May 6, 2015
By Ryan Porzl
Since becoming an MMA gym in 2000, Jackson's MMA has become home to some of the best fighters of the 2000s as well as all time. Many fighters experienced championship success and big career wins during their stay. However, the gym has started to see a decline in recent years. The top fighters have either left the gym or were out of action while the recent prospects haven't reached expectations. Is the gym becoming the next Lion's Den or Miletich Fighting System? Is it becoming a gym that was once dominant but then got outdated in a sport that keeps evolving?
Before going into Jackson's MMA, I want to bring everyone up to speed in case you never heard of the Lion's Den or Miletich Fighting System or don't know what I mean. The Lion's Den was a gym founded by UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock and was the most dominant gym during the 1990s as it featured fighters like Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Guy Mezger, Jerry Bohlander, Vernon White, Maurice Smith, Joe Hurley, and Oleg Taktarov. During the 90s to the early 00s, the gym won championships and tournaments in major organizations including the UFC, Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling, and King of the Cage with some even being the first champions in certain weight classes. However, the gym saw a big decline in the early 2000s as they no longer showed the same dominance, team members retired, others left, and no new prospects replaced them. By 2005, Shamrock was the only active fighter from the glory days and many believed he should've been retired. While the gym has experienced occasional success with Travis Lutter winning the Ultimate Fighter 4 Middleweight Tournament and Roy Nelson winning the IFL Heavyweight Championship, it's very few and far between.
Miletich Fighting System began in 1997 and formed by UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich. In the early 2000s, the gym became one of the biggest of it's time. Along with Miletich, the gym was also home to Tim Sylvia, Matt Hughes, Jens Pulver, Jeremy Horn, and Robbie Lawler. They dominated the UFC in their time with Miletich becoming the first UFC Welterweight Champion, Hughes holding the UFC Welterweight Championship twice, Tim Sylvia holding the UFC Heavyweight Championship twice, and Pulver becoming the first UFC Lightweight Champion. However, the gyms fortunes ultimately nosedived in 2007. Sylvia lost his second UFC Heavyweight Title to Randy Couture and declined from there. Hughes lost to Georges St-Pierre at the end of the year for the UFC Interm Welterweight Championship. The loss saw Hughes lose the trilogy to St-Pierre and officially marked the end of him as a title contender. Finally, Hughes, Lawler, Horn, and Pulver were gone from the gym by 2008 and moved on. Like the Lion's Den, MFS hasn't been able to evolve, bring in new elite fighters, or great prospects. While the gym has had success with Barb Honchak as Invicta Flyweight Champion, that's largely it.
So that leds us to Jackson's MMA. Originally formed in 2000, the gym quickly became one of the top gyms by the end of the decade. It was home to champions, elite fighters, and talented prospects. The fighters included Georges St-Pierre, Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, Diego Sanchez, Joe Stevenson, Shane Carwin, Sarah Kaufman, Melvin Guillard, Donald Cerrone, Leonard Garcia, Carlos Condit, Clay Guida, Cub Swanson, and Jon Jones. Each of these names were either elite fighters or promising prospects. St-Pierre was the UFC Welterweight Champion. Evans was a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and Ultimate Fighter Winner. Both Sanchez and Stevenson were former Ultimate Fighter Winners and UFC Title contenders. Donald Cerrone and Leonard Garcia were both WEC Title Contenders. Shane Carwin was a rising, undefeated heavyweight prospect. Sarah Kaufman was an undefeated woman's prospect. Melvin Guillard was a former Ultimate Fighter contestant and possible prospect. Carlos Condit was a former WEC Welterweight Champion. Clay Guida was a former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. Jon Jones was arguably the hottest prospect in all of MMA.
