Quinton “Rampage” Jackson became a main staple during his tenure in PRIDE FC and earned somewhat of a cult-following with Japanese fans.
The 34-year-old Jackson went on to establish himself as a household name, due to his aggressive style and colorful personality. And when he returns to Japan next weekend to face Ryan Bader at UFC 144, he’ll be looking to entertain fans once again.
“I really miss the fans, I’m not going to lie. I really miss fighting there,” Jackson said during a UFC 144 conference call.
It was his love for the Japanese fans that excited him and allowed him to collect such a violent array of wins over some of the organization’s top stars, including his vicious knockout slam of Ricardo Arona.
Jackson recalled the fans not taking much interest in a fighter’s statistics or winning streaks, which helped him perform and put on exciting matchups, whereas in the UFC, it ultimately determines one fighter’s success.
Since coming to the UFC in 2007, Jackson has seen a lack of enthusiasm from the fans.
“I don’t think people understand, in America everybody is worried about who’s going to win, and this and that. Like, it ain’t all about that,” he said. “It’s entertainment at the end of the day. The fans, they want to see entertaining fights, and fans got that. I don’t think America has that yet.”
Jackson will enter his bout against Bader coming off a loss to UFC light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, in search of a win and a chance to challenge for the title once more.
And as great as it would be to record his first win in Japan in over six years, Jackson said the bout holds more significance than that.
“It’s something personal for me,” he said. “My kids are from Japan. My kids’ grandparents are from there, and they never really watched me fight back in the day. I’ve never had that before, so it’s just something I want to do.”
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