Kevin Andre Jackson(born November 25, 1964)[1]is an American retiredfreestyleandfolkstyle wrestler,andmixed martial artist.Following his competitive career, Jackson would become awrestlingcoach.
| Kevin Jackson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Jackson in 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 82 kg (181 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | November 25, 1964(age60)[1] Highland Falls, New York,U.S.[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Lansing Eastern (MI) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State championships | 2 (Michigan) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Iowa State University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NCAA championships | 1 Team Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Head Development Coach at Olympic Training Center, Former Coach ofIowa State University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Martial arts career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 199 lb (90 kg; 14.2 st) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed martial artsrecord | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wins | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By knockout | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By submission | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Losses | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| By submission | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mixed martial arts recordfromSherdog | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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During his international career, Jackson became anOlympic Gold medalist in 1992,a two-timeWorld Champion(1991and1995), a three-timeWorld CupGold medalist (1993, 1995 and 1997, bronze in 1994) a two-timePan American GamesGold medalist (1991and1995) and a two-timePan AmericanChampion (1990 and 1991). In folkstyle, Jackson was a four-timeNCAA Division IAll-American,thrice for theLSU Tigersand once for theIowa State Cyclones,afterLouisiana State Universitydropped its wrestling program.[2]He also stepped into theUFC Octagonin four occasions, winning his first two bouts and losing the next two, all finishing via submission.[3]After spending the last four years as USA Wrestling's[4]National Freestyle Developmental Coach, Jackson made the move to Ann Arbor, MI to serve as an Assistant Wrestling Coach for the University of Michigan.[5]
Biography
editHigh school
editThe native ofLansing, Michigan,won two state high school championships forEastern High Schoolbefore becoming a Junior NationalGreco-Roman wrestlingchampion.
College
editAs a college wrestler, he attendedLSUand earned All-America honors three times before the school dropped the sport. He transferred toIowa Statefor his senior year and captained the Cyclones' last NCAA championship team (1987), earning another All-America award with an NCAA runner-up finish and registering a 30-3-1 record.
Career
editIn 1992 he won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and was invited to join "Team Foxcatcher", but was let go the next year whenJohn du Pontstarted getting paranoid delusions and did not want anything black in his estate, from cars to horses to people. Soon after, Jackson won twoPan American Gamestitles and was a member of World Championship teams for the United States in both 1993 and 1995. He won three U.S. National Titles and placed second five times. Jackson also became the first American to win the prestigious Takhti Cup (1998) inTehran,Iran. During his post-collegiate competitive career, Jackson also assisted with the Cyclone Wrestling Club (1989–92) and volunteered with theArizona State(1997) program.
Jackson participated inmixed martial artsin 1997, when he joined theUltimate Fighting Championshipto become only the 2nd Olympic Gold medalist wrestler to step in the octagon,[6]eventually winning theUFC 14Light Heavyweight tournament. He foughtFrank Shamrockfor the inauguralUFC Light Heavyweight ChampionshipatUFC Japan,but lost via armbar submission. He retired from MMA competition in 1998 after six fights.
Jackson's success earned him a number of major awards, including the 1995John SmithAward as National Freestyle Wrestler of the Year, 1992 Amateur Wrestling News Man of the Year and 1991 USA Wrestling and USOC Wrestler of the Year. Jackson is a member of the FILA International Wrestling Hall of Fame, theNational Wrestling Hall of Fame(as a Distinguished Member) and the Iowa State University Athletics Hall of Fame. In October 2019, Jackson was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame and is the only wrestler to be inducted.
Jackson has worked extensively as a wrestling coach. He was head coach of theSunkistyouth development program, National Freestyle coach forUSA Wrestlingfor eight years (2001–08) and the freestyle wrestling coach for two United States' teams at the Olympics. Jackson was the freestyle coach at theOlympic Training Centerand head coach for the U.S. Army team atFort Carson(1998–2001).[7][8]Jackson served as head coach ofIowa State Cyclonesfrom 2010 to 2017 where he coached 4 NCAA champions, 14 All-Americans, and 9 Big-12 Champions.[5]In June 2017 Kevin went back to theOlympic Training Centeras a US National Team Freestyle development coach and launched the Elite Accelerated Program (EAP).
Championships and awards
edit- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC 14Middleweight tournament winner
- UFC Encyclopedia Awards
- Submission of the Night(One time)vs.Tony Fryklund[9]
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Fight of the Year(1998)vs. Jerry Bohlander on March 13
Mixed martial arts record
edit| 6 matches | 4 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 0 |
| By submission | 3 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 4–2 | Sam Adkins | Submission (armbar) | Extreme Challenge 18 | May 15, 1998 | 1 | 4:21 | Davenport, Iowa,United States | |
| Loss | 3–2 | Jerry Bohlander | Technical Submission (armbar) | UFC 16 | March 13, 1998 | 1 | 10:23 | Kenner, Louisiana,United States | Fight of the Year (1998). |
| Loss | 3–1 | Frank Shamrock | Submission (armbar) | UFC Japan | December 21, 1997 | 1 | 0:16 | Yokohama,Japan | For the inauguralUFC Light Heavyweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–0 | Tony Fryklund | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC 14 | July 27, 1997 | 1 | 0:44 | Birmingham, Alabama,United States | Won the UFC 14 Light Heavyweight Tournament. |
| Win | 2–0 | Todd Butler | TKO (submission to punches) | 1 | 1:27 | ||||
| Win | 1–0 | John Lober | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | Extreme Fighting 4 | March 28, 1997 | 2 | 1:12 | Des Moines, Iowa,United States |
References
edit- ^abcEvans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill;et al."Kevin Jackson".Olympics at Sports-Reference.Sports Reference LLC.Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2020.RetrievedMay 21,2015.
- ^"Kevin Jackson | National Wrestling Hall of Fame".RetrievedNovember 23,2020.
- ^Fighting, M. M. A. (May 1, 2009)."UFC 14 winner Kevin Jackson to coach at Iowa State".MMA Fighting.RetrievedNovember 23,2020.
- ^"Kevin Jackson's Freestyle Wrestling Fundamentals - Wrestling -- Championship Productions, Inc".championshipproductions.RetrievedNovember 23,2020.
- ^ab"Kevin Jackson - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory".University of Michigan Athletics.RetrievedFebruary 19,2022.
- ^"UFC Olympic Gold Medalist wrestlers".RetrievedAugust 28,2014.
- ^"Kevin Jackson Named ISU Head Wrestling Coach – Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site – CYCLONES – The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports".CYCLONES.RetrievedFebruary 10,2012.
- ^"Kevin Jackson - Wrestling Coach".Iowa State University Athletics.
- ^Gerbasi, Thomas (October 17, 2011).UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.New York: DK. p. 163.ISBN978-0756683610.
External links
edit- Professional MMA record for Kevin JacksonfromSherdog
- Kevin JacksonatUFC
- Kevin Jackson at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Site
