The underlying race and culture tension within the mixed martial arts business bubbled over with a slap to current UFC fighter Mike Jackson by MMA veteran Jake Shields. The two, who have had a substantial Twitter war, ran into each other at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, and the results were disastrous for Jackson.
In a now-viral video posted on Dec. 16, Shields can be seen in the top position controlling Jackson from the mount and slapping him while Jackson calls for the crowd surrounding him to get Shields off of him.
Finally ran into the bitch Mike Jackson
He quickly discovered the difference between calling people Nazis In person vs on Twitter
This racist is lucky so many people were there to save his pathetic racist ass pic.twitter.com/90luT0YjfG
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) December 16, 2022
Slapped By “White Fragility”
“He looks like a f*cking gorilla, Jake Shields,” Jackson told MMA Junkie. “He’s probably 230, 240 (pounds) right now just steroided up. He’s just looking at me. … I understand the beef he and I have on social media, but in my mind, I’m like, ‘We’re at the PI (UFC Performance Institute) in a business setting.’ I know he’s not in the UFC, so therefore he’s a guest at the PI.
“In my mind, I’m so frustrated at the situation, because I can’t really do anything,” Jackson continued. “I can’t do anything for health reasons for my own purposes, plus I’m at the PI. I don’t know what their protocol is, if I engage with him, if they’ll kick us both out.”
Once broken up, Shields was banned from the UFC Performance Institute but went to Xtreme Couture, another local gym owned by UFC legend Randy Couture and challenged Jackson to continue their fight. Jackson did not accept the request.
"I didn't punch him because, you know, you punch men. You slap b*tches."@JakeShieldsajj details his UFC PI altercation with Mike Jackson.
Full story: https://t.co/lZfWiQuyG3 pic.twitter.com/zDf7A8NXZZ
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) December 22, 2022
Don’t Call Me “Nazi”
“First off, I never heard of Mike, we originally got into it on Twitter,” Shields said to MMA Junkie. “He started calling me a Nazi for no reason. I had no idea who he was. Usually, I would just block someone if they called me a Nazi, but I saw he was in the fight industry. I’m extremely respected in the fight industry, everyone in the fight industry, for the most part, loves me.
“No one’s ever called me a racist, nor would they. So for this guy in my industry thinking he was going to get away with that, I told him, ‘When I see you, Mike, there’s going to be consequences.'”
It's funny to see @jakeshieldsajj running around with his hood off. https://t.co/tp2Ni8nPGl pic.twitter.com/1hmTjiWUTd
— Mike Jackson, Esq. (@TheTruthJackson) December 21, 2022
Shields, who is very active on Twitter, espousing less than popular views on politics and world systems, was called a “Nazi” by Jackson on Twitter and accused of being racist. He also called Shields a “white nationalist” multiple times and was vehemently attacked by Shields and his followers on the social media platform.
MMA’s Race Crusader?
Jackson, an attorney also has a tattoo that says Black Power on his chest and has fashioned himself a crusader against what he deems as “white nationalists” hiding in plain sight within MMA. He also confronts them on Twitter, agitating what he considers their “white fragility.”
Duuuude 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️ you need help. For real. I would say I’ll kick your ass but apparently even that doesn’t teach you lessons… Glutton for punishment? Idiot? Or Danis level mental handicap? https://t.co/FN68OU3cCP
— Matt Brown (@IamTheImmortal) December 23, 2022
But that was online. Now that Shields landed the first blow, Jackson is threatening to press charges against Shields, which has drawn the ire of many in the MMA community.
“(The UFC staff was) like, ‘He’s banned,” Jackson said to MMA Junkie. “Jake Shields is banned. He can never come back here, so what you wanna do? He can’t come back to the PI. Do you want to leave it at that or press charges?'” Jackson said. “All of this is assault. Apparently the dude is running around saying I punched him or I threw a punch or something. None of that’s true. Here’s why I know it’s true: I didn’t throw a punch at the guy, and all of this is on video.
“You can’t go around doing thuggish sh*t and expect there to be no consequences,” Jackson continued. “Jake Shields has to understand there are consequences for your white nationalism action, my guy. And you are going to suffer that. You can be upset, but you have no one to blame other than yourself.”
Since the incident, the two have maintained their Twitter war, with the fault lines ensconced in race and culture. Other fighters have jumped in with their opinions, and the accusations made by Jackson have been steady. It is a silent issue that has quietly crept into the MMA business, and now the division between the audience and the fighters is clear for the world to see.
