UFC fighter Montel Jackson gives a pensive reason why he doesn't celebrate wins inside the cage

UFC bantamweight Montel Jackson took on Brazilian veteran Rani Yahya in the prelims card at UFC Vegas 71 last weekend. The heaviest favorite on the card at -560, 'Quik' justified the odds by scoring a brutal first-round KO win over Yahya.

Despite becoming the first fighter to stop Rani Yahya inside the UFC, Jackson calmly walked to his corner and bowed towards his fallen opponent with respect. The 30-year-old subsequently explained the lack of jubilance in his post-fight celebrations.

Sharing a rather reflective thought, Jackson explained that fighters in our 'unforgiving' sport often don't come back the same after suffering brutal losses. The UFC bantamweight said in his post-fight interview:

"This is a unforgiving game. We've seen throughout history of combat sports, guys get hit and they don't come back the same. You've seen guys getting knocked out and they come back as a vegetable or they die. Like I'm from the midwest and one of the top boxers that ever came out my area Milwaukee was Gerald McClellan. And Gerald McClellan got knocked out, he was never the same. So I never celebrate or go crazy and stuff like that because this is dangerous."

Catch Montel Jackson's comments below:

Who is Gerald McClellan, the boxer mentioned by UFC fighter Montel Jackson?

Having grown up in Wisconsin, Montel Jackson was bound to be inspired by former WBC middleweight champion Gerald McClellan, who hailed from the neighboring state of Illinois.

Known for the explosive power in his rear-right hand, McClellan won 31 of his 34 total fights and 29 of them via TKO. He was twenty-seven years old when he moved up a weight class to take on British boxing legend Nigel Benn in 1995.

While McClellan scored two knockdowns over Benn, the Brit showed excellent grit in coming from behind to score a tenth-round TKO. McClellan collapsed on the canvas a few minutes after failing to respond to the referee's count.

The Freeport native took several punches to the back of his head which resulted in a blood clot that required surgery. McClellan never came back the same man as the injury left him with a permanent disability.

He is currently bed ridden, has lost his sight and sense of hearing and is cared for by his sisters Lisa and Sandra.