Quinton “Rampage” Jackson isn’t looking to finish out the remainder of his UFC contract.
Instead, the former UFC light heavyweight champion hopes to be released by the promotion that helped make him a household name. In a series of odd posts on his Twitter account, Jackson blamed the UFC for taking away his love for fighting.
“Well I’m hoping the @ufc just let me go so I can do my thang, they took my love of fighting after the Forest fight! #bloodtypeBpositive”
In July 2008, Rampage lost his UFC title to Griffin in a controversial unanimous decision. Many believed the bout warranted an immediate rematch, but the UFC opted to move on and have Griffin defend the title against a fresh contender.
After the fight, Rampage was involved in a hit and run incident in Newport Beach, California, which resulted in a high speed police chase. The former champion, who had fallen on tough times, was arrested on the spot and UFC President Dana White flew down in person to pay his bail.
The drama wouldn’t end there. A year after losing the UFC title, Rampage butted heads with White over his decision to star as B.A. Baracus in the Hollywood remake of “The A Team” movie. White’s objection was that the movie put a highly anticipated bout between Rashad Evans and Rampage in jeopardy.
In other words, it was business as usual for the UFC President.
As for Rampage, he stated in a blog on his official website that he was done competing in the UFC and fighting in general.
“The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. They had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the tv with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that”
In the end, White was able to talk Rampage off the ledge, and the former Pride star continued his MMA career.
Now, it seems like the promotion is back to square one with Rampage, who lost a surprising unanimous decision to Ryan Bader two weeks ago at UFC 144.
Things are a little different this time around. Rampage isn’t only threatening to leave the UFC, but in a tweet response to a fan, he didn’t rule out the possibility of fighting in another promotion.
“@skanksideup y u care that its the ufc? I can fight better fights n a diff show!”
“Goodnight 2 my real fans,I got mad love 4 ya,the rest of yall r sheep!! n u don’t matter 2 me anyhow, cause u gonna buy my fights anyway Fact”
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