Raja Jackson, son of ex-UFC champ Rampage Jackson, arrested and faces felony charge after footage showed him beating wrestler

By Ben Morse, CNN

(CNN) — Raja Jackson, the son of former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, has been arrested and is facing a felony charge after footage showed him beating a wrestler while he was motionless and putting him in hospital.

Footage from an event last month in Sun Valley, California, posted on social media showed the younger Jackson – a professional MMA fighter – sliding into the ring during another bout and throwing Syko Stu, whose real name is Stuart Smith, to the mat.

The video, which bears a watermark suggesting it was livestreamed on the video platform Kick, showed Jackson straddling Smith before repeatedly punching him in the face and the side of his head, even when Smith was lying motionless. Other wrestlers then restrained Jackson.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the video, but Kick confirmed to CNN that Jackson’s account has been banned from the platform.

The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers arrived at the scene of the incident and filled out a felony battery report, though Jackson had already left the venue.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department documents show that Jackson was arrested by the LAPD on Thursday on a felony charge – though the records do not state on what charge – and is being held on a bond of $50,000.

CNN Sports has reached out to Jackson, his representation via his father and the LAPD for comment.

Smith was released from hospital on August 31. He later detailed the extent of the injuries he sustained in what his wife had previously called an “unscripted assault,” including a “serious head injury” as well as “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.”

After the incident involving Smith and the younger Jackson, Rampage Jackson took to social media to condemn his son’s actions.

Following Smith’s release from hospital, the elder Jackson said he believes his son should face consequences and would benefit from some time working on himself.

“I think that he should do a little time, do a little community service and go to anger management class, seek some therapy,” he told MMA journalist Ariel Helwani.

When asked about criticism of his son, Rampage Jackson said: “The problem is everything got blown out of proportion and people thought that Raja snuck into the … ring and did that. 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 … ring.”

CNN Sports has reached out to organizer KnokX for comment, but in a previous statement, the group said the incident started as a scripted part of the show, known as a “work” in wrestling, but was not intended to go as far as it did.

“What was supposed to be a planned and agreed upon wrestling spot, turned into a selfish, irresponsible act of violence against Mr. Smith,” the organizer wrote.

“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.”

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