MMAMayhemRadio‘s Ashley Luther caught up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following his Bellator 120 decision win against King Mo, and first off, I just want to congratulate Rampage for making it through a two-minute segment with a female reporter without getting his hump on. (Although he did give us a new quote to add to his interview highlight reel: “I don’t beat ladies…I just beat it up.” Quinton, you classy son of a bitch.)
With Rampage’s next fight in Bellator uncertain, Luther asked him who he’d like to fight next. Jackson’s answer time-warped us back to the MMA glory days of 2009-2010:
“Actually, to be honest, I want to fight somebody else that’s on my pissed-off list. I got two more guys. I got Titties, and I got James Toney. I want to fight one of those guys, honestly…I just want to beat up everybody who’s been pissing me off.”
MMAMayhemRadio‘s Ashley Luther caught up with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson following his Bellator 120 decision win against King Mo, and first off, I just want to congratulate Rampage for making it through a two-minute segment with a female reporter without getting his hump on. (Although he did give us a new quote to add to his interview highlight reel: “I don’t beat ladies…I just beat it up.” Quinton, you classy son of a bitch.)
With Rampage’s next fight in Bellator uncertain, Luther asked him who he’d like to fight next. Jackson’s answer time-warped us back to the MMA glory days of 2009-2010:
“Actually, to be honest, I want to fight somebody else that’s on my pissed-off list. I got two more guys. I got Titties, and I got James Toney. I want to fight one of those guys, honestly…I just want to beat up everybody who’s been pissing me off.”
“Titties” of course is Darrill Schoonover, the soft-spoken heavyweight who became a target of Rampage’s on TUF 10 simply because his body had developed earlier than the other boys. James Toney is the gibberish-speaking boxing champ who Randy Couture choked out at UFC 118, and who later called Rampage a “slave to the white man” who “got the Klu Klux Klan behind him.” I gotta be honest — I would happily pay money to see James Toney get humiliated in another MMA fight. And if any promotion is crazy/desperate enough to put it together on pay-per-view, it’s Bellator, right?
It was going, so well. Jackson was calm, reasonable, and had managed to go almost four minutes in a row without dry-humping something. But us MMA reporters being the shit-stirring type, the conversation inevitably shifted toward towards “Bellator vs. UFC,” prompting Jackson to go completely off the reservation.
At the end of the day it’s all about what you’re looking for. If you want longevity, I would go with a company like Bellator that you can grow with. And here’s a secret that the UFC won’t tell you, and will never tell you, but right now Bellator is getting more ratings than the UFC. And sponsors understand stuff like that. So a lot of sponsors are going to come over and jump to Bellator and UFC sponsorships are going to go down because if you don’t have the ratings you don’t have the commercial money and the people to watch the commercials and you don’t have the endorsement dollars.
(*puts on Madea costume*) Oh Rampage, you so crazy!
It was going, so well. Jackson was calm, reasonable, and had managed to go almost four minutes in a row without dry-humping something. But us MMA reporters being the shit-stirring type, the conversation inevitably shifted toward towards “Bellator vs. UFC,” prompting Jackson to go completely off the reservation.
At the end of the day it’s all about what you’re looking for. If you want longevity, I would go with a company like Bellator that you can grow with. And here’s a secret that the UFC won’t tell you, and will never tell you, but right now Bellator is getting more ratings than the UFC. And sponsors understand stuff like that. So a lot of sponsors are going to come over and jump to Bellator and UFC sponsorships are going to go down because if you don’t have the ratings you don’t have the commercial money and the people to watch the commercials and you don’t have the endorsement dollars.
(*puts on Madea costume*) Oh Rampage, you so crazy! You mean to tell me that Bellator — the measly little promotion putting snoozer trilogies like Alvarez vs. Chandler on cable — is somehow outperforming the promotion who is putting marquee matchups like Hathaway vs. Kim on fringe sports channels and subscription-only digital networks? HAHA COOL STORY BRO.
All kidding aside, it’s getting increasingly difficult to dismiss claims like the ones made by Jackson in regards to the UFC’s ratings. Say what you want about TUF Nations not appealing to Americans, but 78,000 viewers for last week’s episode? Take it away, Al…
Of course, it’s relatively unfair to compare the ratings of a card/program broadcasted on Spike to one broadcasted on FS1, right? Well, the numbers for Fight Night 36 have something to say about that:
Ok, so maybe Jackson *is* just blowing smoke up our collective asses.
It was going, so well. Jackson was calm, reasonable, and had managed to go almost four minutes in a row without dry-humping something. But us MMA reporters being the shit-stirring type, the conversation inevitably shifted toward towards “Bellator vs. UFC,” prompting Jackson to go completely off the reservation.
