At UFC 135, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson made UFC president Dana White proud.
Not because the former titleholder made a galiant effort in his fourth-round submission loss to the defending champion in Jon Jones but because he still showed the fire to compete.
Jackson’s motivation has long been questioned by the fans and media alike, whom have looked at the PRIDE veteran’s burgeoning career as an actor as a sign of Jackson’s exit from the sport.
Not so fast.
“I want to go to Japan in February and fight (Mauricio “Shogun” Rua),” said Jackson just moments after his loss to the aforementioned Jones.
“That’s what I want, rematch with Shogun in Japan. Put it together, Dana.”
The Brazilian will next be stepping inside the Octagon against another legend in the sport in Dan Henderson, who recently vacated his Strikeforce 205-pound title in order to make good on his third re-entrance inside the Octagon.
The two will meet in the main event of the evening for UFC 139, which takes place on November 19, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
While Shogun has pressing matters with Henderson to deal with in just a few months, the thought of fighting Jackson again has piqued his interest.
“Yes, I thought it was pretty cool,” said Rua, who made mention of hearing Jackson calling him out in the cage.
“Rampage is actually a guy that I like a lot as a person, his personality. I think this fight is bound to happen sooner or later, down the road at some point. I don’t know when, but eventually it will happen. So, we’ll see.”
Both Jackson and Rua are two of the biggest PRIDE transplants that have since made successful careers in the UFC, where the two have gone on to win the light heavyweight title within the organization.
Both men originally met in Japan in April 2005, where the former Chute Boxe standout dominated the Memphis native with a blitzkrieg of strikes, eventually stopping Jackson inside of the first-round via TKO.
Should the bout materialize in the future, a February showdown will prove to be a huge draw in the organization’s impromptu return to the Land of the Rising Sun, which is currently rumored to go down at the famed Saitama Super Arena (which can hold a capacity crowd of 37,000) in Saitama, Japan
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