William Michael Anthony Jackson (born March 22, 1985) is an American

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, incorpo ...

. Jackson last competed in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of 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 ...

(UFC).

Background

Mike Jackson is the son of a White father and mixed mother. Jackson grew up in The Woodlands, where he participated in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

. He attended and remains an avid fan of the

Vidor High School The Vidor Independent School District is a public school district based in Vidor, Texas, United States. The district serves a area in northwestern Orange County and a small portion of far southwestern Jasper County, including the cities of Vi ...

Rebels. Jackson met current UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard, when he was still president of Houston-based promotion Legacy FC, in 2008 while working a part time job delivering newspapers for Maynard's print publication, Maroon Weekly. This friendship would eventually lead to Jackson working as a photographer for Maynard at Legacy FC and produced online content around the events.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Jackson made his amateur debut under the Lonestar Beatdown banner in September, 2009. He lost the bout by unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Jackson made his professional and promotional debut on February 6, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 82, where he faced fellow newcomer

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxi ...

. Jackson lost the fight by submission just 45 seconds into the first round. He was expected to face Jacob Capelli at XKO 34 on January 28, 2017 but the bout was cancelled. Instead Jackson faced Bellator MMA fighter Jeremie Holloway in a Muay Thai bout. Jackson lost by unanimous decision. He was expected to face Rafael Justino at LFA 18 on August 4, 2017, but the bout was cancelled. Jackson next faced CM Punk at

UFC 225 ''UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on June 9, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between ...

on June 9, 2018. Jackson dominated the largely uneventful fight, winning via unanimous decision. Three years after the bout, it was made public that the result was overturned to a no contest by IDFPR after Jackson tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for three months. A welterweight bout between Jackson and Dean Barry was briefly linked to UFC on ESPN: Chiesa vs. Magny in January, but it was pulled due to undisclosed reasons. They were expected to meet at UFC on ESPN: Reyes vs. Procházka on May 1, 2021. However, in March, Barry revealed that he was not able to obtain a visa in time for the bout so it was pulled once again. The bout was then booked for the third time to take place at UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade on April 23, 2022. Jackson won the fight via disqualification in the first round after being rendered unable to continue due to an intentional eye gouge. Jackson faced Pete Rodriguez on October 15, 2022, at

UFC Fight Night 212 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 ...

. He lost the fight via knockout in round one. On January 9, 2023, it was announced that Jackson was released from the UFC, despite having one bout left on his contract.

Controversies

Jackson was involved in an altercation with

Jake Shields Jake Sequoyah Shields (born January 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and submission grappler. He was the last Rumble on the Rock Welterweight Champion, the only Elite XC Welterweight Champion, a former Shooto Welterweight ...

in December of 2022 due to Jackson's tweets, which Shields described as racist and anti-white.

Further career

He is also a professional kickboxer with a record of 1–1 and a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

with a record of 4–0. He is a

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

and

videographer Videography is the process of capturing moving images on electronic media (e.g., videotape, direct to disk recording, or solid state storage) and even streaming media. The term includes methods of video production and post-production. It ...

for mixed martial arts promotion

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Professional boxing record

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mike, Jackson 1985 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers American male kickboxers American Muay Thai practitioners American photographers American bloggers