The thread of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s MMA career is fraying.
First, he lost to Ryan Bader in his return to Japan at UFC 144. Then, he said he didn’t want to fight in the UFC anymore after he fulfilled his contract, which conveniently contained only one more fight. (For its part, upon hearing that announcement the UFC invited Rampage to go ahead and sort of not let the door hit his backside on the way out.)
Then, possibly in retaliation, the UFC pitted Jackson against Glover Teixeira—a not-so widely recognized name who nonetheless stood a very good chance of beating him—at UFC 153.
Then, Rampage Jackson pulled out of UFC 153 with an injury.
Given that 30 percent of Jackson’s losses have come in the most recent 15 percent of his career and given that he’s 34 years old with 42 fights under his belt, Jackson may be nearing the end of the line.
Don’t get me wrong: He’s still a bad dude. But, he’s not exactly fully dialed in on his pro fight career and hasn’t been for years. Will his next fight be his last, either in the UFC or overall? I have no idea. But if it is, these five opponents can give him a proper send-off, which I’ll define as a win, an exciting fight or a culturally significant matchup.