Jackson Wink MMA Academy (formerly known as Jackson's Submission Fighting) is a mixed martial arts gym based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The gym has been featured in several sports documentaries and has been called one of the best MMA gyms in the world by various MMA magazines.[1]
 | |
| Est. | 1992 |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Greg Jackson |
| Primary owners | Greg Jackson Mike Winkeljohn |
| Primary trainers | Greg Jackson Israel Martinez Mike Winkeljohn Roberto Alencar |
| Past titleholders | Andrei Arlovski B.J. Penn Carlos Condit Frank Mir Georges St-Pierre Holly Holm Jon Jones Rashad Evans |
| Training facilities | Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Website | Official website |
History
| Focus | Hybrid |
|---|---|
| Hardness | Full-contact |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Creator | Greg Jackson Mike Winkeljohn |
| Parenthood | Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, Judo |
| Olympic sport | No |
In 1992, after graduating from Rio Grande High School, Greg Jackson founded his own martial art, Gaidojutsu, which combines rudimentary techniques from catch wrestling and Muay Thai with basic judo locks.[2] His school officially turned into an MMA school in 2000. The gym started gaining notoriety when Diego Sanchez won the first Ultimate Fighter in 2005.[2]
In 2007 Jackson teamed up with long time friend and collaborator, and fellow martial artist, Mike Winkeljohn to create the academy as it stands today.[3] Winkeljohn is former professional kickboxer with a record of 25–7–2 who captured two International Sport Karate Association Championships and one Muay Thai world title.[4]
In December 2019, Jackson and Winklejohn announced they would begin entertaining naming rights offers for their training facility Albuquerque, New Mexico however a price wasn't given.[5][6] Jackson also announced they will begin offering mixed martial arts fans a chance to travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico and train like his gym's fighters. He said prices for personalized MMA packages would vary and stays could last a week to two weeks at a time.[7]
Due to COVID-19, in March 2020, Jackson Wink MMA Academy announced it would be adjusting its training. This includes moving to "more striking-based training" to curtail contact among fighters as well as preventing anyone who was sick or may have had exposure to COVID-19 from training at the facility.[8]
Incidents
Fighters
Due to the large size of the gym, there have been occasions where fighters would be booked to fight against each other professionally. This has caused internal conflicts within the gym.
In March 2011, Rashad Evans announced that he was done training at Jackson-Wink MMA Academy.[9] Originally, Evans was slated to fight Maurício Rua for the UFC Light Heavyweight title at UFC 128. However Evans injured his knee during training and was replaced by Jon Jones, who was from the same gym and would eventually go on to defeat Rua to win the title. When Evans and Jones were slated to fight, the gym decided to side with Jones and corner him at UFC 145. Evans considered this as the gym turning its back on its older fighters in favor of younger ones.[10][11][12] Evans would eventually move to the Blackzilians.
In August 2018, Donald Cerrone left Jackson-Wink MMA Academy to open his own training center on his ranch. It all came after Cerrone was signed to fight his fellow welterweight, Mike Perry, who was a newcomer to the same gym. Cerrone requested that his coaches solely focus on him due to his long-standing status as a Jackson-Wink fighter. However, according to Cerrone on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Winklejohn told him the gym decided to side with Perry which angered Cerrone. Cerrone went on to criticize the modern-day Jackson-Wink MMA Academy, citing problems he has with the day-to-day running of the gym as one of the reasons behind his decision to open his own training center on his ranch – something he also feels caused increased tension.[13][14]
Other examples include Georges St-Pierre defending his title against Carlos Condit, as well as Andrei Arlovski being booked to fight against Alistair Overeem.
In October 2021, Jon Jones was banned from the Jackson Wink MMA Academy as a result of his arrest stemming from domestic violence against his fiancée.[15]
Notable fighters
(Bold denotes current and past UFC champions)