At what first seemed like a chance to redeem himself and honor the last fight on his contract, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is now opposed to the idea of facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and is attempting to pull out of the bout.
Jackson and Rua were scheduled to meet later this year, after it was announced by UFC president Dana White that Jackson would fight one more time before being granted his release from the organization.
However, Jackson has since changed his mind and told Inside MMA he plans on leaving the UFC on his own terms.
“I’ve been upset with the UFC and the opponents they’ve been giving me,” Jackson said. “After my fight with Jon Jones, they [the UFC] told my manager that I was losing my appeal, that rappers and stuff don’t come out to watch me fight no more, that the fans don’t really like me no more.”
“I’ll go fight for some other show for free. I’ll prove to the fans that I’m not all about money,” he said.
Jackson has expressed his interest on avenging his loss to Rua since their first bout in PRIDE FC seven years ago.
Even before the announcement, Jackson had showed great interest in facing a striker more of his caliber, as opposed to constantly being matched up against wrestlers.
But now it appears Jackson no longer has any intention of competing in general, and looks to be opting for his release.
“I wish I didn’t have one more fight for the UFC. I’m trying to get out of it,” he said.
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