Shields Spits, Jackson Punches, Both Sue!

Yesterday’s scuffle between Jake Shields and Mike Jackson (WATCH HERE!) was a classic case of “These thing happen in MMA,” a phrase that originated over a decade ago after another Jake Shields-involved brawl at Strikeforce: Nashville. The two have made their disdain for one another clear in the last few years online, as the duo are on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

It’s gotten ugly, to say the least.

A day later, both athletes spoke to MMA Fighting about the incident. It should come as no surprise that the two offer up conflicting stories, as both men allege that the other crossed the line from trash talk to assault first.

The conflict began when the two met at the UFC Apex. Jackson was working the bag, whereas Shields was there to coach UFC Javid Basharat. When the two came across one another, Shields called Jackson a racist, while Jackson countered that Shields was a Nazi. Initially, the two went their separate ways, and Jackson explained, “I’m trying to keep calm. Cool, let me finish my workout.”

That calm didn’t last long. When Shields approached Jackson again after being called a Nazi, he alleges that “The Truth” threw the first punch, resulting in their tangle on the floor that went online yesterday.

“So I ran over to him, he threw a hook at me, so I grabbed him, chucked him on the ground,” Shields said. “I started slapping him like the b—ch he was, and he was like, ‘Help, help.’”

Jackson tells the story a bit differently. He says that Shields’ team mate pushed him, and that he was tackled from behind and spit on.

“If I wanted to defend myself, I couldn’t because my back was turned,” Jackson said. “So you’re a f—king cheating piece of s—t.” Once Jackson realized the two were in a bonafide street fight, he opted to go for the eye gouge and claims he cut Shields up. “So, of course, I f—king hit him with the Dean Barry, because I’m trying to rip his eye out now, because I’m like, bro, I didn’t ask for this,” he said. “I got in a good eye gouge because I see when he got up, he had blood on his face.”

Jackson also explained that he recently underwent jaw surgery, and that if this incident leads to any complications, he expects Shields to suffer the financial consequences. “If I have any other issues with this, I don’t want the UFC to pay for it — I want Jake Shields to pay for it,” he said.

One of the other consequences of the scrap is that Shields is in hot water with the UFC Performance Institute. Shields acknowledged as much but also argued confronting Jackson was necessary for his reputation, and he countered with his own potential legal action.

“I know I was out of line, so hopefully, I’ll smooth it over with the PI,” he said. “I know I shouldn’t have done that. But the guy had for months just been popping on my Twitter and calling me a Nazi, which is complete defamation.

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