Dean Barry Announces UFC Match With Mike Jackson Postponed to March or April

Well guys 20 minutes before 2020 ended I got a phone call to say Jackson wont make the fight on January 20th you just cant write this shit. Do not ask me why because I dont know the full ins and outsnd wish him the best.. We are been rescheduled for march/april in America. pic.twitter.com/amzDJieiQO

— Dean Barry (@Deanbarry123) January 1, 2021

Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.

Fight fans will have to wait a little longer to see Mike Jackson compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship again.

Prospective UFC newcomer and welterweight Dean Barry (3-1) posted on Twitter on Friday that his matchup against Mike Jackson (1-1) would no longer be taking place on the upcoming UFC on ESPN 20 event on Jan. 20. Jackson has since confirmed the removal of the bout on the card on his Twitter page, although no reason has yet been given. The fighters expect that their fight will be re-booked for March or April, in an event that may go down in the United States and not in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

“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 2---,” Barry wrote. “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.” Barry continued, “I was so ready to put this man’s lights out I am devestated [sic] truly devestated [sic] 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.”

Barry was set to make his promotional debut on the heels of a pair of first-round knockouts with the Titan Fighting Championships and Abu Dhabi Warriors organizations in 2019 and 2020, respectively. “The Sniper” has been defeated just once in his career, in his lone bout that went out of the first frame. Each of his three career victories came from strikes in the opening round.

Jackson, a fighter who UFC President Dana White once said would never compete in the Octagon again, will compete in the Octagon again in March or April now. “The Truth” made his pro MMA debut in 2016 when he faced off against Mickey Gall for a chance to face ex-pro wrestling star “CM Punk” Phil Brooks. Jackson lost by first-round submission, only to come back to the UFC some two years later to get a crack at Brooks. When facing the wrestler, the Texas native dominated the fight, earning a trio of 30-26 scores by pummeling “CM Punk” each round. As he did not secure a finish, and instead appeared to toy with his foe, White was incensed at Jackson’s performance and vowed that “The Truth” would not be brought back.

Additionally, according to Instagram account bigpunches and later confirmed by multiple outlets, the flyweight pairing of Jeff Molina vs. Zarrukh Adashev (3-2) has been changed. Molina was forced to withdraw from the contest for currently undetermined reasons, and in his place will be the surging Su Mudaerji (13-4).

UFC on ESPN 20 takes place on Jan. 20 at the Etihad Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event will now be headlined by a welterweight clash between Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny, as the Leon Edwards-Khamzat Chimaev bout has been pulled to be placed on a future event. The current co-main event comes in the form of an all-action welterweight battle as Matt Brown takes on Carlos Condit.