Mike Jackson (born March 22, 1985) is an American

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 ...

. Jackson last competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC).

Background

Jackson met current UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, when he was still president of Houston-based promotion Legacy FC, in 2008 while working a part time job delivering newspapers for Maynard's print publication, Maroon Weekly. This friendship would eventually lead to Jackson working as a photographer for Maynard at Legacy FC and produced online content around the events.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Jackson made his amateur debut under the Lonestar Beatdown banner in September, 2009. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Jackson made his professional and promotional debut on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82, where he faced fellow newcomer Mickey Gall. Jackson lost the fight by submission just 45 seconds into the first round. He was expected to face Jacob Capelli at XKO 34 on January 28, 2017 but the bout was cancelled. Instead Jackson faced

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 ...

fighter Jeremie Holloway in a

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 ...

bout. Jackson lost by unanimous decision. He was expected to face Rafael Justino at LFA 18 on August 4, 2017, but the bout was cancelled. Jackson next faced

CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...

UFC 225 ''UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 9, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between c ...

on June 9, 2018. Jackson dominated the largely uneventful fight, winning via unanimous decision. Three years after the bout, it was made public that the result was overturned to a no contest by IDFPR after Jackson tested positive for

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

and was suspended for three months. A welterweight bout between Jackson and Dean Barry was briefly linked to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny in January, but it was pulled due to undisclosed reasons. They were expected to meet at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka on May 1, 2021. However, in March, Barry revealed that he was not able to obtain a visa in time for the bout so it was pulled once again. The bout was then booked for the third time to take place at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade on April 23, 2022. Jackson won the fight via disqualification in the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to an intentional eye gouge. Jackson faced Pete Rodriguez on October 15, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 212 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. On January 9, 2023, it was announced that Jackson was released from the UFC, despite having one bout left on his contract.

Post-UFC career

In his first bout outside the UFC, Jackson faced the inaugural

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 ...

, and Hall of Famer

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1968) is a retired Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC W ...

on October 14, 2023 at Caged Aggression 36. Despite suffering an early knockdown, Jackson won the fight via corner stoppage following the end of the second round.

Controversies

Jackson was involved in an altercation with

Jake Shields Jake Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American former mixed martial artist and podcaster. As a mixed martial artist, he was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welte ...

in December 2022 due to Jackson's tweets, which Shields described as racist and anti-white.

Further career

He is also a professional kickboxer with a record of 1–1 and a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...

with a record of 4–0. He is a photographer and

videographer Videography involves capturing moving images on electronic media (such as: videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage), and can include streaming media. It encompasses both video production and post-production methods. Histori ...

for mixed martial arts promotion

Legacy Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merg ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mike, Jackson 1985 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American male kickboxers American male Muay Thai practitioners American photographers American bloggers