Former UFC light heavyweight titleholder and coach of the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Quinton Rampage Jackson is featured in the December edition of Playboy.
Jackson sat down with Playboy for their 20 Questions column where he claims he'll never fight again. He also discusses his dislike of coaching on "The Ultimate Fighter" and answers questions about his arrest last year.
The friction between Rashad and Rampage continues to escalate. Check it out on the sneak preview of tonight's episode of The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights...
LOS ANGELES -- UFC president Dana White doesn't buy Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's claims he was poorly edited on "TUF 10."
Posting on his personal blog last week, Jackson decried the show's portrayal of him and his team as they dealt with a disastrous showing in team competition.
"They edited the show to make me look like I didn't care about my team, but as you can clearly see I was coaching against a T.U.F. show champion and he came from the Ultimate Fighter so he knows how to play the camera and be fake," wrote Jackson.
Evans, the opposing coach on the show and TUF champion in question, has led his team to a complete shutout of Team Jackson, and has not been shy about gloating to "Rampage."
At a gathering of reporters following the press conference for UFC 104, White, in so many words, told Jackson to suck it up.
"When you don't look good on the show--editing, editing!" White said. "It is what it is. There's no way to edit. We don't dub him. We don't voice him over. People don't like the way they look sometimes on the show. I've been not crazy about the way I look on the show sometimes. It happens."
White and Jackson have hit the skids following Jackson's decision to portray B.A. Baracus on the upcoming movie remake of "The A-Team." Weeks after Jackson's announcement he would retire from fighting, the two are still on the outs, though White said he wished Jackson luck if he truly wanted to pursue acting.
However, when asked Thursday if he would meet with Jackson to smooth the situation over, White said, "if he wants to meet, he can come down here and meet with me. I'm not going to chase him."
During a media conference call on Monday, Kimbo Slice, having participated as a fighter on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's team on the current season of The Ultimate Fighter, was questioned about his coaches decision to walk away from the UFC to pursue a career in acting. Rampage has landed a role on the remake of the popular 1980s series The A-Team.
"He’s not walking away from the UFC," said Kimbo. "Rampage, he’s chasing his career right now.
"Fighting was his job; that was his thing. That was his bread and butter. Rampage, he’s an actor as well. He’s a good actor. Right now, he’s just putting fighting on hold."
It's a little difficult to say whether that's accurate or not. Rampage hasn't said as much. So far, he's just declared that he is done fighting. Done with the arguing and name-calling and criticism from both his bosses and a faction of fight fans that have put him down.
Instead, he's headed to the welcoming arms of Hollywood where no such drama exists... right?
"I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college," he said in a recent blog post announcing his decision.
"I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them, but they didn't respect my loyalty, but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us, but I have kids and a family back in Memphis to provide for and that's all that matters to me."
From where he sits, Kimbo doesn't blame Rampage at all. In fact, were he in the same shows, he would do pretty much the same thing. And with the type of noteriaty that Kimbo has built up, it's not at all a stretch to think he might wind up with exactly the same choices to make.
"If I had an opportunity to be a star in a movie or whatever, or make some good money or whatever, I would definitely put my fights on hold for a minute and do that, pursue my career," he said on Monday. "I would probably still do my fight in December, but I would have done them both."
The following is a blog post taken from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's personal blog addressing the fallout over his decision to retire from fighting:
"Make no mistake the UFC treated me a lot better than Pride. If you get hurt in training in a UFC fight then will send you to the best doctors. If you get hurt in a Pride fight most of the time they will tell me "oh you better take care of that!" The UFC will always let you know in a timely matter who you will be fighting & give you enough time to train but with Pride if I knew 4 weeks ahead I would be happy cause most times they just give you a 2 weeks notice. Pride will rip you off on your merchandising but the UFC would find someway to hook you up on merchandising deals. Pride will make fights easier for certain fighters inside the ring (like standing up fights early). With the UFC whatever happens happens. The only thing I see the UFC needs to fix in this area is to get better judges. Ones who know about MMA & not from the boxing world.
"The reason why I'm talking about all this is that I feel like this whole situation could have been avoided if UFC would have respected me more & rescheduled the fight about a month or more in my hometown, which I know fights can be rescheduled because of the Matt Hughes & Matt Serra was postponed due to injuries. Instead, Dana went on the internet & started talking bad about my decision. All we had to do was come to a certain type of argreement or understanding, which later came after a lot of trash talk from Dana. My manager flew to Vegas & talked to them & tried to work things out like a MAN. & still I keep quite & I didn't talk trash back on the internet. The only reason why I'm even talking now is because I feel like I owe my fans an explanation because I am a MAN, a real MAN. Yeah I made good money with the UFC more than Pride, but I made both shows more money than they made me. I didn't care too much about Pride treating me like crap cause I was an American in a Japanese company. Now in my own country, I feel like I'm being disrepected. Everything is not about how much money you make. You could be the richest man in the world but if nobody repsects you then it don't mean shit. You can't buy respect. It should be earned. & thats what I'm all about.
"Now Rashad wanna put his two cents in. Rashad remains to be a boy under me. He wins a few fights, and some of them I thought the judges fell asleep during the fight & woke up & saw him playing with his nipples & guessed he won. He knocked Chuck Liddel out when Chuck wasn't even the same man anymore. & now he thinks he's on my level. Yeah he talks about how he beat Forrest & I lost. But when I fought Forrest that was the worst Rampage I had ever seen. & I still know in my heart I won that fight. So now he's Mr. All Cocky & says I got a big mouth & talk a lot of smack. If my memory serves me correctly, he's the one that got into my face after the Jardine fight & started talking trash when he was the one that was originally supposed to fight me that night, but he told Dana on the phone he didn't want to fight. He wanted to keep his belt longer. Now, I'm not saying wether or not I would have beaten Machida, but I wouldn't have went out like a bitch like the way he did. So I'm the one that was looking forward to the Rashad fight the most. I have always been a fighter my whole life. As a kid my family treated me like shit which made me the person who I am today. This is why when I meet people I treat people the way I want to be treated (unless they approach me wrong or piss me off). I grew up thinking that I wasn't even important to my family which made me not even care about myself. That's why I can get knee-ed in the face 15 times & come back for more. That's why I can get my legs seriously hurt in a fight & still try to win. Thats why I can get my ribs broken in a fight & not tap out because my whole life I never thought I mattered to anybody or anybody cared about me. But now I have kids that love me & care about me & I'm not used to people caring about me but it feels good! I'm a very loyal person. Wolves are the most loyal animals on the planet. I was very loyal to the UFC, but now I owe all my loyalty to my kids... the ones who really care for me. The majority of my fights on the street I fought for free & they all were with emotion. I am a fighter, I will always be a fighter but my professional fights that were fought with emotion, I ended them all in devestating fashion. I am the wrong fighter that should fight pissed off professionally. I don't even consider it fair. So Rashad says he will fight me for free. I will gladly meet him at any gym & fight him just to shut his mouth up. & I mean that for real!
"When I told Dana I did not want my belt back & that I just wanted to make money, it was around the time when they gave me Vanderlei & actually it was around the same time when my mind wasn't right (my mind was at TRUCK status) & that's the way I felt because I felt I had been robbed out of my belt. After the Jardine fight I did want my belt back because my family was so proud of me when I was champion & I want to make my family proud cause now I finally feel like my family cares about me & they accept me & this is what I've been wanting my whole childhood... for my family to like me. If I got to beat some ass for my family to like me, so be it. But now, I'm a grown man & I'll be damned if anybody disrespects me. I'm not having it, it's not happening!"
On this week's episode of MMA Live on ESPN.com the crew talks about the possible retirements of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic. They also take a look back at Vitor Belfort and UFC 103 in Dallas.
The rift between UFC president Dana White and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson over Jackson's participation in the upcoming movie remake of "The A-Team" may not be over after all.
