Welterweight Mike Jackson on Monday confirmed his release from the UFC with one bout remaining on his contract. The algorithm-based Twitter account UFC Roster Watch first reported the news.
Jackson, 37, told MMA Fighting his release is unrelated to a fight with Jake Shields at the UFC Performance Institute for which he is pressing charges. After a failed bout, he said that the promotion had signalled it would let him go. Because of his record, which stands at 1-2 with one no-contest, he said matchmakers struggled to find suitable opponents and instead elected to release him from contract.
“I understand the business side of this,” he said. It doesn’t really matter to me. It didn’t matter that I was fighting .”
, but it did make me a lot more.
Now, Jackson stated that he would like to rematch Shields according to the original terms — a boxing match at mutually agreed upon gym. Jackson stated that he couldn’t defend himself at the UFC PI as he was recovering from surgery to his jaw.
“My mindset wasn’t to beat the f*** out of Jake Shields — it was to not get punched in the face,” Jackson said. “So he’s in my DMs, talking a bunch of s***, but then his tune changed, and he was like, ‘Do you want me to come to Houston to box? I’ll come box you.’ I haven’t responded yet, but that’s my new thing. We’re either going to Houston or finding somewhere for us to meet. I will beat him to the punch for all the s*** he’s done .
Shields didn’t immediately reply to our request for comment.
Shields, a one-time UFC title challenger, confronted Jackson at the UFC PI after a back-and-forth on social media, and the two wound up in a physical confrontation. Based on Jackson’s posts to social media, Shields claimed that Shields was a white supremacist. Jackson also accused Shields as a Nazi and a Nazi.
Jackson claimed that Shields started the UFC PI conflict by spitting at him. Shields, however, told MMA Fighting Jackson threw his first punch after turning down an invitation to fight in the gym’s cage. As Jackson asks for assistance, Shields puts Jackson on a mount and then slaps him.
Jackson said he’s speaking this week to a detective to initiate a criminal case against Shields.
Jackson made his UFC debut in 2016, facing Mickey Gall in what turned out to be an eliminator for the right to fight former pro-wrestling champ CM Punk. Jackson was submitted by Gall, but wound up fighting Punk in 2018 in a bout panned by UFC President Dana White. After a four-year hiatus, Jackson returned to the octagon in 2022 and defeated Dean Barry via disqualification due to an illegal eye poke.
Jackson was eliminated by Pete Rodriguez in round one of the October 2010 televised match.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/1/9/23547661/mike-jackson-confirms-ufc-release-targets-gym-rematch-with-jake-shields?rand=96749