Yet, with the beginning of 2010, it seemed as though little by little, the gym started to decline but the effects weren't felt at first. Joe Stevenson entered the decade on a two fight winning streak but has since suffered a six fight losing streak with the first four costing him his UFC job. Rashad Evans bounced back from his title loss with two wins as he defeated Thiago Silva and Rampage Jackson in January and May 2010, respectively. However, after he was sidelined with an injury and Jon Jones defeated Shogun, Evans would have a falling out and left the gym in 2011 to help find the Blackzilians. Marquardt had mixed success until he was abruptly fired in 2011 due to TRT. He seemingly bounced back by defeating Tyron Woodley for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship in July 2012 but dropped it in a huge upset to Tarec Saffiedine in January 2013 at Strikeforce's last show. Upon his return to the UFC, he's gone 1-3 including two brutal knockout losses. Sarah Kaufman began the decade on fire by defeating Takayo Hashi for the Strikeforce Women's Bantamweight Championship and then defended it against Roxanne Modafferi but would lose it to Marloes Coenan by the end of the year. Since then, she's had a good win/loss record but became another Ronda Rousey victim that failed to last a minute. With the loss to Rousey and her recent loss to Alexis Davis, she finds herself on the outside looking in as far as the Women's Bantamweight Championship is concerned.
Shane Carwin smashed Frank Mir for the UFC Interm Heavyweight Championship in March 2010 but lost to Brock Lesnar by submission for the Undisputed Heavyweight Title. Following this, he only fought one more time where he suffered a brutal loss to Junior Dos Santos in June 2011. He eventually retired in 2013 due to a number of injuries. Clay Guida racked up four wins between March 2010 to June 2011 including one over future lightweight champion Anthony Pettis before getting trashed by Ben Henderson. Following a horrible performance against Grey Maynard, he's dropped to featherweight but has been yo-yoing around with his only highlights being a controversal split decision over Hatsu Hioki and suffering his first TKO loss at the hands of Chad Mendes. It was recently announced that Guida has left the gym and gone to Team Alpha Male. GSP continued to dominate the welterweight division until December 2013 when he reliqushed the title to the UFC and took a leave of absence. Even before that, St-Pierre was out of action from October 2011 to November 2012 after suffering a torn ACL. Carlos Condit rose up the ranks and won the interm Welterweight Title but wasn't able to take that next step with losses to GSP and Johny Hendricks. While he'd bounced back with a win over Martin Kampmann, he lost his recent fight to Tyron Woodley after going down with a torn ACL. Guillard racked up a five fight win streak that had some believing him to be a future title contender. However, that all went up in smoke when lost to Joe Lauzon in only 47 seconds. He went on to leave the gym and follow Rashad to the Blackzilians only to eventually try to come back but wasn't welcome. Cub Swanson eventually racked up a nice six fight win streak and was looking great until he was crushed and submitted to Frankie Edgar. Following that, he would suffer another submission loss, this time to Max Halloway which makes this the first losing streak of his career. Cerrone has an excellent win/loss record but he's seems to lose when it matters most. Jon Jones became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion in March 2011 and left a path of destruction over the next four years only to have the title stripped in April 2015 in light of one too many incidents. The title loss resulted in the first time in seven to eight years the Jackson's MMA gym did not have a UFC title.
Since 2010, the gym has also brought in some great prospects like Travis Browne, John Dodson, Rustam Khabilov, Ali Bagautinov, Michelle Waterson, and Erik Perez. While the talent is great, none have been able to win a title outside of Waterson. Browne became another Cerrone where he had a great win/loss record but then lost on the big fights including a title eliminator against Fabricio Werdum and has since left the gym for the Glendale Fight Club. John Dodson and Ali Bagautinov have been great flyweights with Dodson winning the Ultimate Fighter 14. However, neither were able to win the UFC Flyweight Championship and both were out of action for the second half of 2014 and first half of 2015 with Dodson suffering an injury and Bagautinov due to a suspension. There's a lot of hope regarding Perez as a Mexican superstar but he has yet to get a big signature win or look like an elite fighter. Khabilov looked like a beast in his early fights before running into Ben Henderson where he suffered a one sided loss. Since then, he's suffered another loss which is the first losing streak of his career.
