Former WWE superstar CM Punk made his octagon return back at UFC 225 on June 9. Yet again, the professional wrestler turned mixed martial artist suffered a lopsided defeat. Now Punk’s opponent has come forward with a few words concerning the criticism he has received from UFC President Dana White.
Despite the fact that fellow 0-1 fighter Mike Jackson earned a dominant unanimous decision victory over CM Punk, Dana White has gone on to voice his displeasure in Mike Jackson’s octagon performance. The UFC president has claimed that he believes Jackson was taunting his opponent and had no interest in finishing the fight.
Speaking on The MMA Hour, Mike Jackson issued his thoughts on White’s criticism.
“It was one of those things, I was confused. All I kept hearing was I was taunting and showboating. Look, that’s not my character, that’s not my style. So I was confused by all of this. And then I hear what Dana White is saying, he’s running his mouth. Look, I know Dana is emotional. He’s like a little girl sometimes and he gets in his feelings. But when you have a platform like that, you need to take a step back, you know? And I just didn’t understand it.”
“Plan B was to just beat him up. And I told everybody beforehand all I want to do is beat him up nice enough where he doesn’t want to do this anymore. And that’s what I did. I never wanted to hurt the guy. What I learned through all of this is that Dana White and MMA fans, you guys are savages, man. They wanted me to give this dude some severe CTE. And I was like, this guy has a family to feed, he has someone to go home to and I would feel bad. I sent him to the emergency room with just the bumps and the bruises and the cuts on his face. And they wanted me to give this dude like severe brain damage. And I’m not about that life. I guess fighting isn’t really meant for me, I don’t have that savageness like I used to when I was younger.”
“I got the sense that he’s a complete f*cking idiot and I couldn’t wait for that fight to end and I regretted not putting it on Fight Pass. That’s how I felt about it.”
“Again, Dana White is an emotional cat. And sometimes he says things in the heat of the moment. He doesn’t really have a filter — we all know that. He gets in his feelings and he runs his mouth. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
“He’s almost sh*tting on his own product. He needs to have somebody write his lines for him or something. Like, hey you need to calm down a little bit before you go do these press conferences.”
“We’re both entertainers and I went out there and entertained. I don’t know if I’m gonna fight in the UFC, so I wanted to get my 15. If I couldn’t know him out in the first round and get the highlight reel, I wanted to maximize my time in the Octagon. And I did that with 15 minutes.”
“I respect Phil 100 percent — before, after and during the fight. It’s like I never wanted to hurt this guy. But Dana White and the MMA fans, they wanted this dude dead.”
