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Jeremy Jackson Pleads Guilty to Rape of Former Girlfriend

(Photoprops: FightoftheNight.com)
Two-and-a-half years after being accused of raping a former girlfriend, Jeremy Jackson’s felony trial finally began earlier this month; the former UFC fighter and TUF 4 contestant had been in jail since his June 2008…

Jeremy Jackson UFC MMA rape sexual assault trial ventura county
(Photoprops: FightoftheNight.com)

Two-and-a-half years after being accused of raping a former girlfriend, Jeremy Jackson‘s felony trial finally began earlier this month; the former UFC fighter and TUF 4 contestant had been in jail since his June 2008 arrest, unable to post the $1 million bond. But in a surprising turn of events, Jackson changed his plea to guilty midway through the trial, and now faces 25 years to life in prison. The Ventura County Star passes along more details:

The change of plea stunned [Jackson’s] lawyer, Russell Baker, who is with the Public Defender’s Office. “It was against my advice. I tried to tell him not to do that,” said Baker in an interview, adding that he was extremely disappointed. “I feel that we could have beaten his case.”

The alleged victim testified that Jackson had threatened, intimidated and raped her on June 28, 2008. She said Jackson put a gun to her head. Prosecutors say it was a BB gun. She said Jackson wanted her to call another man and have sex in front of him. She said he threatened to kill her, her children and himself if she didn’t do what he said.

Keith Jardine Accused of Greasing After ‘Global Invasion’ Win

("Let’s make this quick, I gotta be back underneath my bridge in two hours." / Photo courtesy of Esther Lin.)
Former UFC vet Keith Jardine snapped a five-fight losing streak last night at the postponed Nemesis MMA: Global Invasion eve…

("Let’s make this quick, I gotta be back underneath my bridge in two hours." / Photo courtesy of Esther Lin.)

Former UFC vet Keith Jardine snapped a five-fight losing streak last night at the postponed Nemesis MMA: Global Invasion event in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, where he scored a unanimous decision victory over submission specialist Francisco "Kiko" France. It would have been a celebratory moment, if not for the peripheral weirdness that surrounded the show. As Ben Askren tweeted last night:

"Just talked to [Kiko] he said nemesis was a complete mess. No judges. Jardine was greased. His check bounced. Doesn’t get much worse."

Which of course begs the question, how does one lose a decision in a fight with no judges? The greasing thing could be sour grapes, but it’s always notable when a Greg Jackson-associated fighter is accused of lubing up, considering that so many of them have been accused of that particular cheat in the past. (See: Georges St. Pierre, Nate Marquardt, Roger Huerta, Rashad Evans, Diego Sanchez.)

Exclusive Photos and Recap: Butterbean Outlasts Deon West at LFC 43 in Indianapolis

Our photographer friend Jason Wright was in attendance at Friday’s LFC 43: Wild Thang show at the 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis, and provided us with some exclusive shots from the main event — Eric "Butterbean" E…

Our photographer friend Jason Wright was in attendance at Friday’s LFC 43: Wild Thang show at the 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis, and provided us with some exclusive shots from the main event — Eric "Butterbean" Esch vs. Deon West — as well as a rundown of the fight. More photos after the jump. Enjoy.

Deon West is introduced as an MMA fighter specializing in "Twinkie boxing" and "Little Debbie wrestling". No kidding. The announcer is barely able to keep a straight face. West has a pro record of 2-2.

These guys have a combined weight of just over 800 lbs. I’m standing on a little shooting perch attached to the side of the cage and all I can think about is how big of a jolt I’m going to get if these guys go hard into the fence. I really don’t want to fall off my little platform. Maybe Butterbean will land one of those big haymakers I watched him land so many times back in his boxing days so I can avoid the embarrassment of being launched from my platform.

The horn sounds and it takes less than 30 seconds for West to push Butterbean hard into the fence across the cage from me. I was right, the whole thing shook like an 8.3 earthquake just rocked the joint. It was a good thing I was anticipating it. West picks up the big ‘Bean and slams him hard. That was an impressive lift! Bean lands on his back in half guard and covers up. Bean spends the remainder of the round on his back getting pounded on by West, who gets side control and even takes the Bean’s back at one point. It looks like it might get stopped, but Bean does enough defending and throwing the occasional strike or knee to keep the ref at bay. That was a very one-sided beating. 10-9 or even 10-8 West.

