“The Ass-Kicking Machine” known as Jason Jackson is going to look to defuse an explosive situation at Bellator 260 on Friday night.
Jackson has seen a recent string of successes in the Bellator cage, including a win over former UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Now, he’s up against Paul “Semtex” Daley in a 175lb catchweight bout.
Until recently, Daley had been hinting at retirement. It was supposed to come after his last bout, a come-from-behind finish of Sabah Homasi. But instead of heading off into the sunset, Daley is making a relatively quick turnaround to face Jackson.
On that front, Jackson intends to end the discussion. “Paul, I’m not sure if he still feels like he got it or whatnot. But come fight night, definitely I’m going to shut all that down.”
To the winner goes the spoils. And in this case, given Daley’s profile and Jackson’s #3 ranking at welterweight, a title shot could be in the offing. Jackson, however, isn’t focusing on belt chasing. He’s not sure if a title shot will come or not.
“I don’t know. At this point, I don’t confuse my mind no more on title fight or whatnot,” said Jackson. “Because if that were so, I would have got it after the Neiman [Gracie] fight. But no, it wasn’t. So I’m just going to fight, and whatever Bellator has in mind, if that’s what they have, I’m ready. But if not, I’m going to continue fighting.”
The Gracie victory was Jackson’s most recent. A unanimous decision win over the former title challenger — but it was not enough to secure a shot at the winner of Douglas Lima vs. Yaroslav Amosov.
With all that in mind, Jackson aims to stay busy this year. “I have a family to feed, so I don’t have the money or the luxury like all the other fighters to sit,” he exclaimed. “Unless Scott Coker signs Logan Paul, and Logan Paul vs. Jason Jackson [takes place]. Then I can take a break for the year. But other than that, I expect to keep going.”
Coker has left the door open to working with Logan Paul — but after boxing Floyd Mayweather in a PPV that reportedly cracked one million buys, it’s unlikely he arrives in Bellator any time soon.
Watch the full Bellator 260 media day interview with Jason Jackson above. He goes head-to-head with Paul Daley this Friday, June 11 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
