Quinton Jackson, the man dubbed Rampage, was once one of the most feared mixed martial artists at 205 pounds. His trademark howl was accompanied by slams that once knocked out Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 on June 20 of that year. His wrestling was relentless and he had no doubt power in both fists that knocked out the likes of Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva and Kevin Randleman, just to name a few.
However, that was then and this is now. I used to love Rampage. When he was signed to the UFC back in 2006, I was ecstatic. I immediately thought about a rematch with Chuck Liddell and was thinking world championships for him in the most prominent mixed martial arts organization in the world.
He did win the light heavyweight title at the expense of Chuck Liddell in their rematch of their Pride meeting back in 2007 at UFC 71, which saw Jackson knock Liddell out in the first round to capture the UFC Light Heavyweight Title. He then went on to defend it once against Dan Henderson in a historical battle that saw him unify the UFC and Pride Light Heavyweight Championships in a hard fought five round battle at UFC 75 in London, England. He then lost it to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 on July 5, 2008.
Since then, Rampage has faded. He went on to avenge his two losses against Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December of 2008 with a first round knockout, however since then, where is he?
He fought Keith Jardine at UFC 96 and won a three-round decision. Then, went on to lose a decision to Rashad Evans, a fight that was long-awaited and one of the biggest grudge matches in UFC history. In between that time, Jackson starred in the A-Team movie.
That’s where it all went wrong. Jackson has since then stated that acting is his next career choice, and quite frankly, mixed martial arts isn’t that important to him anymore. He has explicitly stated that when movies start paying him as much as MMA does, he’s done.
Really Jackson? You’re going to leave behind what has made you famous and what the fans love you for? I don’t look down on you because you want to act. I do because of how you’re going about the rest of your career.
In the cage, it’s showing that you simply don’t care anymore. You say that you’re just here to get paid, well you’re doing a great job of living up to that. The very reason they call you Rampage, the slams, the power, the knockouts, they aren’t there anymore. You fought a lackluster fight against Evans, one which you were supposed to go and annihilate the man you hate. You fought another lackluster fight against Machida, and won a decision that many thought you lost.
You don’t like it when journalists press you with hard questions, you aren’t as engaged in MMA interviews as you once were and you simply don’t seem that interested in talking about your fights. You say it’s about the money now, you say that you’re only here to fight and leave, and you’re showing it.
I find it hard for myself to continue to be a fan of you. I love this sport and I love fighters who love the sport just as much as I do. You just don’t anymore and you’re no longer the Rampage that I started to like years ago. You’re no longer the Rampage that came into the UFC in 2007 after tearing the ring apart in Pride. You’re no longer the Rampage that came into knockout people and win titles and fight to be the very best. Simply put, you’re no longer Rampage.
Now that you’ve recently come out and said you’ve only got a couple of more years left in the sport and you plan on retiring for good at age 35, I suppose we’ll never see the Rampage that we all have come to love. It’s sad, but I suppose we have to move on just as much you have.
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