Raja Jackson, the son of former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was arrested on felony charges on Thursday stemming from an incident last month in which he was seen beating a motionless wrestler in what’s been described as a bout gone wrong.
In footage of the August 23 event that has subsequently circulated online, Jackson can be seen sliding into the ring and throwing Stuart Smith, who goes by the wrestling moniker Syko Stu, to the mat, CNN reports. He then allegedly straddled Smith and repeatedly punching him in the face and on the side of his head before several other wrestlers intervened and pulled him away.
The video was initially livestreamed on the video platform Kick, but CNN was able to confirm that Jackson’s account has since been banned.
According to the The Los Angeles Times, police were called to the scene and filled out a felony battery report, but Jackson had already left the venue.
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Smith was hospitalized for more than a week due to the extent of his injuries, which included a “serious head injury” in addition to “trauma to both the upper and lower jaws, a laceration to his upper lip, and a fracture to the maxilla bone, which unfortunately resulted in the loss of several teeth.” He was eventually released from the hospital on Aug. 31.
The elder Jackson has been outspoken about the incident, telling MMA journalist Ariel Helwani that his son should “do a little time, do a little community service and go to anger management class, seek some therapy.”
However, Jackson shook off claims that Raja had gone so far to commit attempted murder. “He wasn’t trying to kill that guy. That’s my son, I know my son,” he said.
“The problem is everything got blown out of proportion and people thought that Raja snuck into the f–king ring and did that,” Jackson continued. “That’s what the problem is. At this point, Raja was in an act as a pro wrestler, but he ain’t no f–king pro wrestler. The promoters had no reason putting my son in that f–king ring.”
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KnokX Pro Entertainment & Academy, which hosted the event, also spoke out to condemn Raja’s actions following the bout.
“What was supposed to be a planned and agreed upon wrestling spot, turned into a selfish, irresponsible act of violence against Mr. Smith,” the organization wrote in a social media post. “This egregious act is reprehensible and never should have occurred.”
“In the 17 years of operation of KnokX Pro Wrestling Academy, there has never been anything as heinous take place such as this and we apologize to our patrons and fans,” the statement added.
It’s currently unclear exactly which felony charges Raja is facing. However, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department documents state that he’s being held on a $50,000 bond.
Life & Style has reached out to Raja Jackson to comment on the charges.
