For the first time in four years, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson picked up a victory in the UFC with a unanimous-decision win over Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Bleacher Report MMA tweeted Saturday night’s result:
Jackson came out as the aggressor from the opening bell, looking to close the distance and pin Maldonado against the cage. After some early success in the clinch, he was more willing to create some separation and do his damage from close range. A barrage of knees, kicks and punches showed off diverse arsenal that Jackson doesn’t always bring to his fights.
MMA Fighting noted how well Rampage mixed things up:
The second round saw Maldonado become the aggressor as he took his turn to pin Jackson against the cage. His offense was less diverse than Jackson’s as he went to the body with some dirty boxing on the inside. Once again, the fighters spent the latter half of the round fighting at distance. Unfortunately for Maldonado, that also meant more effective striking from Jackson.
Any concerns about Rampage’s fitness were answered in the third and final frame. Despite some attempts to work the body from Maldonado, Jackson was the much more active fighter in the third round. He continued to pepper his opponent with a variety of strikes en route to a decisive decision victory.
The sight of Jackson having his hand raised in a UFC bout is one that seemed nearly impossible just a year ago. Rampage was putting on the finishing touches of a three-fight stint in Bellator. After openly disparaging the UFC in the past, it appears the light heavyweight has changed his tune about the organization.
“Honestly there’s a lot worse shows out there than the UFC.” Jackson said, via Chuck Mindenhall of MMA Fighting. “People think that MMA fighters have been treated bad and stuff like that…there are people out there that don’t care about your one bit. At least in the UFC you can earn a pretty good living. Other places, I don’t see you earning no living like you earn in the UFC.”
With the previously disgruntled star’s rocky relationship with the organization apparently mended, this shouldn’t be the last we see of him in the Octagon.
Those who think this win is a steppingstone to bigger and better things might want to pump the brakes a bit, though. His lengthy hiatus from the UFC doesn’t cover the fact that he jumped to Bellator in the midst of a three-fight losing streak.
His three-fight win streak in Bellator and this win over Maldonado may prove that he’s in a better position to fight his way up the rankings again, or it could be a testament to the talent gap that exists between Bellator and the UFC.
Joey Beltran, Christian M’Pumbu and Muhammed Lawal isn’t exactly a murderers’ row of opponents. Even Maldonado matched up perfectly for Rampage. The Brazilian is a straightforward striker who rarely looks to take down opponents.
As Reed Kuhn of Fightnomics noted, Rampage didn’t even have to worry about leg kicks heading into the fight:
Ultimately, this fight told us little about Rampage’s long-term stock in the UFC. Whether or not he can climb his way back to being a legitimate Top 10 light heavyweight is still up in the air.
For now, fans of Rampage can sit back and enjoy at least one more UFC win for one of the sport’s most recognizable stars.
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