Author: By Thomas Gerbasi

Up first in the quarterfinals will be bouts pitting Clay Harvison against Ramsey Nijem, and Chris Cope against Shamar Bailey. Unfortunately, as the episode begins, Bailey is far from a hundred percent as he recently pulled his back out in training. There’s no question that he’s going through with the fight though, and he’s looking forward to silencing his nemesis, Cope.

Back in the gym, UFC President Dana White brings former WEC light heavyweight champion and current middleweight contender Brian Stann to practice to speak to the fighters. Stann, a decorated veteran of the United States Marine Corps, tells the competitors how his time in the service helped his mixed martial arts career.

“I always tell people, ‘success breeds success,’” said Stann.

Another fighter on the mend is Harvison, who is dealing with the aftereffects of a dislocated finger, but like Bailey, he’s raring to go.

Unfortunately for Harvison, Nijem is just as amped up, and he gets his foe to the mat almost immediately. Harvison fights hard to escape, but after Nijem gets his hooks in, it’s game over as he sinks in a rear naked choke that forces a tap out in less than a minute.

In bout number two, Cope is a significant underdog to the veteran Bailey, but with nothing to lose, Cope is cool once the bell rings as Bailey chases him. Bailey scores with a hard left in the early going, but his first takedown attempt is defended well. In the second half of the round, Bailey bulls his foe to the fence on a few occasions, but again, Cope’s defense is good, and he gets in enough close range punches to pick up some points before the bell sounds.

The fighters begin trading punches to start round two, with Cope the busier and more effective of the two. Cope’s takedown defense is also making it difficult for Bailey to get untracked, and by the midway point, it’s clear that an upset is in the making. With under two minutes remaining, Bailey scores with two hard lefts, but he is unable to capitalize, leaving it up to the judges.

There will be no third sudden victory round though, and the verdict is rendered 20-18 across the board for Cope, a decision that doesn’t sit well with Bailey and coach Junior dos Santos…but it stands, and Cope joins Nijem on the way to the semifinals.

Here’s how the teams look:

Team Lesnar
Len Bentley – Eliminated on episode three by Ryan McGillivray
Charles Rader – Eliminated on episode four by Ramsey Nijem
Tony Ferguson 1-0
Clay Harvison 1-1 – Eliminated on episode eight by Ramsey Nijem
Chuck O’Neil – 1-1 Eliminated on episode six by Zachary Davis. Returned for Wild Card bout and re-entered the competition
Chris Cope 2-0
Nordin Asrih – Eliminated on episode one by Shamar Bailey

Team dos Santos
Shamar Bailey 1-1 – Eliminated on episode eight by Chris Cope
Ryan McGillivray 1-0
Javier Torres – Eliminated on episode two by Chris Cope. Returned for Wild Card bout and was eliminated by Chuck O’Neil
Ramsey Nijem 2-0
Zachary Davis 1-0
Mick Bowman – Eliminated on episode five by Clay Harvison
Justin Edwards – Eliminated on episode six by Tony Ferguson

For weekly recaps of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as fighter profiles, stay tuned to UFC.com.

After an ultra-successful career in Japan’s PRIDE organization, expectations were high for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s UFC debut in 2007, and following a debut win over Marvin Eastman, the pride of Memphis, Tennessee was off and running. On May 28th, Jackson headlines UFC 130 against Matt Hamill, and with a victory, he may just add the fight to his list of defining UFC moments.

Chuck Liddell II – May 26, 2007 – UFC 71
Result – Jackson TKO1
A lot had changed in the almost four years since “Rampage” Jackson and Chuck Liddell first threw hands with each other. Liddell was the biggest name in mixed martial arts, PRIDE was no more, and Jackson was one win over Marvin Eastman into his UFC career. But despite the unprecedented media coverage for the bout and Liddell’s long reign as light heavyweight champion, Jackson still had his number, and after a right to the jaw dropped Liddell, ‘Rampage’ finished him off with ground strikes, and in less than two minutes, Quinton Jackson was a UFC champion.

