If there’s one thing you know about Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, it’s that you never really know anything at all.
Jackson, 35, has now changed his tune on an infamous 2008 car chase that ended with Jackson lying face down in the street, legs splayed and his arms behind his head as police officers arrested him. He was charged with multiple felonies, but Ultimate Fighting Championship officials—including president Dana White—bailed Jackson out of jail. In fact, White immediately flew from Las Vegas to Orange County and put down the $25,000 bail, then helped him with the legal trouble stemming from the wild police chase.
Of course, that’s all forgotten about these days. Jackson has moved on to Bellator, where he continues to take shots at White and the UFC for being cheap. He is also spending his days taking potshots at Reebok, yet another company joining a long list of people who have allegedly harmed Jackson in some way.
It’s safe to assume that—given Jackson’s history with anyone who goes into business with him—Bellator and Bjorn Rebney will eventually find themselves the target of his ire. It is only a matter of time.
Back in 2008, Jackson said the entire incident was due to a “spiritual war” going on in his head, and noted that the voice of God was telling him to go save a friend who he believed to be on the verge of suicide.
I thought I heard the voice of God telling me to go save Brian. I felt if I didn’t get to Brian, he would die. What was I thinking? I know now that Brian was never in danger. But I really thought at the time that he was about to die.
Jackson also noted that he hadn’t slept in several days and was ingesting nothing but energy drinks. Mostly, he took responsibility while not taking responsibility at all. He was delirious, so he was not guilty for his own actions.
Yesterday, Jackson made a startling revelation to my buddies over at MMAjunkie Radio: his friend Brian was going to commit suicide. That’s why he led police on a chase and endangered the lives of many pedestrians! Because of Brian!
All I was doing was getting to my friend because he really needed me. My friend was going to commit suicide.
Truth be told, it feels like Jackson has forgotten all about the explanations he gave back in 2008.
You know what they say about a building house of cards, right? It’s eventually going to come crashing down. Or building a house on sand. They’re both metaphors for the same thing: if you construct something based off lies or half-truths, there is only so long it can remain standing.
Jackson has been fighting battles and creating enemies out of thin air for so many years that he can’t keep his story straight any more. The UFC, Reebok, Juanito Ibarra, the mysterious people who made The A-Team and cast Jackson as B.A. Baracus, PRIDE; the list of people that Jackson claims to have wronged him is ever growing.
I’m still hoping we’ll see him find a long-term place where he’s happy and content, but the truth is he’s one of those rare folks who aren’t happy unless they’re waging war, and he’ll always be that way, even when the wars he wages are in his own head.
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