La Hoya is promoting Ryan Garcia, with whom he has had something of a complicated relationship. 

  Garcia is going up against Oscar Duarte, and like his promoter, he does not see Ngannou having a chance against Fury, hitting out at the "crossover" fight.

  "I'm sorry, I don't want to be disrespectful, but I don't see any reality where Ngannou wins," Garcia told Stats Perform.

  "There's just no way. I'm a big fan of Fury and I think he's just an unbelievable fighter. He's beaten the best in boxing.

  "I'm not going to think that a UFC guy is going to come in and beat him. It's just fun for the fans, man. 

  "It's like these crossover TV shows where you get to watch your favourite cartoon being in another cartoon. That's all."

• Shields welcomes Marshall's MMA move as good for women's sport

  Claressa Shields believes Savannah Marshall's move into mixed martial arts is good for women's sport and wishes her rival well, despite the "love-hate" relationship between the duo.

  Unified middleweight champion and two-time Olympic gold medallist Shields, one of the biggest names in women's boxing, made her MMA debut in 2021 after signing with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where she has a 1-1 record.

  British boxer Marshall, Shields' long-term rival who beat the American as an amateur in 2012 before losing by unanimous decision when they met last year, signed with the PFL last week.

  Marshall then declared her intention to face Shields in her new discipline, saying: "It doesn't look like a rematch in the ring is coming off, so I've had to chase her into another sport."

  There has been no love lost between the fighters in the past, with Shields calling Marshall "delusional" and "disrespectful" after the Brit called for a rematch earlier this year.

  While Shields initially had misgivings over Marshall's MMA switch, she believes the move will benefit the sport and even claims to have offered her rival tips to aid her transition. 

  "Any time I fight Savannah Marshall is a good time for me," Shields told Stats Perform. "Whether it's in boxing for the rematch or in MMA. I mean, if she wanted to go the track and race, I am down for it!

  "The satisfaction of beating her makes me very happy. I have a love-hate relationship with Savannah. I love that she's a competitor. I love that we had our experiences together. 

  "She keeps mentioning the amateur loss, but it was, what, 11 years ago? Other than that, I think it was very clever and very inspiring for her to come and sign with the PFL. 

  "When I heard about it, [I thought], 'man, she is just obsessed with me'. But [then] I asked her, 'why are you here?' 

  "She was like, 'I want to fight you in a cage, and I want to be bigger in boxing too. I want to build my brand'. 

  "Hearing her say those things… It's like, now you're on the same mental that I'm on, because I've been doing this and I've been saying this.

  "We both agree that women's boxing is big but it's not as big as women's MMA and we get paid more in MMA, [with] equal TV time, equal fight time, equal promotion. 

  "There's just way more eyes on us and we can get the bang for our buck. So, the fact that she came over here, I thought it was a good move. 

  "We can still do our fight in boxing for the rematch, and we can still fight in the cage. When we're done, they're going to writing like documentaries and stuff about our beef! 

  "But I don't have beef with her right now. I will save that for when she's my opponent again. Right now, I just wish her well. I even gave her some tips. Boxing and MMA, they are like apples and oranges. I just gave her a few tips on what I think she should do."

  Asked about the development of women's sport in recent years, Shields hailed the progress already made but called for more female representation across sport's governing bodies.  

  "Well women's sports right now are being viewed more than ever in today's time," She added. "I think we need the CEOs, the CFOs, the people in charge to just be equal and whatever you want to do, do it for the women. It's not that hard. 

  "But people saying, 'the women need to do this or do that'… We're already doing everything that we're doing. It is the same as the men. 

  "It's really about the people in charge making those financial decisions with their budgets and just being fair. We are working our way up there. 

  "I'm a fan of the Olympics because I went and I just liked to see how women are represented on track and field, represented in boxing, represented in MMA, represented in soccer. 

  "We are putting in our time, and Coco Gauff just won the [Cincinnati Open] trophy in tennis. Women's sports right now are really on an up and up and it's going to get better."