Dan Henderson – September 8, 2007 – UFC 75
Result – Jackson W5
Sure, Jackson was funny, a charismatic representative of the sport, and he had the explosive style to give anyone fits. But if he got put on his back by a world-class wrestler like Dan Henderson, had to eat ‘Hendo’s concussive right hand, or was forced into a five round dogfight, how would the new 205-pound boss fare? Answer – he would pass every test with flying colors, as he showed new wrinkles to his ground game in a 25 minute battle with Henderson (the last PRIDE 205-pound champ) that saw him become the first fighter in history to unify the two belts via a hard-fought unanimous decision.

Forrest Griffin – July 5, 2008 – UFC 86
Result – Griffin W5
Take away the end result, which was a close, but unanimous, decision win for Griffin, and instead look at this fight not only as the best of 2008, but as one that showed Jackson’s championship heart as he survived some hellacious leg kicks and a one-sided second round beating to come back and close the gap over the final three rounds. When it was over, many felt that the champion had done enough to retain his title, but it was not to be, as Griffin was crowned the new king of the light heavies.

Wanderlei Silva III – December 27, 2008 – UFC 92
Result – Jackson KO1
After the loss to Griffin and out of the Octagon issues to deal with that included a break from longtime trainer Juanito Ibarra, Jackson could have fallen prey to the pressure against the only man to beat him twice. But instead, Jackson saw the Octagon as a sanctuary and delivered a stunning first round knockout over his old rival to get a sense of payback that he chased for years.

Rashad Evans – May 29, 2010 – UFC 114
Result – Evans W3
Matched up as coaches on season ten of The Ultimate Fighter, Jackson and former world champ Rashad Evans got in each other’s face early and often. Jackson’s stint as BA Baracus in the “A-Team” film kept things at a low boil, but in 2010 he got back to his day job. First order of business? Take care of Evans at UFC 114. The fight didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded it though, with Evans scoring a three round decision win despite Jackson having a few moments that almost saw him pull the fight out.

Lyoto Machida – November 20, 2010 – UFC 123
Result – Jackson W3
Yeah, it was close. Yeah, some people felt that Machida pulled out the win. But the bottom line is that Jackson got the W by sticking to a disciplined yet aggressive attack while finding some cracks in the foundation of the most difficult to decipher style in the sport today. It was a much needed victory for “Rampage”, and now as he looks forward to May 28th, he has a chance to string two wins together since he defeated Silva and Keith Jardine in 2008-09, making it a high stakes fight for him to say the least.

After an ultra-successful career in Japan’s PRIDE organization, expectations were high for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s UFC debut in 2007, and following a debut win over Marvin Eastman, the pride of Memphis, Tennessee was off and running. On May 28th, Jackson headlines UFC 130 against Matt Hamill, and with a victory, he may just add the fight to his list of defining UFC moments.

Chuck Liddell II – May 26, 2007 – UFC 71
Result – Jackson TKO1
A lot had changed in the almost four years since “Rampage” Jackson and Chuck Liddell first threw hands with each other. Liddell was the biggest name in mixed martial arts, PRIDE was no more, and Jackson was one win over Marvin Eastman into his UFC career. But despite the unprecedented media coverage for the bout and Liddell’s long reign as light heavyweight champion, Jackson still had his number, and after a right to the jaw dropped Liddell, ‘Rampage’ finished him off with ground strikes, and in less than two minutes, Quinton Jackson was a UFC champion.

Dan Henderson – September 8, 2007 – UFC 75
Result – Jackson W5
Sure, Jackson was funny, a charismatic representative of the sport, and he had the explosive style to give anyone fits. But if he got put on his back by a world-class wrestler like Dan Henderson, had to eat ‘Hendo’s concussive right hand, or was forced into a five round dogfight, how would the new 205-pound boss fare? Answer – he would pass every test with flying colors, as he showed new wrinkles to his ground game in a 25 minute battle with Henderson (the last PRIDE 205-pound champ) that saw him become the first fighter in history to unify the two belts via a hard-fought unanimous decision.

