Rampage Jackson Says He Will Retire "As Soon As Movies Start Paying More Than Fighting"
Posted on May 9, 2011, 08:34 AM by Anton Gurevich"As soon as movies start paying me more than I make to fight, I'm gone. It don't hurt to make movies. It don't hurt that bad. Everyday I train. Everyday I'm like, 'Man, I can't wait until I get another big movie.
Hell yeah, you can't fight forever," Jackson said. "I don't have the type of blood Randy Couture has. I give it up to him. I take my hate off to that guy, but I'm not that guy. I don't plan on fighting until I'm 40. And I'm not Chuck Liddell. I'm not coming to work inside the UFC office when I retire. That's not me. I'm an entertainer, I like making people laugh. I like doing movies, action moves and stuff like that. I might even try to be a comedian one day, who knows?
I wanna keep going after I get done fighting. Some fans are kinda selfish, they don't understand I got four kids that gotta be put through college and everything. MMA don't have an MMA pension. They don't pay you once you retire. I got bills, I gotta keep going." - Matt Hamill (via MMAMania)
A sign of things to come? Rampage already announced his retirement back in September, 2009 due to a "mistreatment by the UFC", but was eventually convinced by Dana White and MMA fans around the world to return against the arch nemesis Rashad Evans at UFC 114. Thirty-two year old Jackson is currently 31-8 in his illustrious MMA career, with number of notable victories over top-tier Light Heavyweights. Quinton Jackson won the UFC Light Heavyweight title by Knocking Out Chuck Liddell at UFC 71, but lost it via a Unanimous Decision against Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. In his next fight, Jackson will square off against Matt Hamill on the main card of UFC 130 (May 28th), with sights on getting one step closer to a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight title.
Photo: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, left, gets a hug from UFC owner Lorenzo Fertita during the weigh-ins for UFC 86 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 4, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker
Comments
I would be done with fighting if Jon Bones Jones was in weight class to, he didnt take the fight with shogun either (scared)
"I wanna keep going after I get done fighting. Some fans are kinda selfish, they don't understand I got four kids that gotta be put through college and everything. MMA don't have an MMA pension. They don't pay you once you retire. I got bills, I gotta keep going." - Matt Hamill.......I cant imagine Matt Hammil speaking like that lmao
I compeletely disagree with the claim that he has the best boxing in MMA.
very good point.imo
BJ Penn has the best boxing in MMA according to Freddy Roach
Best boxing in mma!? He's got good standup/boxing and some of the heaviest hands but that's an absolutely ridiculous claim. He's a brawler, not a technician, while that can be effective it certainly isn't the "best" way.
YOU ALL WRONG!!!
JAMES "LIGHT OUT" TONEY has the best boxing in MMA
best boxing is nick diaz and bj penn IMO and about rampage being scared to go against shogun is bullshit. He was offered that fight on short notice, Jackson isnt an idiot he would never have been ready to go 5 rounds
wouldn't that be a good match up. Nick Diaz and BJ Penn? Something to think about.
i think u guys are forgetting someone...
@lucha Ya a professional fighter who has been fighting for more than a decade is scared of someone makes sense.....questioning a person's toughness who's job is to go into a cage and fight another person is ridiculous and as for him quitting for movies, good for him....he doesn't owe me anything, like I said hes been fighting for more than a decade with 40+ fights and has given us some of the best fights and KO's in MMA so if he quits MMA to make movies, I wouldn't be angry
@ninja i agree with you man,he cares not only for his health but he got four kids to raise. and this @lucha didnt understand quinton side, as a parent.
for rampage movies will never pay better lol just keep fighting cause you cant act!
True, "B" movies and crap that Rampage will be good enough for will never pay as much as fighting.
Losing all respect for Rampage. He's turning into a money grubber, and his mind has been out of the fight game since he did that crappy A-Team movie. Rampage, you can't act for sh*t, so you better keep fighting. And watch out, because Hamill is coming to tear your head off.
Losing all respect for a man who's trying to put his kids through college?
If you could make money safely or get knocked out until you're forced to retire, which route would you take? Stop being a self-righteous dipshit.
Yea... bulls***. I'm sorry, but I respect Quinton's decision BECAUSE he's right. MMA is being controlled by a monopoly in the UFC -- thus leading to him getting underpaid (just like 75% of all fighters in the sport).
Making $200,000-$250,000 (officially) a fight is not enough for a fighter to retire on with a family.
Fight fans can talk s*** but until you're in his shoes (which I doubt any of you ever will -- most of us will end up in the middle class anyway) you can't speak on what's right or wrong here. He's thinking long term, as any family man does.
Granted, he made good money during his PRIDE days but he was younger and a bachelor. He probably threw it around like any one of us would've probably done.
sorry but with the kinda paydays rampage has been getting for the last ten years not to mention a 3 million dollar movie deal if he doesnt have his kids college taken care of then he is truly a selfish idiot
their not even gonna make a second A-Team movie because the first one didn't make enough money and was panned by critics so where the hell is Rampage gonna go from here?, stick to what your good at Rampage keep fighting
Budget
$110,000,000 $
US Gross
77,222,099
Worldwide
$177,241,171
+
DVD
27,000,000
I think there will be a sequel.
Can't blame one of my favorite fighters for saying its all about the money. Most of us are. I sure love watching Rampage fight though and it would be a shame to watch him leave.
No suprise at all, if you look at his last two fights you can say he had better fights before , where he looked in better shape.
Think he hasnt the motivation anymore to put much effort in training for 100%
First - Rampage is not an actor. It's laughable. He's a guy with some name recognition, in an era when MMA is on the rise and some dolts in Hollywood thought RJ marketable enough to put some asses in theater seats and make a little money off of / with him. That is all.
If Rampage thinks that there are a plethora of rolls out there for him, suited to his particular acting skills or that The A-Team is going to be so prolonged movie franchise, like Harry Potter, Star Wars or Spider Man, he's kidding himself.
Also - as Jackson becomes less-and-less a serious threat The UFC. less-and-less viable as a contender and fails to win any significant bouts, let alone garner and hold another title, then how long will he survive (in Hollywood) as a marketable commodity? Not long would be my answer.
My guess would be - that if anyone from 205 is going to be movie star / action star, it will be John Jones; not Rampage Jackson.
nice headline there wing dung
Keeper Of Shit
Thank You.
Odd to find you on here, I thought you'd be out having a life.
Looks like someone is still butt hurt.
imo its Rashad Evans , i think he will suit perfect in some clown rolls
...right, Jon Jones an action hero. I'll tear off my own testicles if that were to ever happen.
I have to disagree with you here Wingchun. The UFC is a giant greedy corporation with no competition at this point. And what do giant greedy companies do best?
Rampage fights at Moneyweight. If the money is right, he will fight ;)
who the hell wants to get punched in the face, when he can go act (which is what hes always wanted to do), Party with A List Celebs, get Dime piece women 24-7 and basically do what ever the hell he wants to.
Oh wait not me , i want to get punched in the face a bunch more, and get nasty ass cauliflower ear to the max!!!!
good luck with that cuz he can't act for shit plus with all the money he made since he start fighting if you can't put your kids to college then i dunno wtf he is doing with that money
hope he gets one more chance at the belt
even if he get a chance at the belt with that kind of mentality and motivation i dont think he stand a chance to win it i dont think he even care about the belt anymore
I'm pretty sure Rampage has enough of an ego that he is always going to care about winning a lot.
Same thing as Diaz. Hope there won't be a day that fighters will say the same thing..
Stop smoking crack its bad for your health..
Rampage needs to at least fight Shogun and Rashad again and Anderson Silva before retiring
Yeah I don't blame him. MMA fighters sacrifice so much. I know they love what they do but when you have the prospect of working much shorter hours, having way more freedom with your body, way more down time and moreover knowing you won't have to constantly hurt from training/fighting AND knowing you'll earn about 4 times as much then it's hardly a difficult choice
when he was in pride he used to say he had the best job in the world. it's amazing how he changes organizations and now he has totally lost his desire to get better and fight against the best. he should not be fighting if he doesn't feel like his heart is in it. there's a lot of guys in his class that can give a good beating if he's not up for it. i believe it's the ufc that can't keep him interested because of the way they run their shitty business.
Rampage is the greatest