Kate Jackson (fighter)

Kate Jackson is a British retired mixed martial artist, most notable for fighting for Bellator MMA, where she challenged for the promotion's flyweight championship, and on The Ultimate Fighter 23, losing to eventual TUF 23 winner Tatiana Suarez.

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.

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. 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 via unanimous decision to advance to the semifinal round. There, Jackson was defeated by Tatiana Suarez 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 Bellator MMA in 2017 to compete in their women's flyweight division. She won her promotional debut at Bellator 182, defeating Colleen Schneider.

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 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 against champion Ilima-Lei Macfarlane. 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 at Bellator 247 on 1 October 2020. She lost the bout via knockout just 43 seconds into the first round.

Jackson faced Elina Kallionidou on May 13, 2022 at Bellator 281. She lost the bout via TKO stoppage due to ground and pound at the end of the second round.