Bad News, You Guys: MMA FightPicker Is Dead

(Remember them.)
It’s true. Our year-old MMA FightPicker game — which was played so passionately by so few of you — has just become too costly to keep around, and we’re taking it to live on a farm upstate where it’ll be cared for by …

(Remember them.)

It’s true. Our year-old MMA FightPicker game — which was played so passionately by so few of you — has just become too costly to keep around, and we’re taking it to live on a farm upstate where it’ll be cared for by a nice man. So if you’ve had problems lately joining pools or getting your PotatoChips paid out, that’s why. Sincere apologies to everyone who grew to love the poor thing, and congrats to those who actually did well on it (Rampey, finland, et al.).

It’s a sad day, to be sure, but this doesn’t have to be the end of CagePotato’s foray into gaming. If you have ideas for other MMA-related games you’d like to see on CP, please let us know in the comments section. Thanks for understanding.

‘Layzie the Savage’ May File Charges Against Jason Miller After Gym Confrontation

(Props: TheRyanLoco. Things begins to go south at the 2:06 mark.)
Just as UFC color-man Joe Rogan recently landed in hot water over which words he shouldn’t use in public, Strikeforce/MTV star Jason Miller may be getting a costly lesson …

(Props: TheRyanLoco. Things begins to go south at the 2:06 mark.)

Just as UFC color-man Joe Rogan recently landed in hot water over which words he shouldn’t use in public, Strikeforce/MTV star Jason Miller may be getting a costly lesson in who he may and may not put his hands on. Miller was at Kings MMA on Saturday to receive his jiu-jitsu black belt from Rafael Cordeiro, when he spotted our friend (and noted 209 supporter) Michael "Layzie the Savage" Mardones.

Seemingly without provocation — unless you count previous online trash talk — Miller slapped Layzie’s hat off, then rudely shoved him out the door. Later, Miller cooled down enough to allow Layzie back in the building, where he lectured him about Nick Diaz’s bitchassness. The afternoon proceeded as planned, but things didn’t end there. Apparently, Mardones is considering pressing assault charges against Miller due to their physical altercation. As he explained on the UG:

Aided by Their Dumb-Ass Fans, UFC Hands Out $400,000 in Bonuses for ‘St. Pierre vs. Koscheck’ [UPDATED]

(Pierson and Riddle’s three-round battle wasn’t enough to win FOTN, but Riddle did go home with the $100 Snot Rocket of the Night bonus. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)
The performance bonus payouts for Saturday’s UFC 124 event were notable for s…

(Pierson and Riddle’s three-round battle wasn’t enough to win FOTN, but Riddle did go home with the $100 Snot Rocket of the Night bonus. Photo courtesy of MMAFighting.com.)

The performance bonus payouts for Saturday’s UFC 124 event were notable for several reasons: For the first time ever, the UFC allowed fans to choose the "Fight of the Night" in an online vote. Update: The FOTN and Knockout bonuses were $100,000 apiece — the largest bumps since UFC 100 — and two separate [$50,000] Submission of the Night awards were handed out, which meant the total bonus money added up to $400,000, half of which arguably went to the wrong guys. Here’s how the UFC 124 bonuses shook out, in order of most deserving to least deserving…

Submission of the Night #1: Jim Miller, for surviving the relentless grappling offensive of Charles Oliveira, then ending the fight himself with a kneebar just shy of the two-minute mark. Submitting the young, formerly undefeated jiu-jitsu phenom is a major accomplishment for Miller, and should hopefully earn him a fight with a big name in his next outing.

Submission of the Night #2: Mark Bocek, for his first-round triangle choke of Dustin Hazelett (who’s no slouch on the ground either). The way that Bocek set up the triangle from the top then rolled underneath Hazelett to secure it was pretty freakin’ brilliant.