According to “UFC Tonight”, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has exactly one fight left in the world’s largest MMA promotion. The UFC plans to cut Rampage after he gets his rematch with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
This news comes shortly after Jackson took to Twitter to vent his frustration and anger with the UFC—namely matchmaker Joe Silva—for pitting Jackson against wrestlers that he does not match up well with.
In the grand scheme of things, it would appear that Jackson is frustrated that he is no longer one of the UFC’s marquee stars. As Jackson grows older, picking up wins will only become more difficult as the competition becomes younger.
Whether Jackson’s gripes are legitimate or not, it appears that the UFC plans to grant Jackson his wish and release him upon the completion of the lone fight left on his contract.
With Jackson not ready to call it quits, the question becomes: where will Rampage Jackson sign?
Strikeforce immediately comes to mind as speculation suggest that some UFC fighters will soon make their way to the organization—Gilbert Melendez’s camp asking for Anthony Pettis or BJ Penn for his next fight certainly adds fuel to this fire—but Strikeforce’s ZUFFA ties make it hard to believe Rampage would be willing to compete for them.
Another option would be DREAM. Jackson has made it clear that he absolutely loves fighting in Japan, and as he has a cult following in the country, fighting for DREAM makes sense on paper.
The issue with DREAM is money. If you happened to have caught the “Cribs” styled tour Arriany Celeste received of Jackson’s mansion on FuelTV, you would understand to Jackson happens to really be into money.
It is hard to see DREAM being able to offer the kind of money that Jackson will be looking for.
That leaves Bellator.
Bellator is quickly gaining steam, and with their unique tournament format and solid television deal, they have at the very least carved out a nice niche for themselves.
Bellator has been able to generate some legitimate fighters who have made names for themselves, such as Eddie Alvarez, Hector Lombard and the Friere brothers. They’ve also shown they aren’t afraid to sign recognizable free agents like Shinya Aoki.
Could Rampage Jackson be just the personality they need to get to the next level?
Rampage remains one of the most well-known fighters in the UFC, particularly for his stint as a coach on the most watched season of “The Ultimate Fighter”. That kind of name recognition would be invaluable to Bellator, especially with the elusive casual fan base.
Bellator’s need for Rampage could be growing as Bellator’s two biggest stars are set to hit the open market soon; the UFC is expected to make a handsome offer to both Hector Lombard and presumably Eddie Alvarez.
What’s in the deal for Rampage?
The chance to be the face of an organization again. If Bellator was to sign Jackson, he would automatically become the biggest name to ever fight for the organization and would dominate the notoriously shallow pool of talent Bellator has at 205.
Jackson moving to Bellator seems to make sense for both parties. Bellator needs more name recognition if they want to compete with the UFC, and Jackson no longer wishes to be under the control of the UFC. If the money is right, the pairing would make a lot of sense.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com