Kevin Jackson
{{Short description|American wrestler and coach (born 1964)}}
{{About|the wrestler|other people called Kevin Jackson|Kevin Jackson (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox amateur wrestler
| name = Kevin Jackson
| image = Coach Kevin Jackson, ISU Head Wrestling Coach (6217569505) (cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Jackson in 2011
| weight = 82 kg
| birth_date = {{birth-date and age|November 25, 1964}}
| birth_place = Highland Falls, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| high school = Lansing Eastern (MI)
| state championships = 2 (Michigan)
| college = Iowa State University
| ncaa championships = 1 Team Championship
| olympic team =
| olympic medal =
| status = Head Development Coach at Olympic Training Center, Former Coach of Iowa State University
| module =
{{Infobox martial artist|child=yes
| other_names =
| nationality =
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=10}}
| weight = {{convert|199|lb|kg st|abbr=on}}
| mma_kowin = 1
| mma_subwin = 3
| mma_decwin =
| mma_koloss =
| mma_subloss = 2
| mma_decloss =
| mma_draw =
| mma_nc =
| sherdog = 172
| updated =
}}
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's freestyle wrestling }}
{{MedalCountry | the {{USA}} }}
{{MedalCompetition|Olympic Games}}
{{MedalGold| 1992 Barcelona | 82 kg }}
{{MedalCompetition|World Championships}}
{{MedalGold| 1991 Varna | 82 kg }}
{{MedalGold| 1995 Atlanta | 82 kg }}
{{MedalCompetition|Pan American Games}}
{{MedalGold| 1991 Havana | 82 kg}}
{{MedalGold| 1995 Mar del Plata | 82 kg}}
{{MedalSport|Collegiate Wrestling}}
{{MedalCompetition|NCAA Division I Championships}}
{{MedalCountry|the Iowa State Cyclones}}
{{MedalSilver|1987 College Park|167 lb}}
{{MedalCountry|the LSU Tigers}}
{{MedalBronze|1983 Oklahoma City|158 lb}}
{{MedalBronze|1984 East Rutherford|158 lb}}
}}
Kevin Andre Jackson (born November 25, 1964){{cite Sports-Reference |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ja/kevin-jackson-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418083950/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ja/kevin-jackson-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 18, 2020 |title=Kevin Jackson |access-date=May 21, 2015}} is an American retired freestyle and folkstyle wrestler, and mixed martial artist. Following his competitive career, Jackson would become a wrestling coach.
During his international career, Jackson became an Olympic Gold medalist in 1992, a two-time World Champion (1991 and 1995), a three-time World Cup Gold medalist (1993, 1995 and 1997, bronze in 1994) a two-time Pan American Games Gold medalist (1991 and 1995) and a two-time Pan American Champion (1990 and 1991). In folkstyle, Jackson was a four-time NCAA Division I All-American, thrice for the LSU Tigers and once for the Iowa State Cyclones, after Louisiana State University dropped its wrestling program.{{Cite web|title=Kevin Jackson {{!}} National Wrestling Hall of Fame|url=https://nwhof.org/blog/dg-inductees/kevin-jackson/|access-date=2020-11-23|language=en-US}} He also stepped into the UFC Octagon in four occasions, winning his first two bouts and losing the next two, all finishing via submission.{{Cite web|last=Fighting|first=M. M. A.|date=2009-05-01|title=UFC 14 winner Kevin Jackson to coach at Iowa State|url=https://www.mmafighting.com/2009/05/01/ufc-14-winner-kevin-jackson-to-coach-at-iowa-state|access-date=2020-11-23|website=MMA Fighting|language=en}} After spending the last four years as USA Wrestling's{{Cite web|title=Kevin Jackson's Freestyle Wrestling Fundamentals - Wrestling -- Championship Productions, Inc.|url=https://www.championshipproductions.com/cgi-bin/champ/p/Wrestling/Kevin-Jacksons-Freestyle-Wrestling-Fundamentals_WRD-02206.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=www.championshipproductions.com}} National Freestyle Developmental Coach, Jackson made the move to Ann Arbor, MI to serve as an Assistant Wrestling Coach for the University of Michigan.{{Cite web|title=Kevin Jackson - Assistant Coach - Staff Directory|url=https://mgoblue.com/staff-directory/kevin-jackson/3850|access-date=2022-02-19|website=University of Michigan Athletics|language=en}}
Biography
= High school =
The native of Lansing, Michigan, won two state high school championships for Eastern High School before becoming a Junior National Greco-Roman wrestling champion.
=College=
As a college wrestler, he attended LSU and earned All-America honors three times before the school dropped the sport. He transferred to Iowa State for 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
In 1992 he won an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and was invited to join "Team Foxcatcher", but was let go the next year when John du Pont started getting paranoid delusions and did not want anything black in his estate, from cars to horses to people. Soon after, Jackson won two Pan American Games titles 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) in Tehran, Iran.