After White told reporters last weekend that he and the former light heavyweight champion had mended fences, Jackson wrote a post on his official blog stating that he is retiring.
Here is the blog entry, dated Sept. 22 at 4:43 p.m. P.S.T., in its entirety:
"The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddell even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.
"Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.
"Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).
"Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgury. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.
"Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullshit & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!
"I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & thats all that matters to me!"
UFC president Dana White was on the Dave and Mahoney Radio Show on Tuesday talking about how upset he is with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson ditching a fight with Rashad Evans to portray "Mr. T" in a Hollywood remake of the 1980s TV hit "The A-Team."
Oh yeah, he updated everybody on his company too.
(Thanks to Cagewriter.com for turning us on to this interview.)
An extended preview of the next season of The Ultimate Fighter. Season 10 features the heavyweights, including the introduction of Kimbo Slice to the fold, and coaches Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans.
Spike TV has released an extended preview of "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 10, which debuts Sept. 16 at 10 p.m. following Ultimate Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City.
If he had any, Dana White would probably be pulling his hair out.
A little over a week after the UFC president railed at former light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson's desire to play B.A. Baracus in an upcoming remake of "The A Team," a report from The Sun states that Jackson has indeed landed the role, nixing an MTV report that called the UK tabloid "lying liars" and said Jackson was not cast as the latter day Mr. T.
Adding gasoline to the fire is the report's claim that Jackson has passed on a fight with Rashad Evans at 107 in his hometown of Memphis because filming won't give him time for a proper training camp. The rival coaches of TUF 10 were supposed to squash their bad blood at the Dec. 12 event.
Jervis Cole, Evans' manager, had no comment about the rumored change.
The change scratches half the Southern card's star power, with a lightweight match-up between BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez now the front runner to headline. A heavyweight match-up between Frank Mir and Cheik Kongo has also been rumored for the main card.
To put it mildly, UFC president Dana White is not a fan of his fighters doing movies. That is, if the movies get in the way of the UFC calendar.
"I hate it with a (expletive) passion," he said. "You're a fighter. You're not a movie star. It's so (expletive) funny because fighters want to be movie stars and movie stars want to act like they're fighters. It's like, get a grip. You're a (expletive) fighter and you're a movie star."
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson made headlines Wednesday when a report in UK tabloid The Sun said the former light heavyweight champion was set to take on the role of "B.A. Baracus" in an upcoming movie remake of television series "The A-Team."
A subsequent report from MTV.com Thursday morning disputed the report, citing Jackson's managers, who said Jackson had not booked the role.
White had not heard the latest reports when he spoke to reporters at the UFC 102 pre-fight press conference in Portland, Ore., Thursday afternoon, but he didn't like the idea of Jackson's silver screen dreams, mildly put.
"Rampage wants to be a movie star," continued White. "I hope it’s not true (about Jackson getting the role). He's up for it, and he talked to me, he wants to do this thing, and he's like, 'listen, man, this is really important to me...there's some sentimental value here for me, me and my Dad grew up watching The A-Team together and we loved it.'
"Well, guess what, brother? I said, 'guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now. He's thinking about beating your (expletive) ass. He's not sitting around thinking about him and his mom used to watch the (expletive) 'Love Boat' together, and he wants to get the role of 'Isaac the Bartender'...you know what I mean? Get a (expletive) grip, dude. You're going to make a lot of money. You ain't gonna make a lot of money playing B.A. Baracus on the A-Team. Jesus Christ. (Expletive) drives me (expletive) nuts."
White said sometime actor and five-time UFC champ Randy Couture was an exception.
"Randy did it right," said White. "Randy shot a movie and it didn’t interfere with his training or anything."
Heath Herring recently told MMA Insider that he was putting off fighting until 2010 to pursue several film projects. Strikeforce middleweight champ Cung Le is currently MIA with several studio projects in the can and more in the pipeline. Chuck Liddell is about to dance with the stars.
According to White, a fighter who fulfills his contract obligations is free to act. That, or a retired fighter. But act on the eve of a fight? Not cool.
"(Rashad) hates (Rampage)," White said. "He hates Rampage more than he hates anyone on the planet and he’s thinking about killing him."
White sat back in his chair with a sigh.
"You guys wouldn't want to be me if you're if your life depended on it."
EINDHOVEN, Netherlands -- MMA promoters-turned-movie-producers Frederico Lapenda and Bas Boon have scored big and gone theatrical with a rumored seven-figure deal for their award winning crime drama "Bad Guys."
Pioneering founders of the wildly popular sport of ultimate fighting, Lapenda and Boon shifted gears and won three awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Producer) at the Beverly Hills Film Festival for "Bad Guys" and were rewarded with a U.S. theatrical deal. Media reviewers such as Gladiator Magazine's Todd Hester have already pronounced the movie "...an instant cult classic."
The producers actually shot the film in 2005 and finished it in 2006, but waited three years to release the film in 2009. During this time, several key events happened which were instrumental in bringing "Bad Guys" to the big screen.
In 2008 the lead female star, Kate Del Castillo, hit it big with the Weinstein Company's "La Misma Luna," the highest grossing Latin movie ever which set a three-day opening weekend record for a Spanish-language film. Made for under two million US dollars, the film has earned over US$22 million worldwide.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, an unknown cagefighter when the move was made, won the UFC championship and became known around the world for his colorful personality and savage fighting style. This fits perfectly with his role of chief bad guy in the film.
A Latin focus distribution company was created in conjunction with Blockbuster, called Maya Entertainment. Starting next week on July 17 and running throughout the summer to Sept. 10, eight Latino-themed films will have limited theatrical showings in Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Miami, San Francisco; San Diego; Dallas; and New York, where the screenings will run in conjunction with the New York Latino Film Festival.
In addition to their movie production activities Lapenda and Boon are also currently developing the Combat Channel, a 24 hour fight network (http://www.combatchannel.net).
Quinton Rampage Jackson, in the above YouTube video with buddy Computer from MTV's Three 6 Mafia Hollyhood, says that he is fighting Rashad Evans in Memphis, Tenn., in December, following their stint as opposing coaches on The Ultimate Fighter "The Heavyweights."
Marc Ratner, the UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, later confirmed to MMAJunkie.com that the bout is set to take place in early December at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.
Ultimate Fighter season nine is now in the books, but the UFC and Spike TV is already hitting the circuit to promote season 10, dubbed "The Ultimate Fighter: The Heavyweights," featuring Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and 15 other heavyweight fighters. Here's the first promotional spot from Spike.
Will this be the biggest Ultimate Fighter season ever? Will Kimbo prove himself? We'll find out on September 16.
Despite coaching a second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Quinton "Rampage" Jackson admitted he doesn't watch the show.
"I can never catch it cause it comes on at ten o'clock at night," he told reporters at a media day for the tenth season of TUF. "Either I'm in bed, because I've gotta get up early the next morning, or I'm out doing other stuff. I never even got a chance to watch my season."
Of course, his schedule wasn't the only reason he didn't tune in.
"I have a short attention span... I don't think I could just sit there and watch a bunch of dudes on TV," he continued. "There's gotta be some girls and stuff. I love 'The Ultimate Fighter' and sports, but I just couldn't do it."
The show is now in its third week of filming, and UFC president Dana White said the first day of filming has set the bar high for drama.
If that's true, or if TUF gives more time to ring card girls Edith and Arianny, Jackson may rethink his policy.
By now, it's no secret that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson isn't fond of Rashad Evans. The two went nose to nose after UFC 96 and nearly fought at a recent photo shoot. Jackson is chomping at the bit for a fight with the former champion.
New champion Lyoto Machida was a frequent refrain at a media day for the tenth season of "TUF." Jackson said Evans had it all wrong when he faced "The Dragon."