Now, according to wikipedia, these fighters are still apart of Jackson's MMA: Ali Bagautinov, Alistair Overeem, Cub Swanson, Jon Jones, Andrei Arlovski, Sarah Kaufman, Michelle Waterson, Igor Araujo, Holly Holm, Carlos Condit, Donald Cerrone, Diego Sanchez, John Dodson, Tim Kennedy, Rustam Khabilov, Kyle Noke, Erik Perez, and Frank Mir.
Now on paper, that's a good list of fighters. Unfortunately, once you take a look at where they stand, it's not all great.
Ali Bagautinov- Already came up short once for the Flyweight Title and served a year suspension for failing a drug test.
Alistair Overeem- Currently on a two fight win streak and looking good but has a suspect chin which can haunt him especially against the elite of the heavyweight division.
Cub Swanson- Was on a six fight win streak but now is on a two fight losing streak which is the first losing streak of his career. Add to getting quickly knocked out by Jose Aldo years ago and his recent decisive loss to Frankie Edgar will leave him on the outside looking in.
Jon Jones- Recently stripped of the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship and suspended indefinitely. Unknown when he'll return.
Andrei Arlovski- Currently riding a four fight win streak and top ten fighter but has the same weaknesses as Overeem.
Sarah Kaufman- Should be batting .500 in the UFC but isn't because Jessica Eye smoked pot. Currently coming off a loss to Alexis Davis. Is on the outside looking in due to the Rousey loss.
Michelle Waterson- Coming off losing the Invicta FC Strawweight Championship. Just signed with the UFC so the jury is still out.
Igor Araujo- Currently 2-1 in the UFC. Jury is still out.
Holly Holm- Was supposed to be one of Rousey's biggest threats but barely got by Raquel Pennington in her UFC debut.
Carlos Condit- About to return from a fourteen month absence due to injury. 1-2 since the GSP title fight and unknown in what shape he'll return in.
Donald Cerrone- Has looked excellent for the most part but loses when it matters most. Seems to finally be putting it together with his recent win streak. However, losses to former champion Anthony Pettis and current champ Rafael Dos Anjos could put him on the outside looking in.
Diego Sanchez- Can't win a fight without some putrid judging. Recent "wins" are some of the biggest robberies in MMA.
John Dodson- Looked great in non title fights but failed to win the UFC Flyweight Championship and spent nearly a year out with an injury. Unknown how the injury will affect him.
Tim Kennedy- Solid fighter but losses to Jacare Souza and Luke Rockhold in Strikeforce along with his recent controveral loss to Yoel Romero may have him on the outside looking in.
Rustam Khabilov- Looked great in his early fights but was no match for Ben Henderson. Currently on the first losing streak of his career.
Kyle Noke- 2-3 in his last five fights, nowhere near elite status, and his upcoming fight will be his second in three years.
Erik Perez- Has yet to exceed expectations, has only beat stylistically good opponents, and lost to every good opponent he's faced. Hasn't fought in nearly a year due to injury.
Frank Mir- Recently snapped a four fight losing streak but he'll likely never make it back to title contention.
Now, does this mean that it's all over for Jackson's MMA? Absolutely not. As I've mentioned, Cerrone seems to be putting everything together as he's currently riding a six fight win streak which includes a win over Eddie Alvarez and avenging his two losses to Ben Henderson. There is the possibility that maybe he finally takes it to the next level. Both Arlovski and Overeem have racked up win streaks and the heavyweight division isn't stacked so another good win could see them in the mix. Same goes for the flyweight and women's strawweight divisions so Bagautinov, Dodson, and Waterson can quickly get into title contention with a win streak. Khabilov could potentially put it together in the lightweight division.
In the end, it's not over for Jackson's MMA as they can turn the ship around. However, with departures and retirements, the gym is trying to rebuild and it's still a wait and see if they can or not. One thing is for sure, they now find themselves with no major titles and they lost the biggest star of the gym. If Jackson's MMA wants to continue being one of MMA's best gyms then they got to produce results or risk falling into obscurity like the Lion's Den and Miletich Fighting System did.
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