Mike Jackson will leave UFC Vegas 52 with a victory but he’ll require some medical attention after his opponent Dean Barry was disqualified following a vicious eye gouge that stopped the fight in the opening round.
The foul occurred after Barry had actually scored a knockdown but once Jackson got back to his feet, he was attempting to grab onto the clinch and slow down the action before any further damage was done. Barry tried to push his opponent off the mat, but replays revealed that his finger was digging in Jackson’s eyes.
A DQ victory for @TheTruthJackson ends the first fight of #UFCVegas52. pic.twitter.com/XJPgIqfVcm
— UFC (@ufc) April 23, 2022
Not how anyone wants to see a fight end.
The fight’s been called after an eye poke from Dean Barry in the first. #UFCVegas52 pic.twitter.com/jPBG0ZEpty
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) April 23, 2022
Jackson grabbed his eye immediately in apparent pain. Referee Chris Tognoni stopped the action following a third foul in under five minutes.
The second foul was a low blow, including a spinning kick which blasted Jackson in his groin. He yelled “a spinning kick to the drag…that motherf !”
Although Jackson was eventually able to get back on his feet, the unlucky ending occurred just moments after he received an eye poke which left him blind. The ringside doctor had to end the fight.
Through three fights in the UFC, Jackson has certainly endured an interesting run after falling to Mickey Gall in his debut and then earning a lopsided win over professional wrestler turned mixed martial arts enthusiast CM Punk only to have that victory overturned to a no contest due to a positive drug test for marijuana.
Jackson will now get his first official UFC win after the disqualification that ended his night in Las Vegas.
