Kate Jackson is a British retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, most notable for fighting for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

, where she challenged for the promotion's flyweight championship, and on The Ultimate Fighter 23, losing to eventual TUF 23 winner

Tatiana Suarez Tatiana Yadira Suarez Padilla (born December 19, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former wrestler who currently competes in the women's Strawweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She was the straw ...

Background

Having done karate since 2001 and judo from 2002 since the age of 15, Jackson kept going with whatever martial arts she could find at university, be it traditional jiujitsu, kickboxing and occasional BJJ classes. She found an MMA gym, Koncept, in Newquay Cornwall in 2008, and that’s when her interest and future career in MMA started.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Jackson made her MMA debut on 10 May 2009, earning a TKO victory over Kate Rennie. She would win four of her first five professional fights, before suffering her second career loss against future UFC women's strawweight champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The Ultimate Fighter 23

Competing at strawweight, Jackson appeared on the 23rd season of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, where she was a member of Team Gadelha, coached by

Claudia Gadelha Claudia may refer to: People Ancient Romans *Any woman from the Roman Claudia gens * Claudia (vestal), a Vestal Virgin who protected her father Appius Claudius Pulcher in 143 BC * Claudia Augusta (63–63 AD), infant daughter of Nero by his secon ...

. In an interesting coincidence, the coach of the opposing team was Joanna Jedrzejczyk, against whom Jackson had previously competed. Jackson defeated Irene Cabello by TKO to gain entry into the TUF house. She defeated

Ashley Yoder Ashley Yoder (born October 20, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist and competes in Strawweight division. A professional since 2008, Yoder is most known for her time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Biography Yoder was born on ...

via unanimous decision to advance to the semifinal round. There, Jackson was defeated by

by submission.

Bellator MMA

Following her stint on The Ultimate Fighter 23, Jackson returned to the regional scene in her native England for a single fight before being signed by

in 2017 to compete in their women's flyweight division. She won her promotional debut at Bellator 182, defeating

Colleen Schneider Colleen Schneider (born March 12, 1982, in Syracuse, New York) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. Colleen was a contestant in season 18 of The Ultimate Fighter reality competition television show. Early life She attended C ...

. In her second fight for the promotion, Jackson faced Valerie Letourneau at Bellator 191 in December 2017. She lost the fight by a unanimous decision. In her third fight for the promotion, Jackson faced an undefeated Russian prospect, Anastasia Yankova at Bellator 200 on 25 May 2018. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Jackson next fought

Lena Ovchynnikova Oléna "Lena" Serhíyivna Ovchýnnikova (; born April 22, 1987) is a Ukrainian kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division in kickboxing and the flyweight division in MMA. She is the reigning WB ...

at Bellator 223 on 22 June 2019. She won the fight by TKO in the first round. On the strength of her two fight win streak, Jackson was selected as the next title challenger for the

Bellator Women's Flyweight World Championship Bellator MMA (formerly known as "Bellator Fighting Championships") was an American mixed martial arts promotion, and the following is a history of its champions in each weight class. At the time of its inception in 2008, CEO Bjorn Rebney founded ...

against champion

Ilima-Lei Macfarlane Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (born April 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently signed to the Global Fight League (GFL), where she competes in the flyweight division. Macfarlane previously competed in Bellator MMA, where she ...

. The fight was the main event of Bellator 236 in Honolulu, Hawaii on 21 December 2019. Jackson lost the fight via unanimous decision. Jackson faced

Denise Kielholtz Denise Kielholtz (born 30 March 1989) is a Dutch female Muay Thai kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has competed professionally since 2004 and is the current Bellator Kickboxing Women's Flyweight Champion. ...

at Bellator 247 on 1 October 2020. She lost the bout via knockout just 43 seconds into the first round. Jackson faced

Elina Kallionidou Elina "Gunner" Kallionidou (, born Nov 18, 1998) is a Greek female mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight (MMA), Flyweight division. Elina competed in Bellator MMA, is the Former Cage Survivor Bantamweight Champio ...

on May 13, 2022 at

Bellator 281 ''Bellator 281: MVP vs. Storley'' (also known as '' Bellator London'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on May 13, 2022, at SSE Arena in London, England. Background Yaroslav Amosov was to make his firs ...

. She lost the bout via TKO stoppage due to ground and pound at the end of the second round.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–6–1 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:53 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5–1 ,

, KO (punches) , Bellator 247 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Italy , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–4–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 236 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3–1 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Bellator 223 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:21 ,

, England , , - , Win , align=center, , Anastasia Yankova , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 200 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–3–1 , Valerie Letourneau , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 191 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2–1 ,

, TKO (knee injury) , Bellator 182 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Verona, New York Verona (called ''Te-o-na-ta-le'', "''pine forest''" by the Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2–1 , Bryony Tyrell , TKO (punches) , British Challenge MMA 18 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:43 ,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2–1 , Linn Wennergren , Decision (split) , LFN 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2–1 , Eeva Siiskonen , Submission (guillotine choke) , LFN 12 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:59 ,

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2–1 , Paulina Bonkowska , TKO (knees and punches) , Cage Warriors Fighting Championship 72 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:05 ,

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay * Newport (Vietnam), a United States Army and Army of t ...

, Wales , , - , Draw , align=center, 4–2–1 , Vuokko Katainen , Draw (split) , LFN 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Finland , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Joanna Jedrzejczyk , TKO (retirement) , PLMMA 17 Extra: Warmia Heroes , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Chloe Hinchliffe , Decision (unanimous) , Tear Up 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Paula Ralph , TKO (punches) , Tear Up 8 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 , Hanna Sillen , Decision (unanimous) , The Zone FC 9: Unbreakable , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Fay Ridgeway , Decision (unanimous) , Head to Head: The Big Guns , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kate Rennie , TKO (punches) , HOP 11: Taking Over , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

, England , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , rowspan=3 , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Joanna vs. Team Cláudia , (airdate) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 , rowspan=3 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Irene Cabello , TKO (punches) , (airdate) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:48 ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Kate Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing karate Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu English female karateka English female judoka English jujutsuka English practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Bellator female fighters