Quinton Jackson wants to avenge losses against Mauricio Rua, Glover Teixeira

MONTREAL – Now that Quinton Jackson is back in the UFC and has a win under his belt, “Rampage” is thinking about the kind of havoc he can create in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Jackson scored a unanimous decision victory over Fabio Maldonaldo at UFC 186 Saturday night after a tumultuous fight camp. He was removed from the card briefly after an injunction was filed against him by the state of New Jersey in relation to Belltor’s suit against him for breach of contract. However, with the injunction lifted on Tuesday, Jackson was back on for his fight with Maldonado.

And after winning it, even with the future somewhat in doubt with the legal actions still looking, Jackson is proceeding as if he’ll be in the UFC for the long run. Given his druthers to fight stand-up fighters, when asked who he’d like to see next in the Octagon, “Rampage” said any of the guys who’ve beat him in the past.

“Honestly, I want to come back and beat everybody that beat me,” he said in the post-fight press conference. “I want to fight Shogun [Rua], Glover [Teixeira], Rashad [Evans] and make my way back up to [champion] Jon Jones. I am on a mission. That’s the honest truth.”

Jackson became the UFC champion back in 2007 when he defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 71. He defended the belt against Dan Henderson at UFC 75 four months later, before losing it to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Jackson had a title shot against Jones at UFC 135 in Denver, which he lost via submission (rear-naked choke). That loss began the three-fight losing streak that ultimately led to him bolting the UFC for Bellator. Included in that streak was a loss to the wrestler Ryan Bader, which at the time soured Jackson against UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

“To be honest, I was just happy not to be fighting somebody who was desperate to take me down,” Jackson said after the win over Maldonado. “When you’re fighting like a real man, a real MMA fighter, somebody who wants to fight, you know, stand and bang with you, you don’t have to worry about somebody trying to take you down. So you can let the kicks go, let the knees go, you can do things. I would’ve done a flying knee but he was doing a great job.

As for this win serving as vindication for him in light of the acrimony upon leaving Bellator, Jackson said he was happy to be back with the UFC.

“I’m going to tell you, this was he most stressful time of my whole career,” he said. “I’ve been fighting for 15 years and I had to deal with what I had to deal with just to get here. And I hope I never have to do that again. But like I said before my fight, I fight everything. I don’t even know why I fight half the stuff I fight. Ask my kids. I fight them all the time. I fight everything.

“I want to give Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] a big thanks. They had my back, they helped me out. I’m going to say it right now. I was over there…Bellator can’t f*ck with the UFC. I ain’t going to lie.”

MONTREAL – Now that Quinton Jackson is back in the UFC and has a win under his belt, “Rampage” is thinking about the kind of havoc he can create in the UFC’s light heavyweight division.

Jackson scored a unanimous decision victory over Fabio Maldonaldo at UFC 186 Saturday night after a tumultuous fight camp. He was removed from the card briefly after an injunction was filed against him by the state of New Jersey in relation to Belltor’s suit against him for breach of contract. However, with the injunction lifted on Tuesday, Jackson was back on for his fight with Maldonado.

And after winning it, even with the future somewhat in doubt with the legal actions still looking, Jackson is proceeding as if he’ll be in the UFC for the long run. Given his druthers to fight stand-up fighters, when asked who he’d like to see next in the Octagon, “Rampage” said any of the guys who’ve beat him in the past.

“Honestly, I want to come back and beat everybody that beat me,” he said in the post-fight press conference. “I want to fight Shogun [Rua], Glover [Teixeira], Rashad [Evans] and make my way back up to [champion] Jon Jones. I am on a mission. That’s the honest truth.”

Jackson became the UFC champion back in 2007 when he defeated Chuck Liddell at UFC 71. He defended the belt against Dan Henderson at UFC 75 four months later, before losing it to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. Jackson had a title shot against Jones at UFC 135 in Denver, which he lost via submission (rear-naked choke). That loss began the three-fight losing streak that ultimately led to him bolting the UFC for Bellator. Included in that streak was a loss to the wrestler Ryan Bader, which at the time soured Jackson against UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.

“To be honest, I was just happy not to be fighting somebody who was desperate to take me down,” Jackson said after the win over Maldonado. “When you’re fighting like a real man, a real MMA fighter, somebody who wants to fight, you know, stand and bang with you, you don’t have to worry about somebody trying to take you down. So you can let the kicks go, let the knees go, you can do things. I would’ve done a flying knee but he was doing a great job.

As for this win serving as vindication for him in light of the acrimony upon leaving Bellator, Jackson said he was happy to be back with the UFC.

“I’m going to tell you, this was he most stressful time of my whole career,” he said. “I’ve been fighting for 15 years and I had to deal with what I had to deal with just to get here. And I hope I never have to do that again. But like I said before my fight, I fight everything. I don’t even know why I fight half the stuff I fight. Ask my kids. I fight them all the time. I fight everything.

“I want to give Dana [White] and Lorenzo [Fertitta] a big thanks. They had my back, they helped me out. I’m going to say it right now. I was over there…Bellator can’t f*ck with the UFC. I ain’t going to lie.”