"I think he was afraid," said Jackson. "That's what made him mess up. He didn't do nothing -- that's what his mistake was. He let Machida do everything.
"Plus, he's talking while Machida was trying to knock him out. He's not defending... he's talking. How you gonna talk while somebody's trying to knock your head off? What do you do? Ask him to stop? What are you doing?"
Jackson's general take on Evans was that he talked too much.
Not exactly an unbiased source for opinion, but Jackson believed Evans lost against Tito Ortiz and Michael Bisping as well.
Would he do things differently against Machida?
For one, he'd take the fight to the champion, he said.
"Yeah," said Jackson. "I'm an aggressive fighter."
While UFC light heavyweight champ Rashad Evans might be focused on challenger Lyoto Machida, by no means has he forgotten about Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
He says the two nearly came to blows at a recent UFC photo shoot.
Some intrepid UFC staffers booked them on the same day, and things got ugly for a spell.
"I looked at him and he walked out of the room," Evans told MMAInsider. "He was like, 'that's messed up putting us together.' They tried to separate us, and the UFC walked him out in the hallway and walked me out in the hallway. And they walked me into the same hallway he was at.
"I looked at him and I was like, what, man? He was like, 'Rashad don't talk to me, man! Don't talk to me! Don't say nothin' to me! You don't know me! You don't know me!' The (expletive) I need to know you for?"
Eventually, cooler heads prevailed, and the photo shoot went on. But Evans filed it in the motivation bank for later.
Following UFC 96, the two went nose-to-nose for forty heated seconds to hype a future showdown.
Later, Jackson bowed out of a quick turnaround meeting with the champ at UFC 98, citing jaw surgery that would make him unavailable.
Many fans wrote the encounter and its aftermath off as hype, part of the business of promoting. Evans maintains it was all real.
"(My camp) was laughing about it, but I was pissed," he said. "I felt mad because I felt like he disrespected Keith a little bit. Keith tried his ass off and he had a good fight, and Rampage didn't look all that good to be acting like he killed him or something. I just didn't like that. Whenever you invest in any of your partners, and when it doesn't turn around the way you want it to turn out, it kind of hurts your feelings a little bit. And that's what happened."
Before 96, he says he got along fine with the former champ, which takes him away from all-out hatred. He's happy to face challenger Lyoto Machida on May 23rd, but looks forward to the day he can squash the recent animosity with Rampage.
"I don't dislike him, but I really want to whup his ass, you know what I'm saying?" Evans said. "I don't know where that falls. I like Quinton. He's a funny guy, and a great person, but I really want to beat his ass. Is that too much of a hypocrisy?"
Saturday night's UFC 96 main event between Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine is a fight with strong implications on the UFC's light heavyweight division.
Jackson lost the UFC light heavyweight championship in a close fight with Forrest Griffin, then bounced back by knocking out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92. Jardine has been on a roller coaster ride going 3-2 in his past five fights, most recently winning a split decision over Brandon Vera.
Jardine's teammate, UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans, will have a premium seat when Jackson and Jardine fight. He will be Octagonside, joining UFC broadcasters Mike Goldberg and Joe Rogan, to do commentary on the fight. As well he should. The fight will determine his next opponent.
If Jackson wins, UFC president Dana White has said that he will fight Evans, getting a shot at gaining the belt that he lost to Forrest Griffin back. If Jardine wins, No. 2 ranked Lyoto Machida will be next up for Rashad.
The UFC's Spike TV special, "UFC Primetime," helped propel UFC 94: St. Pierre vs. Penn 2 into one of the most successful cards in the promotion's history. The series averaged just over three quarters of a million viewers over the course of three episodes, costing a reported 1.7 million to produce. The live gate, just shy of $4.3 million, made its mark as the fifth highest box office in Nevada's MMA history.
At the post-fight press conference for 94, White said he enjoyed the experience and would do it again, up to three times a year.
