Raja Jackson, son of MMA icon Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, is at the center of a growing firestorm after a wrestling match spiraled into real-life violence — and now, the LAPD has launched an official investigation into the shocking incident.
The chaos erupted at KnokX Pro’s KnokXperience event in Sun Valley on Saturday, where Raja, a trained MMA fighter but not a professional wrestler, allegedly went off-script and unloaded more than 20 real punches on his opponent, Syko Stu — whose real name is Stuart Smith — knocking him unconscious in front of a stunned crowd.
TMZ broke the story, and police have since confirmed they responded to the scene, took a report, and have opened an active investigation into what many are calling a staged match gone violently wrong.
Video from the scene — which has now gone viral — shows Raja storming the ring and relentlessly attacking Smith, who is also an Army veteran and has reportedly used wrestling as a therapeutic outlet to deal with PTSD. The attack left Smith hospitalized with broken facial bones and several missing teeth. According to his brother, he’s in stable but critical condition.
Rampage Jackson took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend his son — somewhat — calling the attack “bad judgment” and saying the entire thing was a “work that went wrong.” He claims Raja had been hit earlier in the night with a can (allegedly part of the show), and that Raja was told he could “get payback” during the match.
“I don’t condone my son’s actions AT ALL!” Rampage wrote. “He had no business doing anything remotely close to physical contact… I’m very upset that any of this happened, but my main concern now is that Mr. Smith will make a speedy recovery.”
Raja Jackson, 25, son of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, attacked wrestler Stuart Smith last night nearly killing him.
Rampage shared a statement in defense of his son. pic.twitter.com/j1WzeLRd70
— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) August 24, 2025
The statement has done little to calm outrage. KnokX Pro condemned the incident, calling it a “selfish, irresponsible act of violence” and issued a public apology to fans. The promotion also confirmed this was the most egregious act of its 17-year history.
While Rampage was once the face of MMA in the late 2000s — unifying titles in UFC and Pride FC — this moment has now dragged his family name into a scandal at the intersection of sports entertainment and real violence.
As for Raja, he may be facing serious consequences, especially after a new video of him ringside was released.
