Greg Jackson (MMA trainer)

Greg Jackson
Greg Jackson in 2010
Born Gregory Jackson
1974 (age 43−44)
Washington D.C., United States
Residence Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Nationality American
Occupation MMA trainer

Greg Jackson (born 1974) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) trainer who co-owns Jackson Wink MMA Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico,[1][2] widely considered one of the top MMA training centers in the world.[3][4][5][6] Jackson has trained many successful fighters, including former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones, former UFC Welterweight/Middleweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm, former Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans, and a roster of other UFC contenders and World Extreme Cagefighting champions.

History

Jackson Wink MMA
Est. 1992
Founded by Greg Jackson
Primary trainers Greg Jackson
Mike Winkeljohn
Brandon Gibson
Izzy Martinez
Chad Smith
Harry St. Leger
Roberto Alencar
Rafael Freitas
Training facilities Albuquerque, New Mexico
Website Official website
Gaidojutsu
Focus Hybrid
Hardness Full-contact
Country of origin United States
Creator Greg Jackson
Parenthood Muay Thai, Catch Wrestling, Judo
Olympic sport No

Greg Jackson was born in Washington D.C. to Kris and Jim Jackson, who were Quakers originally from the Midwest. Jackson and his family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when he was three years old. Jackson came from a family of wrestlers (his father, brother, and uncle were all champions in the sport), and he also grew up in a rough neighborhood. Needing to learn how to defend himself, Jackson began learning martial arts. While the young Jackson was occasionally passive in fighting, he would also be an aggressor in brawls and was suspended from school on more than one occasion. In 1992, after graduating from Rio Grande High School, Jackson founded his own martial art, Gaidojutsu, which combines rudimentary techniques from catch wrestling and Muay Thai with basic judo locks. His school officially turned into an MMA school in 2000.[7] In 2007, Jackson teamed up with striking coach Mike Winkeljohn, which was a seminal moment for Jackson's academy; since then, the gym has been known as Jackson Wink MMA Academy (JW MMA Academy),[8] representing the partnership between Jackson and Winkeljohn. On the Joe Rogan MMA Show #39 Donald Cerrone claimed Jackson Wink has suffered a decline in recent years as a result of Mike Winklejohn's involvement, calling the gym a "puppy mill."[9]

Other notable fighters include former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones; former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm; UFC Lightweight and Welterweight contender Donald Cerrone; Keith Jardine; former WEC Welterweight Champion and former UFC Interim Welterweight Champion Carlos Condit; former King of Pancrase and former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate Marquardt; former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Shane Carwin; former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski;[10] former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and World MMA Fight of the Year Award Winner Clay Guida; The Ultimate Fighter 1 winner (in the Middleweight bracket) Diego Sanchez; and The Ultimate Fighter 14 winners John Dodson[11] and Diego Brandão.[12]

Awards

Greg Jackson has won three World MMA Awards. He won "Best Coach" and "Best Gym" in 2009, and "Coach of the Year" in 2010.[13]

Notable fighters trained at Jackson Wink MMA Academy

(# denotes current team member, bold denotes current and past ufc champions)

Books

In 2009, Jackson released an instructional book about his fighting style called Jackson's MMA - The Stand Up Game. In 2010, Jackson released another instructional book about his ground fighting style called Jackson's MMA - The Ground Game.

Reality television

On February 5, 2013, Jackson signed with Bellator to coach on the promotion's reality series titled Fight Master: Bellator MMA.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Rumours are that he may be training Zack "The Assassin" Stiles, 16 year old, in the future. Coaches Honored with ‘Jackson/Winkeljohn Dat’, Sherdog Retrieved October 15, 2014
  2. ↑ How a powerhouse MMA gym rose out of necessity and is helping others, Yahoo Sports Retrieved October 15, 2014
  3. ↑ Ranking the 10 Best Camps in MMA Right Now, Bleacher Report Retrieved October 15, 2014
  4. ↑ The Top 20 MMA Gyms in America fightmagazine.com Retrieved October 15, 2014
  5. ↑ Rankings Spotlight: MMA’s Top 5 Fight Gyms cagepotato.com Retrieved October 15, 2014
  6. ↑ The Top 10 Gyms in MMA Today themmacorner.com Retrieved October 15, 2014
  7. ↑ L. Jon Wertheim (2012-07-20). "War And Peace In Jackson's Gym - SI.com - Magazine". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  8. ↑ Wright, Rick (August 3, 2014) MMA: Coaching team has it all covered, Albuquerque Journal Retrieved October 15, 2014
  9. ↑ "JRE MMA Show #39 with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone". youtube.com. 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-08-29.
  10. ↑ Hunt, Loretta (2009-10-09). "Arlovski to Train with Jackson's Academy". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  11. ↑ "John "The Magician" Dodson MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog.com. 1984-09-26. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  12. ↑ "Diego "DB" Brandao MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography". Sherdog.com. 1987-05-27. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  13. ↑ "Fighters Only World Mixed Martial Arts Awards 2010 - 2009 Winners". Onlineawards.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
  14. ↑ "Bellator's 'Fight Master' reality series set for summer debut on Spike TV". MMA Junkie. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.