World-renowned mixed martial arts coach Greg Jackson may lend his leadership from the gym mats in his Albuquerque, New Mexico facility to Congress in Washington. The famed co-owner of Jackson-Wink MMA alongside Mike Winkeljohn has expressed interest in a career in politics. Per MMAJunkie.com, the 46-year old had sat down with Axios about his new aspirations.
“I’m exploring a run because I care about this community, and I feel I can make a difference,” Jackson said, adding that he’d run as an independent who leans Democratic.
MMA coach Greg Jackson 'exploring a run' at Congress to fill seat in New Mexico – MMA Junkie https://t.co/eAv1tb0pyL pic.twitter.com/T8HzPWsBs3
— UFC Universe (@UFC_unvrz) December 22, 2020
Should he make the decision official, he would be aiming for a seat held by Democrat Deb Haaland in New Mexico’s 1st District. This includes most of the city of Albuquerque, where Jackson’s academy is based. As for Haaland, she is expected to be President-elect Joe Biden’s Secretary of the Interior, which would make her the first Native American Cabinet secretary in U.S. history.
SCOOP! Greg Jackson, a renowned mixed martial arts coach, is considering an independent run for the US House seat in New Mexico being vacated by Deb Haaland, potentially disrupting the Dems' effort to retain it, @Axios has learned #nmpol #nmleg #mma https://t.co/7ydWWBGwYN
— Russell Contreras (@RussContreras) December 21, 2020
According to Vox.com, Haaland has been the vice-chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources and the chair of the subcommittee on national parks, forests, and public lands as a member of Congress. She also sits on the subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States.
Should Jackson be elected as Congress, Jackson aims to work on teaching police officers techniques used by MMA fighters so that they could avoid using deadly force in hostile situations. Jackson also told Axios he would push for early federal childcare programs to fight poverty in New Mexico.
The state has an 18.2 percentage of people who had incomes below the poverty line in 2019, which is $25,926 for a family of four, according to talkpoverty.org.
Jackson, whose birthplace is indeed in Washington DC, could be headed back to his hometown, but no official word has been made on whether or not he actually will. This would be a bigger step for the sport of MMA if a respectable name like Jackson can crossover from his known realm of combat sports to politics.
