Damon Jackson ‘not done,’ walks back MMA retirement

Now that the dust has settled, Damon Jackson has made the decision not to retire from MMA.

Jackson (23-8-1 MMA, 6-6-1 UFC) took his gloves off and left them in the middle of the octagon following his first-round submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 309 in November. All signs point to him walking away from the sport, but upon further reflection, Jackson decided this is not the time.

“It was a very emotional night,” Jackson told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve had a lot going on this past two or three years that I haven’t really shared with anyone. I kind of kept it to myself, and I’ve just had a lot going on. It was very frustrating to go out there and be on that stage and to go out there and lose that way, a way that I’ve prided myself in with my jiu-jitsu, with my wrestling.

“To go out there and take a loss like that, it was just really frustrating – so surprising and so shocking. I couldn’t even really comprehend the fact that I just lost.”

Once the reality of defeat set in, Jackson knew it could not be his final moment of competition. However, he’s not going to rush back in attempt to right the ship and set himself up for another disappointment.

Jackson, 36, intends to take a potentially half-year layoff into 2025, and during that time plans to focus on some personal projects, including expanding his gyms and launching his own fitness machines that he eventually hopes will become available to the public.

More than anything, Jackson wants to make sure life is good for his four daughters. He revealed a divorce from his wife in 2023 has been a challenge to overcome, and ensuring his children are best taken care of during the fallout of that process is significant to Jackson.

He said to this point he’s been a very present father to his daughters, and he wants that to continue. Fighting might not be the foremost thing for Jackson at the moment, but he’s not ready to leave it in the past, either.

“I’m not done, man – I’m really not,” Jackson said. “I’ve been in the gym doing two- and three-a-days just like normal. I’m still in it 100 percent, it’s just mentally I really checked out that night and it was an overload, really. But I’m not done. I just need to figure out the path to what I want to do next. But I’m not done fighting, for sure.”

Jackson said he spoke to UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby about where things stand for him, and said the members of the promotional brass are supportive of his mentality. He still has three fights remaining on his current UFC contract, and it’s his thinking that will be honored if he wants them.

It seemingly won’t happen in the immediate future, though. Jackson said he’s withdrawn his name from the UFC anti-doping testing pool, and in order to get back in will have to comply with six months of clean testing before he’s able to step back in the octagon.

Jackson did not provide a reason why he’s exited the testing pool, but made it clear he doesn’t see a fighting future anywhere outside of UFC.

“I’m not going to fight for anybody but the UFC,” Jackson said. “I’m not going to go test the contract. I don’t give a sh*t about anybody else’s contracts. I don’t care about anyone else. If I ever fight again, it’ll be with UFC. I told Sean, ‘Listen, I’m going to take some time off. I’m probably not even going to fight until this summer.’”