Jake Shields has opened up about the controversial incident that led to his permanent ban from the UFC Performance Institute, offering his perspective on the altercation that made headlines in mixed martial arts circles. He talked about it in a recent episode of Geeking Out podcast ith Matt Serra.
The former Strikeforce and UFC welterweight contender found himself in hot water following a confrontation at the Las Vegas facility, which resulted in his indefinite suspension from the premises. Now, Shields is sharing his side of the story while taking aim at his opponent in the incident.
Shields put up his side: “He was running his mouth on Twitter. I’d never fight some random guy, but if you’re in the UFC, close to my weight, and talking trash, we had already agreed online it was on sight.”
According to Shields, Jackson had accused him of being racist, which he found absurd. “He’s a quarter Black, calling me racist. Meanwhile, he’s the one tweeting things like, ‘F*** white people, f*** crackers.’ The guy’s just a racist piece of s***.”
The tension boiled over when Shields walked into the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas and spotted Jackson training. “I confronted him, and he goes, ‘No, bro, let’s do this in Houston,’ like he was trying to dodge the fight,” Shields recalled.
Things escalated quickly. “They grabbed me and tried holding me back, but then he kept barking, running his mouth. So Dewey [Cooper] let me go. I slammed him on the ground—honestly. I’ve had s** with girls stronger than Mike Jackson,” Shields stated when discussing the altercation, clearly unimpressed with Jackson’s physical capabilities during their encounter.
Following the incident, Shields was banned from the UFC. Jackson, for his part, became an unlikely figure in UFC lore following his memorable encounter with CM Punk, which marked the former WWE star’s debut in mixed martial arts. The bout, while criticized by many for its lack of technical skill, provided Jackson with his moment in the UFC spotlight.
