When a much-anticipated main event like Edgar vs. Maynard 3 falls by the wayside, it’s tough for an event to ever really live up to the expectations.Still, UFC 130 featured big knockouts, rising contenders, and generally some very interesting perform…
When a much-anticipated main event like Edgar vs. Maynard 3 falls by the wayside, it’s tough for an event to ever really live up to the expectations.
Still, UFC 130 featured big knockouts, rising contenders, and generally some very interesting performances.
Quinton Jackon didn’t exactly set the cage on fire, but making up for his efforts were Brian Stann, Travis Browne, Gleison Tibau and others.
Aside from the performances themselves, UFC 130 will also provide a fairly large shakeup in the divisional rankings with top 10 ranked fighters like Jorge Santiago, Miguel Torres, and Thiago Alves all coming up short.
Here are the top thoughts and repercussions following UFC 130.
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a fairly lackluster card in terms of the importance of the fights.An event that was originally slated to contain a rematch of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard in addition to an explosive matchup between Rampage Jackson and…
UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a fairly lackluster card in terms of the importance of the fights.
An event that was originally slated to contain a rematch of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard in addition to an explosive matchup between Rampage Jackson and Thiago Silva instead became riddled with injuries and was relegated to UFC 127-like status.
Still, the card was filled with fights that, while not necessarily making clear No. 1 contenders, allowed for title run talks to begin. Amongst these fighters were Rick Story, Frank Mir, and Rampage Jackson.
Following UFC 130, Dana White reiterated that regardless of Quinton Jackson’s lackluster performance against Matt Hamill, Jackson is still deserving of a title shot.A win over Lyoto Machida alone would be enough to make most fighters deserving of a tit…
Following UFC 130, Dana White reiterated that regardless of Quinton Jackson‘s lackluster performance against Matt Hamill, Jackson is still deserving of a title shot.
A win over Lyoto Machida alone would be enough to make most fighters deserving of a title shot, but in this case, Rampage simply isn’t the best option for the UFC.
Although Rashad Evans is currently set to fight Phil Davis later this summer, the UFC has scrapped fights before to make a better fight, and they should do that in this case, because right now Evans is the best option for the UFC.
Why Rampage Shouldn’t Get A Title Shot
Quinton Jackson is without question one of the best light heavyweights in the world, but although he dominated Matt Hamill, he didn’t finish him where Jon Jones utterly destroyed him.
Jackson’s other recent victory over Lyoto Machida was also a bit lackluster, and in that case, many fans felt like Machida did more to earn the victory than Rampage.
Before that, Jackson lost to the aforementioned Evans, and didn’t look particularly good in defeat.
But more than just his in-Octagon performances, it’s what Jackson has done outside the Octagon that makes him a bad choice as a title contender.
Is Rampage Jackson Still A Big Draw?
It is generally assumed that Quinton Jackson is still a big draw, but I’m not entirely sure.
Jackson’s fight with Lyoto Machida didn’t do particularly well, and if trending numbers are accurate, UFC 130 will do only a mediocre number at best.
Part of the problem is that Rampage’s questionable motivation doesn’t exactly make people want to see him fight anymore.
Rampage doesn’t care about winning the belt as much as he cares about making money, and has said that he’ll retire once he makes as much money “acting” as he does fighting.
Rampage is a terrible actor, but as long as Jackson gets offered acting gigs, his focus isn’t going to be on fighting.
Aside from not focusing on fighting, Rampage’s efforts to actually promote his fights have been pretty half-hearted as well.
Before the Machida fight, Rampage was on Craig Ferguson’s show calling Machida boring. Calling your opponent boring is never a great way to promote a fight.
At last week’s post-fight press conference when Jackson was given a chance to hype a potential fight with Jon Jones, he had almost nothing about a man who has courted controversy with his clashing “I am the chosen one” and “son of a preacher man” personas.
If Jackson can’t come up with one witty thing to say about Jones, he doesn’t deserve his reputation as a comedian, or as somebody who is good at promoting fights.
Although Jackson did a big number when he fought against Evans, most of the credit for that goes to Evans who was really the source of the better quips, one-liners, and insults. Evans’ characterizing Rampage as an Uncle Tom alone probably added 100,000 buys, while all Rampage could muster up was that Evan’s breath stinks.
Rashad Evans Is The Better Option
Unlike Jackson, Evans has a legitimate grudge with Jones that seems to have fans jazzed, if nothing else, to see one of the two fighters get knocked out.
Given a little help from a UFC Primetime series, such a fight should easily do a big number on pay-per-view.
The UFC is risking that possibility by putting Evans against a very dangerous fighter in Phil Davis.
There is a very real possibility that Davis beats Evans by using his superior wrestling, and even if Evans wins, the outcome could very easily be a ho-hum decision that does nothing to make people believe in Evan’s chances against Jones.