With one of the specials in the can, reporters at the pre-fight press conference for UFC 96 asked White if Lesnar vs. Mir 2 would get the "Primetime" treatment. The first meeting of Goliaths did a live gate of approximately $2.4 million, and drew a reported 650,000 pay per view buys.
The answer was maybe, maybe not.
"It's going to depend," said White. "I've got to see what's going to happen this weekend."
White seemed more keen on a scenario where Quinton "Rampage" Jackson emerge victorious this weekend.
"If this weekend it ends up being Rampage and Rashad, I'll probably do primetime on that fight."
But first, Jackson needs to get through Jardine, and as White said earlier, that's not an easy task.
Following the pre-fight press conference for this weekend's UFC 95 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, UFC President Dana White answered questions for members of the media.
In recent days, White has voiced his disapproval on main eventer Keith Jardine's stance that friend, training partner, and light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was off limits if he won on Saturday.
From the sound of it, though, White believed Jardine had a good chance of putting him in an awkward position.
"Jardine is a tough, durable guy," he said. "He's very unorthodox, and his style is pretty much the style that Forrest beat Rampage with. He's very good a kicks to the legs and kicks to the body.
"Chuck Liddell is one of my friends. For twelve or thirteen years I've been to fights with him all over the world. I've never seen his body look like it looked after the Keith Jardine fight. I don't think you guys saw it because he was back int he locker room. His whole body from under his arm pit to below the legs, he was covered in bruises. Jardine can kick and Rampage is susceptible to the leg kick and body kick."
In an earlier conference call for the fight, Jackson bristled at those who thought the same fate would befall him.
"I'm really glad that people think that I have a low kick defense, because I used to be a kick boxer so that's how I trained in boxing," he said. "And I didn't work on my kickboxing anymore. So now we're just working on everything. I'm kind of happy if you think I have a low kick defense problem."
White said Jardine's style made him impossible to count out. Going back to their first meeting at the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter," he expected big things out of the Albuquerque resident. And interestingly enough, it wasn't Jardine's kicks that drew attention.
"I knew coming into the fight that he was a tough guy," said White. "I had heard a lot of buzz about him before he even came in. What I had heard a lot about was his wrestling, his ground game. Obviously he's been working on his stand up. He's really an unorthodox fighter - the way he punches and kicks, the way he moves - He's a tough guy to fight. That's why I think for bookies to make him a 3 to 1 dog, he's a live dog. That's a good bet.
On Saturday, fans will see how many bruises Jackson walks away with, and, if White has a future as a bookie.
Light heavyweights Quinton Jackson and Keith Jardine had different takes on the scandal du jour of greasing allegations against welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre by lightweight champ BJ Penn during their UFC 96 conference call.
As a teammate of St. Pierre's, Jardine's thoughts on the matter came as little surprise.
"I think it's pretty silly, actually," he said. "Not too many fights are dominated like that. You never see a high level fight where one guy just completely reaches in and takes the other guy. That's what happened with Georges and BJ. I think they've still got to fight because of the headlines...they've got to save some face with that. So they're trying to make a controversy with the Vaseline which is just silly. Everyone who knows Georges, knows that he would never want to win that way. He's a true competitor and a true athlete."
After initially shying away from the topic, Jackson gave his two cents.
"I've heard of fighters using Vaseline and stuff like that. I never used it. So I don't know. Most my opponents haven't used it. I never witnessed any of my opponents using it.
"Me, I'm the type of fighter, I don't deal with other types. I want to be able to whoop somebody's ass knowing that I whooped their ass because I whooped their ass, not because I needed help whooping their ass. That's the type of ass-whooper I am, you feeling me?"
Keith Jardine and Quinton Jackson come from different schools of thought when it comes to getting the lay of the MMA land, sharing their thoughts during a recent teleconference for the upcoming UFC 96.
Jardine, along with his Greg Jackson teammates, liked to watch tape and break down opponents, whether they were his or others.
Jackson, on the other hand, watched little tape and relied on his coaches to provide him the Cliff's Notes of his opponents' strategy.
