In the weeks following Dana White’s promise that the UFC has seen the last of Mike Jackson following his UFC 225 victory over CM Punk, Jackson has still not received official word about his future with the promotion.
“He’s still got me on timeout,” Jackson told MMAjunkie Radio. The “timeout” occurred due to Dana White’s interpretation of Jackson’s fighting style during his shutout win over CM Punk as clownish:
“Michael Jackson, I’m not happy with,” White said at the UFC 225 post-fight press conference. “This guy was acting like a goofball tonight. You get this opportunity to come in and fight CM Punk, and you’re doing like bolo punches to the body…never looked like he was trying to finish the fight ever. It looked like he could have finished the fight a few times, never tried. I don’t know what that guy did for a living before we gave him this shot, but whatever it is, he needs to go back and do that again. He’s 0-2 as far as I’m concerned.”
Monday, Jackson once again responded to the criticisms from White and fans by reminding listeners of how one-sided a victory his win over Punk was:
“I sent the dude to the hospital,” he said. “It was 30-26 on all scorecards. People called it a bad fight. I went back and watched the fight, even without commentary, and I was like, ‘This wasn’t a bad fight.’
“Now, there are some things I would have done a little differently, but the overall game plan would have been the same. All the people hating, they’ve got to stop.”
As for Jackson being placed in “timeout” by Dana White, if Jackson were to hear from White, Jackson’s ideal conversation the two would have would be centered around a future bout against Artem Lobov, a fight Jackson believes would be an entertaining scrap:
“It’s not a knock on him,” Jackson said of his request to fight Artem Lobov. “I don’t want to come off as it being disrespectful. I just think stylistically, it would be a fun and exciting fight.”
White has already struck down the possibility of Jackson facing Lobov, citing a fear for Jackson’s life if the bout were to occur as the reason for his disinterest.
Would you like to see Mike Jackson face Artem Lobov?
