Mike Jackson vs. Dean Barry removed from UFC Fight Island 8

A welterweight fight between Mike Jackson and Dean Barry has been removed from the lineup of UFC Fight Island 8 a little more than a week after it was made official.

Barry, who was set to make his promotional debut for the UFC later this month, announced the fight was off through a number of messages on social media. Although he was said to be “devastated” due to the fight not happening at this time, Barry revealed that it will be rescheduled for a later date.

The news was also confirmed by several media outlets.

“Well guys 20 minutes before 2020 ended I got a phone call to say Jackson won’t make the fight on January 20th you just can’t write this s—t,” wrote Barry on Twitter. “Do not ask me why because I don’t know the full ins and outs [and] wish him the best.. We are been [sic] rescheduled for March/April in America.

“I was so ready to put this man’s lights out. I am devastated, truly devastated. I worked so hard for this! But I’ll use these next few weeks to keep getting better and make my UFC debut a special one. See you all soon. Everything happens for a reason.”

The reason for the fight being pulled is currently unknown, but Jackson did respond to it being removed and rescheduled on his Twitter as well.

“I’m blaming this on one 2020,” remarked Jackson.

Barry currently holds an overall professional record of 3-1, with all three of his victories coming by way of knockout. In his last two outings, Barry earned first-round stoppages over Corey Samuels and Abdulla Al Bousheiri at Titan FC 55 and UAE Warriors 13 respectively. He is considered to be one of the best up-and-coming prospects coming out of Ireland.

Jackson has not stepped inside of the Octagon in more than two years after getting his first UFC win over Phil Brooks, better known as former WWE star CM Punk, at UFC 225. Prior to that, he lost to Mickey Gall by way of rear-naked choke in their fight at UFC Fight Night: Hendricks vs. Thompson in 2016.