Greg Jackson is reportedly eyeing expected Biden cabinet member Deb Haaland’s seat.
According to Axios famed MMA coach, and founder of Jackson Wink MMA Academy, Greg Jackson is considering getting into politics. That outlet states that Jackson is thinking about taking a run at the U.S. House seat expected to be vacated by Deb Haaland.
Haaland, a Democrat, has represented New Mexico’s 1st congressional district, which includes most of Albuquerque and its suburbs, since 2019. Recently she was nominated by US President-elect Joe Biden as the United States Secretary of the Interior.
If Haaland is confirmed a special election will be called to fill her congressional seat. Both the Democrats and Republicans will nominate a candidate for that election, without a primary. Axios reports that Jackson is considering entering that race as an independent candidate.
“I’m exploring a run because I care about this community and I feel I can make a difference,” Jackson told Axios.
Jackson said he is not affiliated with any major party, but that he leans Democratic. Jackson also said he was passionate about criminal justice reform and believes that police officers would avoid using deadly force if they were trained in MMA.
Additionally Jackson said he would advocate for an expansion of federal early childcare programs to combat poverty in New Mexico.
Jackson has been one of the more visible MMA coaches in the industry for the past decade and a fixture in the corner of UFC champions Georges St-Pierre, Jon Jones and Holly Holm.
In June Jackson’s gym made headlines for sporting a ‘Q’ sign on its roof. Albuquerque city councillor Pat Davis said that sign was a nod to the far-right conspiracy cult known as Qanon. Davis also said that the gym was a “hub for armed militia”, referencing images that showed Jon Jones standing with armed civilians and police officers outside the gym at a time when anti-racist demonstrations were happening across the US.
Jackson Wink MMA Academy released a statement about the ‘Q’ sign. It read:
“It was brought to our attention an unknown individual put a flag on the roof of Jackson Wink Academy. As soon as it came to our attention we removed it.”
Jackson Wink MMA also released a statement regarding any possible association with militias. That read:
“We denounce all hate groups, alt-right groups, and militia violence. We equally denounce those bad actors who keep trying to falsely portray our extremely diverse and accepting MMA gym as anything other than that for their own shameful politics and agendas.”
Jackson has never spoken publicly about, advocated for, nor shown any interest in Qanon or the militia movement.