Jason Jackson and Thad Jean put their bitter feud to an end over three hellacious rounds as they went to battle in the PFL World Tournament semi-finals.
Jackson and Jean’s back-and-forth became surprisingly personal in the lead-up, with the former Bellator champion ripping his unbeaten rival’s family among other incidents. The Jamaican entered the cage a heavy favorite given his experience and wins over the likes of Douglas Lima and Yaroslav Amosov.
But in front of a rowdy Nashville crowd that included hundreds of travelling members of Jean’s ‘Silverback Nation’, he was prepared for a sterner test than expected. Ultimately, Jean did just enough to win a razor-close split decision.
Jason Jackson v Thad Jean PFL Nashville result
With a star-studded lineup including Russell Brand watching on from cageside, Jean and Jackson wasted no time getting the crowd on their feet. Jean put down Jackson before allowing him up and pushing for the finish within the opening minute.
However, Jackson saved himself with a perfectly timed takedown just as Jean was beginning to find a rhythm, and managed to slow the fight down. The veteran game plan was near perfect, but it seemed that for the most part his younger rival had his number.
He stuffed a few takedowns and even pushed for one of his own as the second kicked off. But Jackson managed to impose himself and leave the fight anyone’s to play for as they headed into the third amid loud ‘Silverback’ chants.
Halfway through the third there was a temporary stop as Jackson was floored by an illegal low blow. Luckily, they continued quickly with momentum never swinging too far in either direction.
With Jean unable to score that big shot to put an end to proceedings, they headed to the judges’ scorecards for a decision. Jean won on two cards, with one controversially going 30-27, and now moves on to face Logan Storley in the finals this August.
Jason Jackson and Thad Jean shared deeply bitter feud
It didn’t seem that there was a particular beef between Jackson and Jean when they competed in Orlando on the same card in the quarter-finals. However, once it came to facing off, the usually affable former champion immediately began to jaw at his opponent.
The feud never simmered from that point, with Jackson questioning Jean’s Haitian identity among other intense jibes. He also claimed his rival was a hypocrite after telling him backstage he was rooting for him, only to predict that Andrey Koreshkov would win their opening round matchup.
For his part, Jean seemed to allow the comments to roll off his back as he soaked in the chance to headline his first PFL event.