Jason Jackson took plenty of names while rising up the ranks as a welterweight champion in a number of notable regional promotions – and he continued to be the “Ass-Kicking Machine” upon joining Bellator. Jackson went 8-2 in the promotion, including wins over Douglas Lima, Neiman Gracie and Benson Henderson before defeating Yaroslav Amosov to become Bellator Welterweight World Champion. Jackson defeated Ray Cooper III in the PFL vs. Bellator Champions card in February 2024 before dropping his Bellator World Title to Ramazan Kuramagomedov last year. Jackson earned his Semifinals spot tonight by putting away another former Bellator World Champion, Andrey Koreshkov, in April.

 

Thad Jean took up martial arts at 18, quickly going from jiu-jitsu, to Muay Thai, to MMA, and he now finds himself as a rising 9-0 star in the sport. The 2023 PFL Challenger Series contract winner, known as “The Silverback,” has seen five of his six stoppage wins come in the first round. He earned tonight’s Semifinals spot with a first-round knockout of Mukhamed Berkhamov in April – and he now looks forward to perhaps the biggest, and toughest, fight of his career thus far.

 

Who will go on to face Logan Storley in the Welterweight Finals?

 

 

Round 1

 

The two start circling, with Jackson trying to control the action. The crowd in Nashville is firmly behind “Silverback.” Low kick from Jackson. Left hand from Jean. Round kick by Jean. Strong straight from Jackson. Solid jab from Jean knocks down Jackson! Jackson tries to attack one of Jean’s arms with his guard. Jean escapes and forces Jackson back up. Jean pressures and gets Jackson against the fence. Jackson perfectly times his level change and scores the takedown! Jean slowly makes his way to his feet, but Jackson still pressures him against the fence. Jean gets out of his clutches.

 

 

Left hand from Jean. Jackson is still by the fence. Uppercut misses for Jean. Left hand flashed by Jackson. Another clinch. Jackson with a knee, but Jean forces him against the SmartCage barrier. Jackson pushes him off. A low kick from Jackson is missed. Jackson comes forward. Jackson nearly misses a high kick. Low kick from Jackson. Right hand for Jackson. Jackson shoots in and scores the takedown. Jackson looking to get to Jean’s back. Jackson binds Jean and works him over with punches. Jean gets back to his feet, but Jackson still has a hold of him by the horn.

 

 

Round 2

 

Jackson with a solid left hand as Jean circles around. Right hand from Jean. One-two connects for Jackson. Right hand from Jackson and he shoots in. Jackson presses Jean against the fence as Jean tries to defend the takedown attempt. Knee up the center from Jackson on the clinch break. Left hand from Jean. Jackson drives and level changes, scoring another takedown. Jean with a lift as he counters, getting to his feet and pressing Jackson against the fence now. Jackson gets away with three minutes left in the round.

 

Left hand from Jean. Left hand from Jackson. Low kick from Jean. Jackson presses Jean, but Jean reverses it and gets Jackson to the fence again. Jean with a few punches to the body as the crowd really gets behind him again. Knee to the legs by Jean. A pair of knees up the middle by Jackson. Jean with an elbow to the side of the head on the separation. Low kick from Jean. One-two from Jean. Jackson throws an uppercut. Front kick from Jean. Jackson misses a wild combination. Jackson with a level change, and he scores a takedown. Jean gets to his feet, though Jackson gets to Jean’s back standing before the round ends.

 

 

Round 3

 

Solid high kick from Jackson. Strong one-two from Jackson. Left hands from both men. Jab flashed by Jackson. Left hand from Jean. Left hand from Jackson. Straights from both men missed. One-two missed by Jean. Right hand by Jean. Front kick from Jean. Jackson fires a kick. Jackson with a knee in close. Low kick from Jean. Left hand flashed by Jackson. The two clinch, and an inside kick from Jean lands on Jackson’s cup.

 

Jackson with a flurry as he chases after Jean. Low kick from Jean. Left hand from Jean. Jackson goes for a takedown, but Jean counters. It’s a clinch battle against the fence, the two jockeying for position until Jean breaks it with a strike. Right hand from Jean. Jean is now pressing Jackson against the fence. One-two from each man. Right hand from Jackson. Left hand from Jackson. Right hand by Jackson. One-two from Jackson. Jackson works combinations well. One-two by Jean as Jackson goes for a takedown. Jean looks for a guillotine, but Jackson works over that! Jackson is now pressing Jean against the fence. Jean delivers some shots to the body as the fight comes to a close.

 

 

OFFICIAL RESULT

 

Thad “The Silverback” Jean defeats Jason Jackson by split decision (30-27, 29-28, 28-29), advancing to the Final in the Welterweight Bracket. The 2025 PFL World Tournament Welterweight Final is Thad Jean vs. Logan Storley.