Gregory Jackson (born 1974) is an American

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

(MMA) trainer who co-owns Jackson Wink MMA Academy in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, widely considered one of the top MMA training centers in the world. Jackson has trained many successful fighters, including current UFC Heavyweight Champion

Jon Jones Jonathan Dwight Jones (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the ...

, former

UFC Welterweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981), also known by his initials GSP, is a Canadian former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-divi ...

, former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm, former Light Heavyweight Champion

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

, and a roster of other UFC contenders and

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

champions.

History

Greg Jackson was born in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to Kris and Jim Jackson, who were

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

s originally from the Midwest. Jackson and his family moved to

when he was three years old. Jackson came from a family of wrestlers (his father, brother, and uncle were all champions in the sport). Jackson grew up in a rough neighborhood, and began learning

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

to defend himself. As a result, he was suspended from school for instigating fights on more than one occasion. In 1992, after graduating from Rio Grande High School, Jackson founded his own

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the pres ...

, Gaidojutsu, which combines rudimentary techniques from

catch wrestling Catch wrestling (also known as catch-as-catch-can) is an English wrestling style where wrestlers aim to win by Pin (sport wrestling), pinning or Submission (combat sports), submitting their opponent using any legal holds or techniques. It emph ...

and

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

with basic

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

locks. His school officially turned into an MMA school in 2000. In 2007, Jackson teamed up with striking coach Mike Winkeljohn, which was a seminal moment for Jackson's academy; since then, the gym has been known as '' Jackson Wink MMA Academy (JW MMA Academy)'',Wright, Rick (August 3, 2014
MMA: Coaching team has it all covered

Albuquerque Journal The ''Albuquerque Journal'' is the largest newspaper in the U.S. state of New Mexico. History The ''Golden Gate'' newspaper was founded in June 1880. In the fall of 1880, the owner of the ''Golden Gate'' died and Journal Publishing Company was ...

Retrieved October 15, 2014 representing the partnership between Jackson and Winkeljohn.

Awards

Greg Jackson and his gym have won five World MMA Awards altogether. He won the Coach of the Year award in 2009, 2010 and 2011. His old gym, Greg Jackson Fighting Systems won the Gym of the Year award in 2009. The contemporary Jackson-Wink MMA Academy won the same award in 2015.

Reality television

On February 5, 2013, Jackson signed with

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

to coach on the promotion's reality series titled '' Fight Master: Bellator MMA''.

References

External links

Jacksons Wink MMA Academy - Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Greg Mixed martial arts trainers Martial arts school founders Living people Sportspeople from Albuquerque, New Mexico 1974 births