Should Quinton Jackson lose to Matt Hamill, don’t expect to see him back in the Octagon any time soon. Throughout the build up to the event, “Rampage” Jackson has expressed a certain amount of disinterest about his fight against Matt Hamill. He has gon…
Should Quinton Jackson lose to Matt Hamill, don’t expect to see him back in the Octagon any time soon.
Throughout the build up to the event, “Rampage” Jackson has expressed a certain amount of disinterest about his fight against Matt Hamill. He has gone as far to say nothing gets him excited, and that he had other opponents in mind before Hamill.
Rampage has been very public as of late about how he is just hanging around the mixed martial arts scene until Hollywood comes knocking at his front door.
Can you really blame him for that? If you had the choice between getting punched in the face for a lot of money, or acting the fool in front of a camera for a whole lot of money, which one would you choose?
Jackson has been around the game for a long time. His bouts against Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, Shogun Rua, Sakuraba, and Ricardo Arona will be forever embedded in the minds of mixed martial arts fans.
After all the wars in the ring and Octagon, one could believe that Rampage may be getting a little “burned out” with the fight game. With the success of the A-Team, it must only be a matter of time before Jackson is offered another movie roll.
Should he leave Las Vegas Saturday night with an additional loss on his record, expect Rampage to wait for that call from Hollywood.
That call may take a little time to come, but Jackson has plenty of money. He can wait.
This Saturday night, UFC 130 will be going down live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in fabulous Las Vegas, NV.While the card has lost a little of its sexiness due to the fact that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will not be fighting for the third time …
This Saturday night, UFC 130 will be going down live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in fabulous Las Vegas, NV.
While the card has lost a little of its sexiness due to the fact that Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will not be fighting for the third time due to injuries suffered by each fighter, the card still has much to offer the fans.
Headlining the card, you have the experience of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs the hungriness of Matt Hamill. The co-feature will put two of the best jiu-jitsu practitioners in the heavyweight division against each other when Frank Mir takes on Roy Nelson.
Also on the pay-per-view portion of the card, up-and-coming Stefan Struve will be facing off against the undefeated Travis Browne in a heavyweight bout, Thiago Alves will be taking on Ricky Story in a welterweight bout, and Brian Stann will be facing the returning Jorge Santiago in a middleweight tilt.
On top of that, there will be four preliminary fights airing on Spike TV and Facebook.
While no titles are going to be on the line Saturday evening, there could be the emergence, or reemergence, of potential contenders moving forward.
Here are the latest predictions, analysis, and other random thoughts.
With only a few days left before his main event bout with Matt Hamill at UFC 130, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson spent some time to shed some light on his opponent.Jackson appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” last night…
With only a few days left before his main event bout with Matt Hamill at UFC 130, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson spent some time to shed some light on his opponent.
Jackson appeared on “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” last night to promote the event and he said he is focused and motivated to compete this weekend.
When asked on a prediction for the bout, Jackson said he would prefer to end it quickly as possible.
“I’m not sure, actually I’m hoping to end it fast,” Jackson told Ferguson.
Jackson joked that after a long and grueling training camp, he hopes to go to his after-party to drink and celebrate his victory.
While he is known for his humorous and colorful personality, Jackson is a motivated and serious competitor inside the Octagon. Since his debut, Jackson is 9-2 in the UFC and is one of the few successful fighters to cross over from Pride FC. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Jackson has picked up victories over such fighters as: Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva.
And although he appeared to poke fun at his opponent, Hamill has built a respectable resume to his name, earning victories over Keith Jardine and Tito Ortiz, and is one of the most competitive fighters in the UFC light heavyweight division.
UFC 130 takes place this Saturday night, live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Despite the bad blood that exists between light heavyweight contenders Rashad “Suga” Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Evans still thinks that Rampage has what it takes to beat Matt “The Hammer” Hamill at the main…
Despite the bad blood that exists between light heavyweight contenders Rashad “Suga” Evans and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Evans still thinks that Rampage has what it takes to beat Matt “The Hammer” Hamill at the main event of UFC 130.
In speaking with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, Suga actually said that he is a fan of Hamill’s and would love to see him crack the top 10 among UFC light heavyweights with an upset in Las Vegas.
“But I think Rampage should get it done,” Evans admitted. “If he goes in there with his mind right, I think Rampage will win the fight.”
However, Evans was not ready to count Hamill out of the fight.
“It all depends though. I haven’t heard anything out of his camp, as far as how he’s mentally doing. Rampage is all mind. Sometimes if he goes in there and his mind isn’t right, it’s almost like he throws a tantrum just by not fighting the way he can.”
Both Rampage and Hamill have went on the record saying they expect a high-profile fight after posing a dominant win on Saturday, May 28.
Duff Holmes, Hamill’s trainer and manager, has stated that he thinks The Hammer deserves another crack at Jon Jones with a win against Rampage.
Hamill is the sole fighter to own a professional victory over “Bones,” although he was thoroughly being dominated by the current light heavyweight champion before Jones got disqualified for illegal “12 to 6” elbow strikes.
Holmes rationalized that a rematch would make sense since a documentary about Hamill’s life comes out around October, when Jones is expected to return to action.
The release of Hamill’s movie would only add to the hype of the title fight, Holmes added.
Of course, none of that matters unless Hamill can get past Jackson.
Evans, who beat Jackson via unanimous decision almost exactly one year ago (May 29, 2010), feels that Hamill is capable of beating Rampage the same way, but not without first modifying at least one aspect of his fight game:
“For Hamill to win, he’s going to have to bring his punches back,” Evans said. “One thing Hamill does is he leans on his punches. When he throws the jab, he leans on it. Rampage is very good at the counter punch because he catches whatever you throw and, if you don’t bring it right back, he’s going to hit where you just left that punch.”
Evans, one of the most accomplished wrestlers in the division, feels that Hamill would be making a mistake by keeping the fight standing for long. He isn’t banking on Hamill taking Rampage down at will, either.
“So, if Hamill is leaning on his jab, Rampage is going to catch it, he’s going to roll and he’s going to land the right. Can Hamill take Rampage down? Probably. But Rampage is hard to take down. He’s probably got the strongest hips I’ve felt at 205.”
While Evans gave Hamill plenty of credit, and at least a fighting chance to win, he stuck by his original pick of Rampage in the end.
Last time he (Rampage) was real quiet before a fight was when he fought Wanderlei Silva, and it didn’t turn out well for Wanderlei,” Evans said. “Looks like he might be focused for this one.”
This Saturday marks the date that two of the UFC’s top light heavyweights—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill—will square off in the Octagon.Jackson, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, as well as a legend of the def…
This Saturday marks the date that two of the UFC’s top light heavyweights—Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Matt “The Hammer” Hamill—will square off in the Octagon.
Jackson, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, as well as a legend of the defunct Pride organization, is expected to thoroughly crush Hamill—the fight’s underdog with odds ranging from +215-+250 depending on who’s counting—en route to another run at the light heavyweight crown.
In fact, this is likely what is desired by the UFC and fans across the world. Rampage is one of the most charismatic fighters in the UFC and probably the most charismatic in his weight class. Thus, he is easy to market and popular.
But, should he lose to Hamill, what would happen?
First, Rampage’s reputation as a top competitor would evaporate. Many feel he did not win his last fight against Lyoto Machida despite what the judges decided. Before that, he lost a decision to Rashad Evans, a fight in which the former Pride star came out flat. So, in the eyes of many fans, he would have lost three straight.
It is very difficult for a fighter’s reputation to survive that.
Rampage has been accused of no longer taking fighting seriously. Should he lose, this notion will become fact amongst MMA fans and Rampage’s popularity will sharply diminish as his “throw caution to the wind” demeanor will have faded from reality into memory.
Hamill would obviously be the recipient of a large boost in popularity and in hype received from the UFC. He would also officially be “in the mix” as far as title contention goes.
But what of the light heavyweight division? Some might say Hamill winning would ultimately be a bad thing as he is not, nor will he ever be, as popular or marketable as Rampage (This is an unfortunate consequence of Hamill’s deafness). However, the division would be just fine with a Hamill victory.
Why? Simply put, the division—for at least the near future—will be dominated by the same few figures. Champion Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, Phil Davis, Lyoto Machida, and perhaps Mauricio “Shogun” Rua should he triumph over Forrest Griffin at UFC 134.
What all of these men have in common is this: They would all beat Matt Hamill and Rampage Jackson in a fight. Thus, while Rampage losing may rob the UFC and fans of a potential Evans-Jackson II, it would not be a hindrance on the division, since neither Rampage nor Hamill will ever reach the very top echelon of the division—again in Rampage’s case.
So, despite what marketing material may say, the result of UFC 130‘s main event is ultimately inconsequential in the grand scheme of the light heavyweight division.
Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a UFC 130 clash with Matt Hamill this Saturday, May 30, 2011 in Las Vegas. As he nears the bout, he has included some brief glimpses into his life via some videos.Rampage is o…
Bleacher Report’s Michael Evans:
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a UFC 130 clash with Matt Hamill this Saturday, May 30, 2011 in Las Vegas. As he nears the bout, he has included some brief glimpses into his life via some videos.
Rampage is often funny, cordial and fun-loving and is rarely serious unless he is competing in the UFC. He has voiced recently that he plans to only compete in mixed martial arts for a few more years and then he will step away from the fight game.
Jackson had a change of opponents in the months leading up the fight, and now he will square off against Matt “Hammer” Hamill on Saturday.
Jackson seemed to be less than excited when he has spoken about the bout. In the past, he has been known for gaining large amounts of weight in between fights.
Will he be in great shape for UFC 130? The world will know on fight night.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is preparing for a