Forrest Griffin – July 5, 2008 – UFC 86
Result – Griffin W5
Take away the end result, which was a close, but unanimous, decision win for Griffin, and instead look at this fight not only as the best of 2008, but as one that showed Jackson’s championship heart as he survived some hellacious leg kicks and a one-sided second round beating to come back and close the gap over the final three rounds. When it was over, many felt that the champion had done enough to retain his title, but it was not to be, as Griffin was crowned the new king of the light heavies.

Wanderlei Silva III – December 27, 2008 – UFC 92
Result – Jackson KO1
After the loss to Griffin and out of the Octagon issues to deal with that included a break from longtime trainer Juanito Ibarra, Jackson could have fallen prey to the pressure against the only man to beat him twice. But instead, Jackson saw the Octagon as a sanctuary and delivered a stunning first round knockout over his old rival to get a sense of payback that he chased for years.

Rashad Evans – May 29, 2010 – UFC 114
Result – Evans W3
Matched up as coaches on season ten of The Ultimate Fighter, Jackson and former world champ Rashad Evans got in each other’s face early and often. Jackson’s stint as BA Baracus in the “A-Team” film kept things at a low boil, but in 2010 he got back to his day job. First order of business? Take care of Evans at UFC 114. The fight didn’t live up to the hype that surrounded it though, with Evans scoring a three round decision win despite Jackson having a few moments that almost saw him pull the fight out.

Lyoto Machida – November 20, 2010 – UFC 123
Result – Jackson W3
Yeah, it was close. Yeah, some people felt that Machida pulled out the win. But the bottom line is that Jackson got the W by sticking to a disciplined yet aggressive attack while finding some cracks in the foundation of the most difficult to decipher style in the sport today. It was a much needed victory for “Rampage”, and now as he looks forward to May 28th, he has a chance to string two wins together since he defeated Silva and Keith Jardine in 2008-09, making it a high stakes fight for him to say the least.

Memphis’ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson began his mixed martial arts career in the United States, but it was in Japan where he became a star. And while the former UFC light heavyweight champion is back home in the USA, where he will take on Matt Hamill in the main event of UFC 130 on May 28th, here’s a look back at his defining moments in the PRIDE organization.

Kazushi Sakuraba – July 29, 2001 – PRIDE 15
Result – Sakuraba Wsub1
With just 11 fights under his belt, Quinton Jackson was a raw but untested prospect when he was brought to Japan to face PRIDE superstar Kazushi Sakuraba in 2001. In the year leading up to the bout, Sakuraba had faced names like Wanderlei Silva, and Renzo and Ryan Gracie; Jackson was competing against guys like Kenneth Williams, Bryson Howvreck, and Rocko Henderson. It was a huge step up for ‘Rampage’ and he felt the pressure.

“I remember my stomach feeling like I swallowed a brick,” Jackson recalled in 2007. “I still, to this day, think that somebody poisoned my room service or something like that. I was happy that it was my biggest paycheck to date, but I know they brought me there to lose. They made me lose all this weight when Pride didn’t even have weight classes. I knew there was no way I could win. But I knew I couldn’t turn back and not fight. I said, ‘I’ve got to go out there and put on the best show possible and do my best so I could at least make a name for myself and Pride would have me back.’

Jackson would lose via submission to Sakuraba as expected, but what was surprising was the reaction of the crowd to the California resident, who began a love affair with the Japanese fans that would continue through his 17th and last PRIDE fight five years later.

Yuki Ishikawa – November 3, 2001 – PRIDE 17
Result – Jackson KO1
Less than four months after the loss to Sakuraba, Jackson – complete with his red, white, and blue trunks – was brought back to PRIDE to face debuting local fighter Yuki Ishikawa. Ishikawa was game, rushing Jackson at the bell, but the still raw “Rampage” showed off why he was about to become a major player in the MMA world as he overpowered his opponent with a nearly two-minute blitz that included a slam, a piledriver attempt, knees to the head, ground and pound, and a finishing standup flurry. It was Jackson’s first PRIDE win, and certainly not the last.

Kevin Randleman – March 16, 2003 – PRIDE 25
Result – Jackson TKO1
Though categorized as a wrestler, Jackson’s background on the mat paled in comparison to that of former UFC heavyweight champ Kevin Randleman, and Jackson knew it leading up to their 2003 fight. But Jackson wasn’t intimidated at all, and he showed it on March 16, 2003. In fact, Jackson even scored the first takedown on the Ohio State standout before a knee to the head followed by a 1-2 sent Randleman to the canvas a little less than seven minutes into the bout. A barrage of ground strikes finished the fight off seconds later, and Jackson had just scored the biggest win of his career.

Chuck Liddell I – November 9, 2003 – PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Result – Jackson TKO2
By 2003, Jackson was firmly entrenched as one of PRIDE’s top fighters, a fact reinforced by a four bout string that saw him beat Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Mikhail Illoukhine, and Murilo Bustamante in successive bouts. But the fight most MMA fans wanted to see at that point was one between PRIDE’s Wanderlei Silva and the UFC’s Chuck Liddell. Normally, there would be no chance of that happening, but UFC President Dana White agreed to send his fighter to Japan to compete in the organization’s 205-pound tournament, with the ideal outcome being a final fight between Liddell and Silva. Silva did his part, beating Hidehiko Yoshida. Liddell ran into a buzzsaw named Jackson, who took ‘The Iceman’s power shots, brushed them off and kept coming en route to a second round TKO. It was a win that not only solidified Jackson’s place among the worldwide elite, but it also got UFC fans curious about the man who just took out one of the Octagon’s finest.

Wanderlei Silva I – November 9, 2003 – PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Result – Silva TKO1
For Jackson, there would be no basking in the glory of his win over Liddell, because he had to catch his breath and get right back into the ring at the Tokyo Dome for the final fight of the night – his showdown with Wanderlei Silva. And though Jackson fell short of victory against “The Axe Murderer”, his heart and especially his chin were aspects of his game that few will ever forget witnessing that night.

Ricardo Arona – June 20, 2004 – PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004
Result – Jackson KO1
Fighting Wanderlei Silva on eight weeks notice is no picnic – doing it on the same night that you’ve just fought Chuck Liddell is insanity, making Jackson’s 2003 loss to Silva easily explainable. But to get back to ‘The Axe Murderer’, Jackson had to beat highly-regarded Ricardo Arona, and he did, scoring one of the great knockouts in MMA history.  This finish crystallized the fact that while Jackson is one of the most affable fighters in the game outside the ring, inside of it, he’s looking to take you out. His ring-shaking slam out of Arona’s triangle choke (which KOed the Brazilian) was a frightening reminder of what you can expect from ‘Rampage’ when the bell rings.

Wanderlei Silva II – October 31, 2004 – PRIDE 28
Result – Silva KO2
Four months removed from the win over Arona, and with a full training camp under his belt, Jackson was confident going into the rematch with Silva, and he showed the improvement in his game during an impressive first round. But in the second, Jackson – who had fasted for three days prior to the fight after converting to Christianity – started to run low on gas, and Silva made him pay, dazing him with a punch and then finishing him off with a vicious series of knees. Jackson would get a final shot at redemption against Silva, but he would have to wait over four years to get it. And to get a third bout with “The Axe Murderer” it had to occur in the UFC Octagon…

Memphis’ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson began his mixed martial arts career in the United States, but it was in Japan where he became a star. And while the former UFC light heavyweight champion is back home in the USA, where he will take on Matt Hamill in the main event of UFC 130 on May 28th, here’s a look back at his defining moments in the PRIDE organization.

Kazushi Sakuraba – July 29, 2001 – PRIDE 15
Result – Sakuraba Wsub1
With just 11 fights under his belt, Quinton Jackson was a raw but untested prospect when he was brought to Japan to face PRIDE superstar Kazushi Sakuraba in 2001. In the year leading up to the bout, Sakuraba had faced names like Wanderlei Silva, and Renzo and Ryan Gracie; Jackson was competing against guys like Kenneth Williams, Bryson Howvreck, and Rocko Henderson. It was a huge step up for ‘Rampage’ and he felt the pressure.

“I remember my stomach feeling like I swallowed a brick,” Jackson recalled in 2007. “I still, to this day, think that somebody poisoned my room service or something like that. I was happy that it was my biggest paycheck to date, but I know they brought me there to lose. They made me lose all this weight when Pride didn’t even have weight classes. I knew there was no way I could win. But I knew I couldn’t turn back and not fight. I said, ‘I’ve got to go out there and put on the best show possible and do my best so I could at least make a name for myself and Pride would have me back.’

Jackson would lose via submission to Sakuraba as expected, but what was surprising was the reaction of the crowd to the California resident, who began a love affair with the Japanese fans that would continue through his 17th and last PRIDE fight five years later.

Yuki Ishikawa – November 3, 2001 – PRIDE 17
Result – Jackson KO1
Less than four months after the loss to Sakuraba, Jackson – complete with his red, white, and blue trunks – was brought back to PRIDE to face debuting local fighter Yuki Ishikawa. Ishikawa was game, rushing Jackson at the bell, but the still raw “Rampage” showed off why he was about to become a major player in the MMA world as he overpowered his opponent with a nearly two-minute blitz that included a slam, a piledriver attempt, knees to the head, ground and pound, and a finishing standup flurry. It was Jackson’s first PRIDE win, and certainly not the last.

Kevin Randleman – March 16, 2003 – PRIDE 25
Result – Jackson TKO1
Though categorized as a wrestler, Jackson’s background on the mat paled in comparison to that of former UFC heavyweight champ Kevin Randleman, and Jackson knew it leading up to their 2003 fight. But Jackson wasn’t intimidated at all, and he showed it on March 16, 2003. In fact, Jackson even scored the first takedown on the Ohio State standout before a knee to the head followed by a 1-2 sent Randleman to the canvas a little less than seven minutes into the bout. A barrage of ground strikes finished the fight off seconds later, and Jackson had just scored the biggest win of his career.

Chuck Liddell I – November 9, 2003 – PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Result – Jackson TKO2
By 2003, Jackson was firmly entrenched as one of PRIDE’s top fighters, a fact reinforced by a four bout string that saw him beat Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, Mikhail Illoukhine, and Murilo Bustamante in successive bouts. But the fight most MMA fans wanted to see at that point was one between PRIDE’s Wanderlei Silva and the UFC’s Chuck Liddell. Normally, there would be no chance of that happening, but UFC President Dana White agreed to send his fighter to Japan to compete in the organization’s 205-pound tournament, with the ideal outcome being a final fight between Liddell and Silva. Silva did his part, beating Hidehiko Yoshida. Liddell ran into a buzzsaw named Jackson, who took ‘The Iceman’s power shots, brushed them off and kept coming en route to a second round TKO. It was a win that not only solidified Jackson’s place among the worldwide elite, but it also got UFC fans curious about the man who just took out one of the Octagon’s finest.

Wanderlei Silva I – November 9, 2003 – PRIDE Final Conflict 2003
Result – Silva TKO1
For Jackson, there would be no basking in the glory of his win over Liddell, because he had to catch his breath and get right back into the ring at the Tokyo Dome for the final fight of the night – his showdown with Wanderlei Silva. And though Jackson fell short of victory against “The Axe Murderer”, his heart and especially his chin were aspects of his game that few will ever forget witnessing that night.

Ricardo Arona – June 20, 2004 – PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004
Result – Jackson KO1
Fighting Wanderlei Silva on eight weeks notice is no picnic – doing it on the same night that you’ve just fought Chuck Liddell is insanity, making Jackson’s 2003 loss to Silva easily explainable. But to get back to ‘The Axe Murderer’, Jackson had to beat highly-regarded Ricardo Arona, and he did, scoring one of the great knockouts in MMA history.  This finish crystallized the fact that while Jackson is one of the most affable fighters in the game outside the ring, inside of it, he’s looking to take you out. His ring-shaking slam out of Arona’s triangle choke (which KOed the Brazilian) was a frightening reminder of what you can expect from ‘Rampage’ when the bell rings.