During his post-collegiate competitive career, Jackson also assisted with the Cyclone Wrestling Club (1989–92) and volunteered with the Arizona State (1997) program.
Jackson participated in mixed martial arts in 1997, when he joined the Ultimate Fighting Championship to become only the 2nd Olympic Gold medalist wrestler to step in the octagon,{{cite web|title=UFC Olympic Gold Medalist wrestlers|url=http://www.ufc.com/news/Cejudo-Chases-a-New-Kind-of-Gold|access-date=August 28, 2014}} eventually winning the UFC 14 Light Heavyweight tournament. He fought Frank Shamrock for the inaugural UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 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 1995 John Smith Award 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, the National 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 the freestyle coach at the Olympic Training Center and head coach for the U.S. Army team at Fort Carson (1998–2001) and was head coach of the Sunkist youth development program, National Freestyle coach for USA Wrestling for eight years (2001–08) and the freestyle wrestling coach for two United States' teams at the Olympics.{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclones.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10700&ATCLID=3731180 |title=Kevin Jackson Named ISU Head Wrestling Coach – Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site – www.CYCLONES.com – The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports |publisher=www.CYCLONES.com |access-date=February 10, 2012}}{{cite web |title=Kevin Jackson - Wrestling Coach |url=https://cyclones.com/sports/wrestling/roster/coaches/kevin-jackson/792 |website=Iowa State University Athletics |language=en}} Jackson served as head coach of Iowa State Cyclones from 2010 to 2017 where he coached 4 NCAA champions, 14 All-Americans, and 9 Big-12 Champions. In June 2017 Kevin went back to the Olympic Training Center as a US National Team Freestyle development coach and launched the Elite Accelerated Program (EAP).
Championships and awards
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- UFC 14 Middleweight tournament winner
- UFC Encyclopedia Awards
- Submission of the Night (One time) {{small|vs. Tony Fryklund}}{{cite book |last= Gerbasi|first= Thomas|date= 2011-10-17|title= UFC Encyclopedia - The Definitive Guide to the Ultimate Fighting Championship|location= New York|publisher= DK|page= 163|isbn=978-0756683610}}
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Fight of the Year (1998) vs. Jerry Bohlander on March 13
Mixed martial arts record
{{MMArecordbox
| draws=
| nc=
| ko-wins= 1
| ko-losses=
| sub-wins= 3
| sub-losses= 2
| dec-wins=
| dec-losses=
| dq-wins=
| dq-losses=
| other-wins=
| other-losses=
}}
{{MMA record start}}
|-
| {{yes2}}Win
| align=center | 4–2
| Submission (armbar)
| Extreme Challenge 18
| {{dts|1998|May|15|format=mdy}}
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 4:21
| Davenport, Iowa, United States
|
|-
| {{no2}}Loss
| align=center | 3–2
| Technical Submission (armbar)
| UFC 16
| {{dts|1998|March|13|format=mdy}}
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 10:23
| Kenner, Louisiana, United States
| {{small|Fight of the Year (1998).}}
|-
| {{no2}}Loss
| align=center | 3–1
| Submission (armbar)
| {{dts|1997|December|21|format=mdy}}
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 0:16
| Yokohama, Japan
| {{small|For the inaugural UFC Light Heavyweight Championship.}}
|-
| {{yes2}}Win
| align=center | 3–0
| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| rowspan=2|UFC 14
| rowspan=2|{{dts|1997|July|27|format=mdy}}
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 0:44
| rowspan=2|Birmingham, Alabama, United States
| {{small|Won the UFC 14 Light Heavyweight Tournament.}}
|-
| {{yes2}}Win
| align=center | 2–0
| Todd Butler
| TKO (submission to punches)
| align=center | 1
| align=center | 1:27
|
|-
| {{yes2}}Win
| align=center | 1–0
| Submission (arm-triangle choke)
| Extreme Fighting 4
| {{dts|1997|March|28|format=mdy}}
| align=center | 2
| align=center | 1:12
| Des Moines, Iowa, United States
|
{{end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Sherdog}}
- {{UFC|kevin-jackson}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090228232224/http://www.wrestlinghalloffame.org/wrestlers.php?wrestler=1222 Kevin Jackson at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Site]
{{Footer Olympic Champions freestyle wrestling middleweight}}
{{World Champions freestyle wrestling middleweight}}
{{UFC Tournament Champions}}
{{IowaStateWrestlingCoach}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Kevin}}
Category:American wrestling coaches
Category:Iowa State Cyclones wrestlers
Category:Iowa State Cyclones wrestling coaches
Category:Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Category:American male sport wrestlers
Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics
Category:Olympic gold medalists for the United States in wrestling
Category:Martial artists from Phoenix, Arizona
Category:Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling
Category:Mixed martial artists utilizing Greco-Roman wrestling
Category:World Wrestling Championships medalists
Category:Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games
Category:Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games
Category:Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games
Category:Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games
Category:Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling