Which Rampage Jackson will show up at UFC 130?
Posted on May 21, 2011, 06:50 PM by Ryan VenturaWhen I was first exposed to Quinton Jackson it was through an old PRIDE DVD that my Martial Arts teacher owned. It was PRIDE's the Best of Rampage Jackson. This was of course before he became the MMA superstar that we know now in the UFC. His battles with Kevin Randleman, his upset in the first fight with Chuck Liddell, his rivalry with Wanderlei Silva, but what really stood out to me was "the slam".
Ricardo Arona is arguably one of the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners to ever make the jump to Mixed Martial Arts. For those that haven't seen it I recommend you go search for it now. Ricardo had Rampage in a very tight looking triangle choke. But Jackson was so strong, while stuck in the triangle he lifted Arona up off the canvas, and powerbombed him with enough force to knock him out. It was a very scary, but a memorable moment in our sport. After that night Arona was never the same again and Rampage's stock among fans skyrocketed.
After being 17-5 in the legendary PRIDE promotion, Rampage brought his bruising style of fighting back to America. After making a quick stop in the World Fighting Alliance's last pay-per-view against Matt Lindland, he finally made his UFC debut at UFC 67 against Marvin Eastman. After destroying Eastman, he made very easy work of the "Iceman" Chuck Liddell in their 2nd fight at UFC 71. This time Rampage went home with the UFC gold around his waist.
Jackson then unanimously beat Dan Henderson to unify the PRIDE and UFC Light-Heavyweight titles at UFC 75 in England. Rampage was becoming a huge star in the UFC and in the mainstream. He started to appear on numerous TV shows like Pimp My Ride, Jackass, and King of Queens. He also became a staple in b-list movies that is until his appearance in 2010's A-Team movie. Rampage was also a coach on the 7th season of The Ultimate Fighter along side Forrest Griffin.
Forrest and Rampage finally faced off at UFC 86 to a controversial decision that saw Jackson lose his title to Griffin. Trouble with the law followed Rampage after the bout a few weeks later. Rampage was involved with a hit and run which turned into a high speed chase involving police which he would plead guilty to. When he returned to the cage he seemed to return hungry and a bit more focused.
He met his arch-nemesis Wanderlei Silva for a 3rd fight at UFC 92 which Rampage finished in devastating fashion. Rampage then beat Keith Jardine at UFC 96 and was back in the Light-Heavyweight title picture. An injury to his jaw kept him sidelined and he wasn't able to fight Rashad Evans (who was champion at the time). Instead Rampage and Rashad were chosen to be coaches for the tenth season of TUF.
Shortly after filming the tenth season of TUF, Rampage "retired" from the UFC claiming to be mistreated and underpaid. Months later he publicly stated that he wanted to finish off his contract and fight Rashad Evans. The fight finally went down at UFC 114 which Rampage lost. At UFC 123, Rampage won a controversial decision against "The Dragon" Lyoto Machida. Rampage is once again in the title picture and was scheduled to face Thiago Silva at UFC 130. That was until Thiago failed his urine test from UFC 125. Now Rampage is set to face Matt Hamill.
The Quinton "Rampage" Jackson I know and became familiar with was a monster. A forced to be reckoned with in a ring or cage. The man that I saw destroy Ricardo Arona, the fighter who knocked out Chuck Liddell cold today as we know him doesn't exist anymore. It's no secret Rampage hates training. He loves to fight, he loves to beat people up, but when it comes to putting in the work in training camp he doesn't like putting in the effort, and to be honest it shows in his performances.
We can't knock a guy that wants to make money. We all want to make money, it's no secret. But when we as fans are putting our hard earned dollars into this main event, we are investing in a guy that doesn't seem to care that he is headlining. It's very disappointing.
I had a chance to listen to Ariel Helwani's show from MMAFighting.com on Monday. When Rampage appeared on the show to talk about his upcoming bout, he didn't sound interested at all and just wants to get it over with. What is the point of fighting and headlining at the highest level when you don't care? What happened to the man who was once one of the most feared men in the fight game? Now he is known as kind of a joke and new fans will remember him for his antics on the tenth season of TUF.
Will the hungry PRIDE fighter show up in the Octagon next Saturday or will the Hollywood star who acts like he is too big for fighting show up? Agree or disagree? Your thoughts in the comment box.
Photo: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson during a portrait session on July 3, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker
Comments
Yo see ya later Rampage. You dont want to be here then retire. Quit calling your fans selfish and arrogant because they want to see you fight. Dont forget what got you here...FIGHTING! By all means if you feel the fans are selfish and arrogant just retire already. There plenty of hungry young guys who will gladly take your spot. Rampage just sounds ungrateful for eveything he has. No one is forcing Rampage to keep fighting...........Dont let the door hitt you on ur a$$ on the way out there buddy
Don't listen to this fool Rampage. You still got fans. We all know and appreciate the realness you bring. The truth is refreshing and something we don't see much anymore. Don't give your spot up. Make someone take it.
hopefully the rampage that ko s the hammer . if that rampage shows hammer is going too sleep .
i kinda agree with the article , it's obvious that Rampage is not the same from his days in Pride , but i dont think is because he dosent care or because he hates to train.
It's more of a lack of Focus and i will dare to say it age!
hes by no means old , but we have to understand that the human body reaches his max at certain point and after that is just downhill
He is not as explosive as he was even in the Machida fight when he was aggressive he look kinda sloppy nothing like the Rampage who KO Randleman with super fast combinations.
Rampage still has KO power and the experience to pull a lot of victories in the cage, but if he wants to fight for the title soon , he needs to focus and make a statement vs Hammil
I dont think we will see the rampage of old, he is 4-2 in his last 6 fights with only 1 finish. Im going by track record, but i wont be complaining, if Rampage of old shows up
I saw glimpses of old rampage in that machida fight! when machida got off on him with that flurry of punhes, instead of just just blocking he exploded back with a devastating combo himslef, forcing machida to defend himself...also when he nearly slammed machida had he not auto-ejected mid-air...but yes, not old rampage, though i do hope we see him here. alot of old rampage we may never see casue that was a result largely of those slams he was so famous for...remembre that was not against the best competition neither and also he admits he's cardio is his biggest fear so he won't want to risk initiating an offensive slam, but rather a defensive slam when caught in a lock. The KO is a less taxing approach that yields greater results.
really dont like excuses but i always hoped that his record of late, particular his losses to griffin and evans, was a result of ring rust...both times saw him out for a good while, and hes always bounced back with a win subsequent to those initial losses...after getting some action after being off so long...and imo i dont evan think he lost the griffin fight he was more agressive and landed more power punches...with evans he lost by points but no one can deny he was a mere inch away from ko-ing evans that always dwells in my mind im still bitter about it cause it was 2 clear shots that he missed point blank...im sure evans sees that replay and knows he was very fortunate...he left that fight with alot of respect for rampage u wouldnt hear him say a bad word after the fight he knows he was rocked and almost ko-ed badly. rampage came to knock his head off and all he could do is push him up against the fence and take him down a few times.
That said, we will see alot of new rampage fans after ths fight...lookout for a statement finish which will leave doubting rampage fans with a new zest for life...and metamorphasize haters into lovers...cmon most people heres gotto love him when they have that ufc slogan "as real as it gets" he should be right there in that very shot with his chain on howling awhooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
Doesnt make it easy to like the guy when you hear all the stories on how he is a jack ass to ppl and fans. Ki11ng Mo will gladly take ur spot Rampage and give dat ass a good whoopin to send you on your way
despite all the talk, I disagree completely.. I think rampage fights and he might not be as hungry but dont mistake him fighting to support his family for him wanting to murder people. Just because he said that doesnt mean hes not motivated, if anything from my perspective family would be a bigger motivation than fighting itself so I think this whole which rampage persona was blown out of proportion.. just because hes not in hamils face like he is rashads doesnt mean the man wont come to knock someones block off IMO.
yea Rampage beat Machida with no heart..
I hope power slam Rampage shows up, Power bomb anyone????
Hell yea. Been waiting for it.
I hope you meant the new fans think he is a joke and you didn't mean that yourself. I feel you if you aren't a fan anymore Ryan but there is a lot to respect about Rampage. I think the negative stuff people are saying about him is a reach. He just wants to make the most money he can without killing himself to do it. 99% of the world probably feels that way. He's still arguably top 5 in the UFC and that's supposedly with no motivation.
I meant new fans bro, I am a HUGE Rampage fan. It just pains me to see him as a shell of the man he used to be in MMA.
rampage was on jackass!?
I think if Rampage heart is not into the sport anymore then I think he should retire don't get me wrong I like Rampage and that is why he should retire on his own rather than get retired. I hope that Rampage get his passion back for the sport.
It is probable that the vast majority of people go through ups and downs in their career. Once success has been attained then the old motivation of hunger, ambition, point to prove may all but vanish.
It is often the sign of a persons mettle that they dig deep within to find a reason to continue, a reason bigger than themselves... In one interview I heard Rampage site his family as that reason.
Unable to cope with the split in his thinking, Rampage seems to be doing his best to meet his current responsibilities whilst developing a life outside the ring.
For anyone who has trained seriously, the daily pain, the constant injuries, the doubts, highs/ lows take their toll from a fighter. Defeat will be the final marker for Rampages decision. Re-finding his flow or the inner spark which seperates the great from the rest may bring him back...
The beauty of this situation is that it could turn Rampage into a better fighter if he refinds his love for the sport. Whatever happens, Rampage has contributed to the drama of the UFC and inspired many to join the sport.
I wish him well,
/ Odesa
The old saying "Old whores don't do much giggling" applies here. Not even f*cking is fun when you have to do it, over and over, again and again, or else you'll be evicted or you can't provide for your family.