Kevin Andre Jackson (born November 25, 1964 in

Highland Falls, New York Highland Falls, formerly named Buttermilk Falls, is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 3,900 at the 2010 census. The village was founded in 1906. It is part of the Poughkeepsie– Newburgh– Middletown, ...

) is an American retired

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and folkstyle wrestler, and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

coach. During his international career, Jackson became an Olympic Gold medalist in 1992, a two-time

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

(

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

), a three-time

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

Gold medalist (1993, 1995 and 1997, bronze in 1994) a two-time

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

Gold medalist (

and

) and a two-time

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

Champion (1990 and 1991). In folkstyle, Jackson was a four-time

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

All-American, thrice for the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

and once for the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's and 1 ...

, after

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

dropped its wrestling program. He also stepped into the UFC Octagon in four occasions, winning his first two bouts and losing the next two, all finishing via submission. After spending the last four years as USA Wrestling's National Freestyle Developmental Coach, Jackson made the move to Ann Arbor, MI to serve as an Assistant Wrestling Coach for the University of Michigan.

Biography

High school

The native of

Lansing, Michigan Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...

, won two state high school championships for Eastern High School before becoming a Junior National

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

champion.

College

As a college wrestler, he attended

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and earned All-America honors three times before the school dropped the sport. He transferred to

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

for his senior year and captained the Cyclones’ last NCAA championship team (1987), earning another All-America award with an NCAA runner-up finish and registering a 30-3-1 record.

Career

In 1992 he won a gold medal in wrestling and was invited to join "Team Foxcatcher", but was let go the next year when

John du Pont John Eleuthère du Pont (November 22, 1938 – December 9, 2010) was an American convicted murderer and philanthropist. An heir to the du Pont family fortune, he was a published ornithologist, philatelist, conchologist, and sports enthusiast. Du ...

started getting paranoid delusions and did not want anything black in his estate, from cars to horses to people. Soon after, Jackson won two

titles and was a member of World Championship teams for the United States in both 1993 and 1995. He won three U.S. National Titles and placed second five times. Jackson also became the first American to win the prestigious Takhti Cup (1998) in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. During his post-collegiate competitive career, Jackson also assisted with the Cyclone Wrestling Club (1989–92) and volunteered with the

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

(1997) program. Jackson participated in

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

in 1997, when he joined the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

to become only the 2nd Olympic Gold medalist wrestler to step in the octagon, eventually winning the ''

UFC 14 ''UFC 14: Showdown'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 27, 1997 in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on home video. History UFC 1 ...

'' Light Heavyweight tournament. He fought

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) and ...

for the inaugural

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship 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 classe ...

at ''

UFC Japan ''UFC Japan: Ultimate Japan '' (also known as ''UFC Ultimate Japan'' or ''UFC 15.5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 21, 1997 in Yokohama, Japan. The event was seen on pay per view in the Unit ...

'', but lost via armbar submission. He retired from MMA competition in 1998 after six fights. Jackson's success earned him a number of major awards, including the 1995 John Smith Award as National Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, 1992 Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year and 1991 USA Wrestling and USOC Wrestler of the Year. Jackson is a member of the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame, the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

(as a Distinguished Member) and the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame. In October of 2019, Jackson was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame and is the only wrestler to be inducted. Jackson has worked extensively as a wrestling coach. He was head coach of the Sunkist youth development program, National Freestyle coach for

USA Wrestling USA Wrestling (formerly known as the United States Wrestling Federation and as the United States Wrestling Association) is the organization that currently governs freestyle wrestling and Greco-Roman wrestling in the United States. USA Wrestling is ...

for eight years (2001–08) and the freestyle wrestling coach for two United States' teams at the Olympics. Jackson was the freestyle coach at the

Olympic Training Center The United States Olympic & Paralympic Training Centers (OPTCs) are two campuses created by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Spri ...

and head coach for the U.S. Army team at

Fort Carson Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs i ...

(1998–2001). In June 2017 Kevin went back to the

as a US National Team head development coach.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center , 4–2 , Sam Adkins , Submission (armbar) , Extreme Challenge 18 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:21 ,

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 3–2 ,

Jerry Bohlander Jerry Bohlander (born February 12, 1974) is an American former mixed martial artist. He is most notable for his UFC appearances and was a former UFC champion, winning the first lightweight (under 200 lb) tournament at ''UFC 12''. He was a membe ...

, Technical Submission (armbar) ,

UFC 16 ''UFC 16: Battle in the Bayou'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on March 13, 1998 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later released on home video. ...

, , align=center , 1 , align=center , 10:23 ,

Kenner, Louisiana Kenner (historically french: Cannes-Brûlées) is a city in Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in Jefferson Parish, and is the largest incorporated suburban city of New Orleans. The population was 66,448 at the 2020 census. History ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 3–1 ,

, Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:16 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center , 3–0 ,

Tony Fryklund Anthony James Fryklund (born March 26, 1971) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor from 1997 until 2013, he competed for the UFC, the WEC, Bellator, S ...

, Submission (choke) , rowspan=2,

, rowspan=2, , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:44 , rowspan=2,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 2–0 , Todd Butler , TKO (submission to punches) , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:27 , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 ,

John Lober John "Machine" Lober (born February 26, 1968) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He lost his last fight at Cage Wars Championship: Nightmare against Lee McKibbin on November 29, 2009. Lober holds ...

, Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Extreme Fighting 4 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 1:12 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, United States ,

Championships and awards

Middleweight tournament winner *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

Fight of the Year Fight of the Year is an award given to the boxing match considered to be the best fight that year. It is awarded by a variety of different institutions. It may refer to: * ''The Ring'' magazine Fight of the Year – awarded by ''The Ring'' magazi ...

(1998) vs. Jerry Bohlander on March 13

References

External links

* *
Kevin Jackson at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Kevin 1964 births Living people American wrestling coaches Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers Iowa State Cyclones wrestling coaches LSU Tigers wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona J Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters