Rampage Jackson Threatens Anthony Smith
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s threat to slap Anthony Smith grew out of a disagreement over podcast comments, not a scheduled fight or a long-running rivalry. In February 2025, Smith criticized how Jackson and JAXXON co-host Bear Degidio talked about fighters who had appeared on their show. Jackson responded angrily in a video, saying he would hit Smith if they met. Smith later said the two had exchanged direct messages and that the flare-up was a misunderstanding. MMA Fighting’s report on Jackson’s remarks and its follow-up with Smith document both sides of the exchange.
Related coverage: MMA World’s February 13 roundup discusses Jackson’s response to Smith. It is commentary on the dispute, not the original JAXXON exchange.
The disagreement followed a discussion on JAXXON featuring former champion T.J. Dillashaw. The conversation touched on Kevin Holland’s prospects and included critical remarks about Smith’s own record. Smith objected to the broader way the show treated fighters who might later appear as guests, arguing that hosts should not mock people and then invite them onto the program. His remarks were made on his own show, On Paper, and were not framed as a challenge to fight Jackson.
Jackson took Smith’s criticism personally. In his video response, he said he believed that he and Degidio had defended Smith when Dillashaw criticized him. Jackson also said he had previously messaged Smith to explain that he was not making fun of him. He was upset that Smith had apparently left that message unanswered, and he interpreted the podcast comments as a slight. The argument was partly about how each man understood the earlier jokes and what Smith meant by criticizing the show.
Smith’s public response the next day lowered the temperature. He said he was surprised by Jackson’s anger, that he had reached out through direct messages, and that he did not intend to accuse Jackson of bringing guests on just to ridicule them. Smith described the situation as a misunderstanding and said Jackson had been his favorite fighter since he was a teenager. He also said they were “good” after talking privately, according to the follow-up interview.
That context matters because the initial threat could easily be read as a sign that a physical confrontation was brewing. The available reporting, however, centered on angry comments and a private exchange—not an agreed bout, a formal challenge, or a confirmed plan to meet. A JAXXON social post later used a mock fight graphic, but Smith said the issue had been settled after the direct messages. No fight between the two was announced as a result of the dispute.
Jackson and Smith are both experienced fighters with histories in the same sport, which gave the argument an obvious headline hook. But their disagreement was about podcast etiquette, how jokes landed, and whether Smith had meant to criticize Jackson personally. Smith said he respected Jackson and did not want bad blood with him. The fairest summary is that a heated response briefly made the exchange sound more dangerous than Smith himself described it: a public argument that the two men said they cleared up, not a feud still escalating toward the cage.
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Tags: MMA