Both have been successful, but when it came down to the 185lb. division, and how hot prospect Demian Maia fit into the title picture, they didn't have much to say.
"You know, to tell you the truth, I don't even know," said Jardine. "But if you guys saw Nate Marquardt the other night, ever since he lost to Anderson Silva he's a different person. He's just been taking apart everybody he's fought. He just beat up a really good Wilson Gouveia. I think that he's ready for that title shot."
It was clear middleweight's weren't Jackson's thing.
"I don't even know who Demian Maia is," he said.
Jardine was quick to note where Marquardt fell short in his UFC 73 fight with Silva, though.
"As I saw it, he was too concerned with getting that takedown," he said. "He didn't need to do that. I think at the beginning of the fight he was doing all right on his speed. And he stepped up trying to get takedowns. I think the way he approaches fights, the way he attacks, the way he relaxes and attacks at the same time, it would be a far different fight."
Jackson, who lost his light heavyweight crown to Forrest Griffin, one of Jardine's greatest upset victories, said if given a choice between facing the TUF 1 winner or current champ (and Jardine teammate) Rashad Evans, he'd likely take on Evans.
"Yeah, I think if Quinton beats Jardine, he'll get the next shot at the title," said UFC president Dana White following Wednesday's UFC 94 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas.
And that is regardless of the outcome of a key battle at UFC 94. Lyoto Machida, the No. 4 ranked light heavyweight fighter in the world, and No. 10 ranked Thiago Silva are slated for a showdown in the top undercard fight at UFC 94. Both have been on a tear through the 205-pound division and both are undefeated.
But while the winner of Machida vs. Silva is likely to narrow the field of contenders to the title currently held by "Sugar" Rashad Evans, it appears that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson -- with a win over Keith Jardine at UFC 96 on March 7 -- will jump to the head of the line.
White has stated in the past that Jackson vs. Evans might have already been on tap, but Evans was not fully recovered yet from his title victory over Forrest Griffin at UFC 92, so they put Jackson and Jardine together for the Columbus fight card.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson takes on "The Axe Murderer," Wanderlei Silva, at UFC 92 Saturday night in Las Vegas. It will be their third fight but their first under Unified Rules. Their two previous bouts took place under Pride rules with ten-minute first rounds, yellow cards, stomps, soccer kicks, knees to the head on the ground, no elbows, and took place in a square ring.
This time around, they will compete for three, five-minute rounds, inside the world famous Octagon with no knees to the head on the ground, no stomps, no soccer kicks, but they are allowed to use elbows.
Seems like a big difference, but Jackson doesn't think so. "A fight is a fight," says the former UFC light heavyweight titleholder.
"Wanderlei is a warrior... Wanderlei fought in the UFC before he fought in Pride," he pointed out. "I don't think it makes a difference. A fight is a fight. I'll fight Wanderlei in a phone booth if I had to.
"It don't matter what the rules are or what the advantages is. A fight is a fight," Jackson added. "I do like the Pride rules, and I do like some of the UFC rules. I wish that, if there was a perfect world for me, I wish we could mix them up and have both rules. That would be cool."
At the end of the day, Rampage commented, "I'm just thinking about staying within the rules and having a good fight."
With each passing day, the third fight between "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson draws nearer and nearer. As Silva prepares for the fight, he has branched out his training to extend to his own gym which will open in January after his bout at UFC 92.
Silva spoke to MMAWeekly Radio recently about his training and especially dealing with someone like Randy Couture to help prepare him.
"I'm training at (Xtreme) Couture for this fight. Cause (Randy) Couture is an amazing guy, I like him a lot," Silva said. "He opened his gym for me, he helped me a lot after I move here to Vegas, he's an amazing guy."
Working with a wide variety of training partners, Silva gets specialized help in every area and this week his gym will open up to old friend and current UFC heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
"I'm training at (Xtreme) Couture and training at my gym. Because this week, (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira coming to train at my gym with his team," Silva stated. "He has a lot of strong guys, good jiu-jitsu, good guys for takedowns, and I'm training in my gym with him. I'm training my boxing with Skip Kelps, he's from Vegas and he's very good at boxing. I train my wrestling with Mike Whitehead, he has amazing jiu-jitsu and he's so much stronger."