Wanderlei Silva II – October 31, 2004 – PRIDE 28
Result – Silva KO2
Four months removed from the win over Arona, and with a full training camp under his belt, Jackson was confident going into the rematch with Silva, and he showed the improvement in his game during an impressive first round. But in the second, Jackson – who had fasted for three days prior to the fight after converting to Christianity – started to run low on gas, and Silva made him pay, dazing him with a punch and then finishing him off with a vicious series of knees. Jackson would get a final shot at redemption against Silva, but he would have to wait over four years to get it. And to get a third bout with “The Axe Murderer” it had to occur in the UFC Octagon…

CAUTION: SPOILERS INCLUDED – Chuck O’Neil and Javier Torres have received a second chance to stay in the competition as Wild Card picks on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos, and both are fired up for the opportunity.

Also fired up is the one fighter many considered to be the favorite for one of the two Wild Card slots, Team Lesnar’s Len Bentley. Disappointed by being eliminated, he asks UFC President Dana White to fight the man who decisioned him, Ryan McGillivray on the season finale card if the Team dos Santos member doesn’t make it to the finals.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before we picked the Wild Card,” asks White. “Nobody felt like you wanted this thing bad enough. If you grabbed me two hours ago, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

Even back at the house, Bentley is inconsolable when it comes to the Wild Card picks, and he’s getting on his housemates’ nerves. So when McGillivray tells Bentley that he heard coach Brock Lesnar questioned whether his knee would be ready for another fight, it just adds fuel to the fire. So at the next practice, Bentley confronts Lesnar, and the former heavyweight champion points to the knee as the main reason for him not being picked, which seems to finally calm things down.

And there is no place for drama on the football field at Bishop Gorman High School, where Lesnar and opposing coach Junior dos Santos meet for this season’s Coaches Challenge. After trying out for the Minnesota Vikings, you would assume that Lesnar has the immediate edge, but dos Santos is an athlete and can never be counted out.

The competition includes high knee and side step drills, the pushing of a blocking sled 15 yards, a field goal kick, a pass through an Octagon-shaped target, and then a catch of a pass followed by a 100 yard run. The first coach to make it back to the end zone wins $10,000, and each member of his team wins $1,500.

The two are neck and neck throughout the course until they hit the field goal portion, where dos Santos takes the lead after a couple misses. It’s all the advantage he needs as he pulls away to beat Lesnar to the end zone and win the challenge.

“I think we both sucked,” smiled Lesnar. “He just got luckier than I did.”

Dos Santos was a gracious winner, giving some of his winnings to members of Team Lesnar, including the coaching staff.

“Everybody got paid, except for Brock,” laughed dos Santos. “He doesn’t deserve it, he lost.”

Lesnar has his chance to get even in more than more ways than one on fight night though, as a win by O’Neil over Torres will not only move his fighter to the second round, it will tie the final first round score between the teams at four.

And O’Neil delivers, parlaying a solid first round effort into a finish in round two, as he gets Torres to the mat and sinks in a fight-ending D’Arce choke.

“Chuck executed the things that we wanted him to do, and he did a phenomenal job,” said Lesnar.

The win finishes up the first round, and the quarterfinal matchups are as follows:
Clay Harvison vs. Ramsey Nijem
Chris Cope vs. Shamar Bailey
Chuck O’Neil vs. Zachary Davis
Tony Ferguson vs. Ryan McGillivray

Here’s how the teams look heading into the quarterfinals:

Team Lesnar
Len Bentley – Eliminated on episode three by Ryan McGillivray
Charles Rader – Eliminated on episode four by Ramsey Nijem
Tony Ferguson 1-0
Clay Harvison 1-0
Chuck O’Neil – 1-1 Eliminated on episode six by Zachary Davis. Returned for Wild Card bout and re-entered the competition
Chris Cope 1-0
Nordin Asrih – Eliminated on episode one by Shamar Bailey

Team dos Santos
Shamar Bailey 1-0
Ryan McGillivray 1-0
Javier Torres – Eliminated on episode two by Chris Cope. Returned for Wild Card bout and was eliminated by Chuck O’Neil
Ramsey Nijem 1-0
Zachary Davis 1-0
Mick Bowman – Eliminated on episode five by Clay Harvison
Justin Edwards – Eliminated on episode six by Tony Ferguson

For weekly recaps of The Ultimate Fighter, as well as fighter profiles, stay tuned to UFC.com.