Let’s be blunt: Mike Jackson was never really supposed to be in the UFC.
A part-time fighter who has worked as a journalist, as well as for UFC matchmaker Mitch Maynard in his Legacy FC days, Jackson was brought into the company as a foil for Mickey Gall in 2016, and later CM Punk.
Somehow, “The Truth” managed to parlay that into a six year run with the company, that saw Jackson compete four times — posting, officially, a 1-2, 1NC record. His stint with the UFC has come to an end, however.
On Monday, UFC Roster Watch, an automated Twitter-based service that monitors the UFC’s fighter database, noted that Jackson had been removed from the active roster.
Jackson’s final fight came against Pete Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 62. It wasn’t pretty, with Jackson going down via TKO.
The move to release Mike Jackson comes following a highly controversial encounter with former UFC title challenger Jake Shields at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. After butting heads on social media — Jackson has taken to calling Shields a “Nazi” for his right-wing political leanings, while Shields has called Jackson a “racist” for, among other things, being a self-proclaimed “snow roach exterminator” — the bad blood spilled over into real life, leading to Shields taking down and mounting Jackson before the pair were separated.
With Shields allegedly banned from the UFC PI, it felt as if Jackson’s time in the promotion would soon be nigh, given neither man came off particularly well in the feud. To be fair to Jackson, were it not for a failed drug test (THC), his record with the promotion would be 2-2 — though one win came via DQ against Dean Barry, while the other was a lackluster showing against former WWE and AEW star CM Punk.
Jackson, who has claimed that due to jaw surgery, he couldn’t defend himself during the Shields incident, confirmed his release and now says he’s focused on boxing his rival in a rematch in the gym.
“My mindset wasn’t to beat the f*ck out of Jake Shields — it was to not get punched in the face,” Jackson said in a statement to MMA Fighting. “So he’s in my DMs, talking a bunch of sh*t, 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. He’s going to come to Houston, or we’re going to find somewhere to meet, and I’ll beat the f*ck out of him for the sh*t that he did.”
That, quite frankly, feels like a missed opportunity, as TSN’s Aaron Bronsteter later pointed out.
With all of the wacky boxing bookings, there is no reason to do this in a gym.
You're telling me one of these Triller or Misfits Boxing promotions wouldn't pay these dudes to box on one of their events? https://t.co/9pULNFljiq
— Aaron Bronsteter (@aaronbronsteter) January 10, 2023