Wanderlei also says that he expects to invite another champion into his gym to work with Nogueira over the next few days.
"Tomorrow I invited Forrest (Griffin) to train with me and (Nogueira). Maybe Forrest is going to train with Nogueira and with me tomorrow. Tomorrow is a hot day in my gym!"
Silva says he'll slow down on a couple of days out from the actual fight, but until then he will be at full force getting ready for his match-up against Jackson next Saturday night.
Tickets for UFC 92 "The Ultimate 2008" go on sale to the general public beginning Saturday, Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. PT. There are presale options to purchase tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets for UFC 92 go on sale to UFC Fight Club members. And on Friday, Oct. 24 at 10 a.m. PT, tickets go on sale to newsletter subscribers.
UFC 92 is scheduled to take place on Saturday, Dec. 27 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It features three of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's highest profile fights of the year. Forrest Griffin puts his newly won light heavyweight championship on the line against Rashad Evans, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defends his heavyweight interim belt against fellow Ultimate Fighter 8 coach Frank Mir, and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson returns to the Octagon to try and avenge two brutal losses to Wanderlei Silva.
Typically, most people automatically say whoever holds the title in the UFC is the No. 1 guy in that division, at least in the UFC, right?
Well, Keith Jardine isn't so sure... and that's not because he's bragging and saying that he is the No. 1 guy in the UFC's 205-pound division.
Obviously referring to a crazy round-robin of wins and losses, the UFC's light heavyweight division does make for some strange MMA math. Rampage beat Liddell who beat Wanderlei who beat Jardine who beat Forrest who beat Rampage and is the champ. Say what?!
"This was a huge fight," said Jardine after his win over Brandon Vera at UFC 89 before adding, "The division is weird. Forrest (Griffin) is the champ right now, but who knows who the best guy is? It could be the number one guy. It could be the number ten guy. There's a lot of undefeated guys. There's a lot of guys coming up. I think it's going take a year or so to sort this thing out."
The wheels of justice slowed a bit Thursday as Quinton Jackson's pre-trial hearing was postponed until Oct. 24.
As Jackson prepared to exit the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, Calif., with his lawyer, a female reporter from TMZ.com approached him asking for comment.
"Why you guys gotta do me like that?" Jackson told the reporter, glaring. "You guys always try to make me look stupid. That's the reason I don't talk to y'all. You try to make everybody look stupid. We're just people like everyone else."
An awkward pause ensued.
"I wrote that you were getting better," she responded, attempting her best smile. "Sometimes they just, you know, have to..."
Jackson continued glaring.
"He's the nicest client I've ever had," Jackson's attorney, Carol Lavacot, interrupted. "With my pro-bono mindset, I'd probably take the case for free. I've had thousands of clients, and he's the nicest one I've ever had."
Jackson finally smiled. "You're just being nice cause' I'm paying you a lot of money," he said with a laugh. The lawyer and reporter joined in nervously.
Whew, that was close.
When Jackson became a UFC star, his relationship with TMZ started cordial, but relations eventually soured. After the site posted some questionable off-the-cuff remarks of his outside a club, Jackson changed his tune. Things deteriorated further with TMZ's coverage of the car chase that landed him in the Orange County courthouse. Jackson was splashed all over the page, pictures of him arrested by Orange County police officers front and center.
Jackson just got back from the United Kingdom, where he helped Paul Kelly and Michael Bisping prepare for their fights at UFC 89 and 90, respectively. The former champ recently signed a management contract with Bisping's home gym, the Wolfslair.
Most celebrities chased by TMZ have more of a hate-hate relationship with the muckraking gossip site, so Jackson's reaction was not new. When your business is the superficial, you're bound to get on a person's bad side.
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