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Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson: 'I might as well just go ahead and retire'
By Ryan McKinnell
October 5, 2015
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's future as a fighter doesn't look good.
Jackson, 37, returned to the UFC in April after spending 2013-2014 fighting for the UFC's rival, Viacom-owned Bellator.
He would leave Bellator after only three fights, citing breach of contract and quickly re-signing with the UFC.
The UFC booked Jackson's return fight for the co-main event of UFC 186 against Fabio Maldonado. Unfortunately for fans, days before the fight, Jackson was slapped with a lawsuit from Viacom citing their own breach of contract.
Viacom and Bellator won their preliminary injunction against Jackson and he was removed from UFC 186.
Then, in a surprising fight-week twist, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge overturned the preliminary ruling, making Jackson eligible to compete. And the fight was back on.
Jackson won a unanimous decision against Maldonado, in what would be his fourth win in a row.
And according to the former light heavyweight champ — who is still battling Viacom in court — that might have been the last time you ever see "Rampage" Jackson fight again.
"This is the thing people need to realize: I am not a manager, I am a fighter," Jackson explained to the MMA Hour. "And my manager is very good at what he does. Viacom breached their contract and they had 45 days to fix the breach. We gave them 90-something days [and] they didn't fix the breach. So, in my contract, I was now allowed to terminate my contract if Viacom didn't fix the breach. Because they promised movies, pro wrestling, reality shows...everybody saw what happened to Bjorn Rebney; he got canned. Scott Coker came in, the company was turned upside down and my contract got [expletive] on. That's all out there. That's common sense.
"So for some reason Viacom, they didn't want to fix things. So my manager terminated it, and he took everything to the UFC. And the UFC said, 'Yup, he's legal to sign,' and Viacom didn't agree with the termination. So, I don't know if my manager missed one step going to the courts or whatnot, but they tried to put a hold on my fight. I went to the courts and I got that overturned and I fought. And I did that just for the fans.
"Now I'm tied up and going to court and stuff like that, and I feel like they're just trying to tie me up so I don't fight. But at the end of the day, I've been thinking about this a long time: I've won four fights in a row, I've done a lot in this sport, I've been fighting for 15 years and I love this sport. So I'm thinking, Bellator cannot make me fight for them, so I might as well just go ahead and retire."
Jackson sounded worn down by the entire process. He says that if the court's decision doesn't go in his favor he has no desire to return to Bellator.
In an attempt to stay busy, Jackson plans on training his 15-year-old son to be a pro fighter. The teen has a wrestling background and has already begun slamming people around on the mats. "You guys will have another 'Rampage' coming in a couple years," Jackson said about his son. "But me, if Bellator keeps trying to hold me up I'll just retire and do movies and TV shows and stuff like that. It's too much stress for one person to deal with. All I try to do is put on exciting fights.
"There's only so much one human being can take."
Jackson won the UFC light heavyweight title from Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in May 2007. It was a brutal first-round knockout of "The Iceman" and it catapulted Jackson into MMA superstardom. A role as B.A. Baracus in the "A-Team" movie followed, as "Rampage" became a true crossover star.
Jackson's in-ring performances since UFC 71 have been a mixed bag, losing five of 14 fights. Yet, Jackson has looked reinvigorated recently, winning four in a row while displaying new additions to his fighting arsenal.
If this is the end for Quinton Jackson, it would be a shame to see one of fighting's most beloved characters forced out of the sport due to a silly game of he said/she said.
By Ryan McKinnell
October 5, 2015
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's future as a fighter doesn't look good.
Jackson, 37, returned to the UFC in April after spending 2013-2014 fighting for the UFC's rival, Viacom-owned Bellator.
He would leave Bellator after only three fights, citing breach of contract and quickly re-signing with the UFC.
The UFC booked Jackson's return fight for the co-main event of UFC 186 against Fabio Maldonado. Unfortunately for fans, days before the fight, Jackson was slapped with a lawsuit from Viacom citing their own breach of contract.
Viacom and Bellator won their preliminary injunction against Jackson and he was removed from UFC 186.
Then, in a surprising fight-week twist, a New Jersey Superior Court Judge overturned the preliminary ruling, making Jackson eligible to compete. And the fight was back on.
Jackson won a unanimous decision against Maldonado, in what would be his fourth win in a row.
And according to the former light heavyweight champ — who is still battling Viacom in court — that might have been the last time you ever see "Rampage" Jackson fight again.
"This is the thing people need to realize: I am not a manager, I am a fighter," Jackson explained to the MMA Hour. "And my manager is very good at what he does. Viacom breached their contract and they had 45 days to fix the breach. We gave them 90-something days [and] they didn't fix the breach. So, in my contract, I was now allowed to terminate my contract if Viacom didn't fix the breach. Because they promised movies, pro wrestling, reality shows...everybody saw what happened to Bjorn Rebney; he got canned. Scott Coker came in, the company was turned upside down and my contract got [expletive] on. That's all out there. That's common sense.
"So for some reason Viacom, they didn't want to fix things. So my manager terminated it, and he took everything to the UFC. And the UFC said, 'Yup, he's legal to sign,' and Viacom didn't agree with the termination. So, I don't know if my manager missed one step going to the courts or whatnot, but they tried to put a hold on my fight. I went to the courts and I got that overturned and I fought. And I did that just for the fans.
"Now I'm tied up and going to court and stuff like that, and I feel like they're just trying to tie me up so I don't fight. But at the end of the day, I've been thinking about this a long time: I've won four fights in a row, I've done a lot in this sport, I've been fighting for 15 years and I love this sport. So I'm thinking, Bellator cannot make me fight for them, so I might as well just go ahead and retire."
Jackson sounded worn down by the entire process. He says that if the court's decision doesn't go in his favor he has no desire to return to Bellator.
In an attempt to stay busy, Jackson plans on training his 15-year-old son to be a pro fighter. The teen has a wrestling background and has already begun slamming people around on the mats. "You guys will have another 'Rampage' coming in a couple years," Jackson said about his son. "But me, if Bellator keeps trying to hold me up I'll just retire and do movies and TV shows and stuff like that. It's too much stress for one person to deal with. All I try to do is put on exciting fights.
"There's only so much one human being can take."
Jackson won the UFC light heavyweight title from Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 in May 2007. It was a brutal first-round knockout of "The Iceman" and it catapulted Jackson into MMA superstardom. A role as B.A. Baracus in the "A-Team" movie followed, as "Rampage" became a true crossover star.
Jackson's in-ring performances since UFC 71 have been a mixed bag, losing five of 14 fights. Yet, Jackson has looked reinvigorated recently, winning four in a row while displaying new additions to his fighting arsenal.
If this is the end for Quinton Jackson, it would be a shame to see one of fighting's most beloved characters forced out of the sport due to a silly game of he said/she said.