The son of former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been arrested and is facing a felony charge after video emerged of him beating a wrestler while he lay motionless.
Video from an event last month in Sun Valley, California, shared on social media, shows professional MMA fighter Raja Jackson entering the ring during another match and slamming Syko Stu — whose real name is Stuart Smith — to the mat.
The footage, bearing a watermark indicating it was livestreamed on the platform Kick, shows Jackson pinning Smith and landing multiple punches to his face and head — continuing even after Smith lay motionless — before other wrestlers intervened to restrain him.
LAPD Responded to Event for a Felony Battery
The Los Angeles Times reported that Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers responded to the scene and filed a felony battery report, though Jackson had already left by the time they arrived.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department records, Jackson was taken into custody by the LAPD on Thursday on a felony charge — though the documents do not specify which one — and is being held on $50,000 bail.
Smith was discharged from the hospital on August 31. He later described the injuries from what his wife had called an “unscripted assault,” noting a serious head injury, trauma to both his upper and lower jaws, a laceration on his upper lip, and a fractured maxilla bone that led to the loss of several teeth.
Rampage Jackson Responds to Son’s Actions
Following the altercation with Smith, Rampage Jackson publicly denounced his son’s actions in a social media post.
“I want to clear up the misinformation about my son Raja. I’ve been confirmed that the wrestler ( Stewart Smith aka Syko Stu) is awake and stable. Raja was unexpectedly hit in the side of the head by him moments before Smith’s match, Raja was told that he could get his “payback” in the ring, i thought it was apart of the show.”
But after Smith’s release from the hospital, Rampage Jackson said he believes his son should be held accountable and could benefit from taking time to work 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.
“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.”
Organizer of Event Says the Plan Went Too Far
The organizer for the event shared in a previous statement to CNN Sports that the incident started as a scripted part of the show, known as “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.”