Mike Jackson claims Jake Shields spat on him, Shields says Jackson threw a punch at UFC PI

Mike Jackson and Jake Shields agree to start their feud on Twitter. They accuse each other of making things physical on Friday at the UFC Performance Institute.

In separate phone interviews with MMA Fighting, Jackson said Shields spat on him twice before he was ambushed by the former UFC fighter and teammate, leading to a brief grapple that was caught on video. Shields said Jackson threw a punch at him after he challenged the UFC welterweight to a PI cage fight, beginning the physical confrontation. They both accuse the other of lying about what really happened.

As a result of the fight, Jackson said, Shields was banned from the UFC PI. Because Shields posted the video, he plans to file assault charges.

“We’re in a professional environment,” Jackson said. “I didn’t really think he would jeopardize his role in PI, but I guess he didn’t give a damn about it. The vulgarity in him, the white nationalist in him, was like ‘Nah. That’s it.’”

Shields said he was angry at Jackson calling him a Nazi online and in person and believes his response was justified, though he admitted he was at fault for the fight at a UFC training center.

“I know I was out of line,” he said, “so hopefully I can make it easier with the PI.” “I know I shouldn’t have done that. But a guy has been popping up for months on my Twitter calling me a Nazi, which is complete defamation.

“I deal with Jewish people, and so they call me a Nazi, and people who know me know I’m not, but what if I didn’t know these people I was working with? I could lose big business deals if he was sitting there telling people I’m a Nazi and a white supremacist. It’s such a slander. I can sue him for libel.”

Online, Jackson said he had no problem calling Shields a Nazi and a white supremacist when commenting on his Twitter posts. Shields said he took notice and called Jackson’s trainer to start a fight, wanting to settle the dispute with his fists. According to Jackson, his trainer tried to defuse the situation, and the gym fight never went away.

On Friday, Jackson said he hit a heavy bag on PI when he noticed Shields and several teammates enter the room. He said that Shields “was turning his mouth, and he’s like, coming at me, and I’m like dodging.” Jackson said several times, Shields shouting, “You’re a racist piece of s***.”

“I’m trying to stay calm,” Jackson said. “Okay, let me finish an exercise.”

Shields, who was at PI training UFC fighter Javed Bisharat, said he immediately challenged Jackson to a fight inside the PI cage. Jackson once again demanded a fight at his hometown gym in Dallas, he said, and as they bickered, he said, “You’re a nazi b******.”

“I ran to him, and he threw a hook at me, and I grabbed him and knocked him to the ground,” said Shields. “I started slapping him like the ivy he was, and he was like, ‘Help me, help me.'” ‘

Jackson said the short video was a quick look at a confrontation that lasted about five minutes. Before things got physical, he said, Shields’ friend, MMA trainer Dewey Cooper, tried to defuse the situation downstairs on another floor. Meanwhile, he said, Shields continued to hurl insults from the stairs leading upstairs.

Jackson said he agreed to get his things and leave the PI. But as he did, Shields spat on him twice. Then one of Shields’ teammates shoved him from behind, and Shields removed him.

“If I wanted to stand up for myself, I couldn’t because my back was turned,” Jackson said. “So you’re a s*** piece of cheater.”

Realizing he had to stand up for himself, Jackson said he tried to stop Shields while his coach was trying to rein in Shields’ teammates. When he realized he couldn’t beat his heavier opponent, he admitted trying to pierce Shields’ eyes.

“So, of course, I hit him with Brigadier General Barry, ’cause I’m trying to tear out his eye now, because I’m like, ‘Brother, I didn’t ask for this,'” he said. “I got a good look in his eyes because I could see that when he got up, he had blood on his face.”

Shields responded that he was only scratched during the encounter.

He said, “The fight is not the Internet.” “It’s one thing if some asshole wanted to talk to me, I’d shrug it off. But if a fighter disrespects me and calls me a Nazi and a white nationalist and thinks that would be cool, it’s not. So I had to teach the kid a lesson. I just threw him out like the little girl he is I slapped him several times before I was pulled out.”

Jackson said he had just had surgery on his jaw due to a previous injury and was not medically cleared to fight. He said his jaw was injured in the accident and a medical examination on Monday will determine whether he sustained other injuries.

“If I have any other issues with this,” he said, “I don’t want the UFC to pay for it — I want Jake Shields to pay for it.”

Shields mocked Jackson’s plans to press charges.

“It seems like something he would do,” Shields said. “He deserved what he received. He deserved much worse.”

For Jackson, posting the video was a bridge too far. He wasn’t planning to bring the law into matters before Shields made the interaction public. He said he was trying to defend himself after he called out what he said was racist behaviour. Meanwhile, Shields said he was trying to do the same by responding to the accusation that he was a Nazi.

The UFC previously took additional steps to separate fighters with bad blood at UFC PI. It remains to be seen if Jackson and Shields will get the same treatment. A request for comment was not immediately returned to a UFC official.