If Evans wins by knockout, a fight with Jones would be even more appealing, but is the risk really worth the potential gain?
Although a change would be kinda lousy for Davis, there is plenty of time to find him a new opponent, and Lyoto Machida is currently waiting in the wings.
Conclusion
Rampage Jackson needs to get passionate about fighting and promoting a fight before he’s deserving of a title shot.
He also needs to put on a performance that convinces people that he’ll be anything more than easy pickings for Jones.
Until those things happen, Evan’s grudge with Jones should be more than enough to sell a big fight in October if the UFC is willing to scrap one single signed fight to make a much bigger one.
UFC 130 delivered a few special moments, including a tremendous knock out (Superman Punch) of Stefan Struve by Travis Browne and a great Memorial Day Weekend Win for Brian Stann who KO’d Jorge Santiago in.
UFC 130 delivered a few special moments, including a tremendous knock out (Superman Punch) of Stefan Struve by Travis Browne and a great Memorial Day Weekend Win for Brian Stann who KO’d Jorge Santiago in the 2nd round. The fights also offered some interesting news bits… like that we should all take better notice of Rick Story as he earned a 6th win to his fight streak in the Welterweight division. And even though Frank Mir clearly dominated Roy Nelson in their 3 rounds, it was still Mir who suffered a broken jaw and was off to the hospital while Nelson joyfully blamed Dan Hardy for his poor “british wrestling” that may have lost him the fight. Lastly, we heard pending the outcome of his hand injury that Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will receive the title-shot against Jon Jones.
And with the fight card’s culmination we also see that despite any injuries and losses suffered, all the fighters still managed to get out to their after parties and have a good time.
Saturday night’s main event saw Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson put on a formidable clinic when it comes to the classic “sprawl’n’brawl” fight tactic. Matt Hamill seemed to throw away his chance at competing on the higher end of…
Saturday night’s main event saw Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson put on a formidable clinic when it comes to the classic “sprawl’n’brawl” fight tactic.
Matt Hamill seemed to throw away his chance at competing on the higher end of UFC events with a poor display. He was completely outclassed by Jackson despite the former UFC light heavy weight Champion’s claims of sporting a fractured left hand.
Depending on the severity of the injury, UFC president Dana White has claimed it will be Jackson who will get the honour of being Jon ‘Bones’ Jones first opponent for a title defense.
Jones is well known for his unorthodox style within most facets of MMA. ‘Bones’ demonstrated wild wrestling techniques in his bout against Stephan Bonnar, a freak submission against Jake O’Brien and massive confidence in his striking ability when securing his title in his destruction of Muay-thai machine—Shogun Rua.
Rampage’s game plan was no shock to anyone who has watched the knockout merchant’s development over the years in the sport. If the Memphis native receives an opportunity to face Jon Jones it is very possible he will use a similar disposition.
If one criticism came from Jones’ picking apart of Rua, it was that he seemed to be gassed, although not nearly to the extent of his opponent, toward the end of his fight. A harsh critique in my view yet still an important one to note.
In Jackson’s last outing versus Rashad Evans, he didn’t seem to be at the races at all for the first two rounds, but still finished the fight the stronger of the two. Evans deservedly won the bout on decision.
If Rampage managed to stuff the take downs of the explosive Jones, there is no doubt it would have a serious impact on the engine of the young champion. However, I think most people believe that Jackson would find it hard to have the same rate of success as he did against Hamill, stuffing all seventeen of his take down attempts.
This would leave the fight to be decided on the feet, somewhere Jackson is at his most comfortable. Jones too is no slouch in this department, but with Rampage able to pick apart Matt Hamill with only one good hand, you would have to give the edge to the Tennessee man.
Then again a similar mistake was made by a lot of analysts before Jones’ last bout against Rua.
I believe that Jones’ unorthodox style leaves openings for Jackson to exploit, especially if his coveted left hand is ready to fire on all cylinders.
One thing is for sure, the UFC will have to pick a substantial venue if the match is to go ahead as a lot of fans want to see this fight. A defense will cement Jones’ place as the 205 king and also as one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world, while a title shot could awaken the sleeping beast that is Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.
By defeating Matt Hamill, former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may just have secured himself as the first challenger against reigning champion Jon Jones.Some have speculated that Jackson is not the same fighter he was when he cla…
By defeating Matt Hamill, former light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may just have secured himself as the first challenger against reigning champion Jon Jones.
Some have speculated that Jackson is not the same fighter he was when he claimed and defended the championship title, but by outclassing a surging Matt Hamill, Jackson proved he is still performing at the very top of the food chain.
That being said, how much of a threat does he pose to the phenom champion?
Jackson has the skill and power to take out any light heavyweight, but Jones has looked to be in a league of his own.
So how does Rampage stack up against Jones?
Let us take an in depth look at the matchup in the following categories on a scale of 10:
