Former Jackson Wink general manager Mikhail Lyubimov shared a series of revelations about the legendary gym's fighters and its decline. Josh Howkit's primary sparring partner for his White House bout is a welterweight grappler with a losing record, and Howkit will not have Greg Jackson in his corner because Jackson, a committed Democrat, declined to attend a Republican-aligned event. Lyubimov also revealed that Jon Jones once had Roman Dolidze removed from the gym after the Georgian was giving Jones and his black-belt BJJ coaches trouble on the mat, and that the gym's fall from prominence stems from Jackson and Mike Winkeljohn burning out — with Winkeljohn increasingly focused on real estate. Additional details included Claresa Shields' MMA struggles being attributed to laziness in wrestling, and Steve Garcia's striking described as elite enough to outperform Edgar Chairez in sparring.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
