Leading up to Saturday’s UFC 225 pay-per-view at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, the focus in the CM Punk vs. Mike Jackson fight has been primarily on the former WWE Superstar. However, when talking with “The Truth” during UFC 225 media day this week, MMANews.com’s Tim Thompson discovered that Jackson feels that he is the one with all of the pressure riding on his shoulders coming into the Octagon this weekend.
Jackson explained his thought process to Thompson during their sit-down discussion earlier today in Chicago.
“I feel that all of the pressure is on me, to be honest with you,” said Jackson. “I’m the guy with the experience. We have the guy, again, he’s coming into this sport. If he wins, it does wonders for him. I think personally if he loses, it really doesn’t do anything. It’s just like, alright, I tried something out and I didn’t succeed. For me, if I lose, this is major, because again I have the experience. So again, I feel all the pressure is on me, but it is what it is and we accept it.”
The 0-1 UFC fighter, who meets Punk in a main pay-per-view card bout this Saturday night, also addressed those who feel he has been talking trash about Punk leading up to the fight by calling him by his real name, Phil Brooks, and talking about his lack of skills in MMA.
“See, I don’t see that as trash talk. That’s his name. I think, when talking to people, they think it’s a sign of disrespect, but it’s not. It’s like … his name is Phil. I’m not fighting the character CM Punk, I’m fighting Phil Brooks. And another thing is when I talk about his fighting skills. I mean, these are facts. I’m undefeated in boxing and kick boxing, with all of my wins coming by knockout. He’s never competed in a combat sport outside of the Mickey Gall fight. That’s not talking trash, that’s just stating facts.”
During their staredown on Thursday, Punk and Jackson exchanged some words between each other. Tim Thompson asked “The Truth” what was said during their private moment earlier today.
“[Laughs] Oh, it was just some private stuff, we didn’t really get into it too much,” said Jackson. “Nah. I’m ready [and] I’m excited for tomorrow. I’m ready to put on a show and show the UFC fans what I was unable to in my first fight.”
Make sure to join us here this Saturday night for live round-by-round results coverage of the UFC 225: Whittaker vs. Romero II pay-per-view from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
What are your thoughts on Mike Jackson’s comments leading up to Saturday’s showdown with CM Punk? Sound off in the Comments section below.