At the end of the day it’s all about what you’re looking for. If you want longevity, I would go with a company like Bellator that you can grow with. And here’s a secret that the UFC won’t tell you, and will never tell you, but right now Bellator is getting more ratings than the UFC. And sponsors understand stuff like that. So a lot of sponsors are going to come over and jump to Bellator and UFC sponsorships are going to go down because if you don’t have the ratings you don’t have the commercial money and the people to watch the commercials and you don’t have the endorsement dollars.
(*puts on Madea costume*) Oh Rampage, you so crazy!
It was going, so well. Jackson was calm, reasonable, and had managed to go almost four minutes in a row without dry-humping something. But us MMA reporters being the shit-stirring type, the conversation inevitably shifted toward towards “Bellator vs. UFC,” prompting Jackson to go completely off the reservation.
At the end of the day it’s all about what you’re looking for. If you want longevity, I would go with a company like Bellator that you can grow with. And here’s a secret that the UFC won’t tell you, and will never tell you, but right now Bellator is getting more ratings than the UFC. And sponsors understand stuff like that. So a lot of sponsors are going to come over and jump to Bellator and UFC sponsorships are going to go down because if you don’t have the ratings you don’t have the commercial money and the people to watch the commercials and you don’t have the endorsement dollars.
(*puts on Madea costume*) Oh Rampage, you so crazy! You mean to tell me that Bellator — the measly little promotion putting snoozer trilogies like Alvarez vs. Chandler on cable — is somehow outperforming the promotion who is putting marquee matchups like Hathaway vs. Kim on fringe sports channels and subscription-only digital networks? HAHA COOL STORY BRO.
All kidding aside, it’s getting increasingly difficult to dismiss claims like the ones made by Jackson in regards to the UFC’s ratings. Say what you want about TUF Nations not appealing to Americans, but 78,000 viewers for last week’s episode? Take it away, Al…
Of course, it’s relatively unfair to compare the ratings of a card/program broadcasted on Spike to one broadcasted on FS1, right? Well, the numbers for Fight Night 36 have something to say about that:
Ok, so maybe Jackson *is* just blowing smoke up our collective asses.
In this clip from Inside MMA, Bas Rutten drops the bad news on Jackson, who explains that he’d rather not wait six more months to get back in the cage…so what’s Forrest Griffin up to these days, anyway? When Bas is informed that Griffin vs. Phil Davis has already been booked, it’s tantrum time for Quinton:
“That’s gonna be a boring fight! No disrespect to anybody, but that’s gonna be a boring fight, I’m sorry…This is why I’m leaving the UFC. I don’t understand what Joe Silva’s doing. Joe Silva have a complex, something’s wrong with him. The guy can’t match *shoes*. What kind of matchmaker is this guy? What is he thinking? Give me Forrest. Everybody wants that, that would sell, everybody wants to see me and Forrest fight again. Everybody keeps talking about it.“
In this clip from Inside MMA, Bas Rutten drops the bad news on Jackson, who explains that he’d rather not wait six more months to get back in the cage…so what’s Forrest Griffin up to these days, anyway? When Bas is informed that Griffin vs. Phil Davis has already been booked, it’s tantrum time for Quinton:
“That’s gonna be a boring fight! No disrespect to anybody, but that’s gonna be a boring fight, I’m sorry…This is why I’m leaving the UFC. I don’t understand what Joe Silva’s doing. Joe Silva have a complex, something’s wrong with him. The guy can’t match *shoes*. What kind of matchmaker is this guy? What is he thinking? Give me Forrest. Everybody wants that, that would sell, everybody wants to see me and Forrest fight again. Everybody keeps talking about it.”
Really? Everybody wants to see a rematch of a fight between two ex-champs who are, sorry to say it, broken-down husks of their former selves? Judging by Forrest’s recent performances — his dull squeaker over Tito Ortiz in July, and his knockout loss to Shogun Rua last August — you’d think that Quinton wouldn’t even want to fight him anymore, since he’s only interested in exciting opponents.
Look, I understand why Rampage would like a redemptive victory in his last outing, but I think just as many fans would prefer to have him wait for Teixiera to heal up, and go toe-to-toe with a young lion in his final performance. Maybe Jackson’s odds wouldn’t be as good against Teixeira as they would be against Forrest, but at least it would be entertaining — and it wouldn’t be a re-run.
Me losing my last fight due to an injury to such a weak opponent like Ryan Bader; I’ve got excuses for every loss I have, but you could tell I was injured. But me losing to a guy like Ryan Bader has really lit a fire under my ass. Now, I’m staying in shape, I’m training all the time. I’m not fighting injured no more.
Ugh. He didn’t even have the common decency to throw in “no disrespect” before describing Bader as “such a weak opponent.” And I’d like you guys to remember that quote if Jackson loses his next fight then tries to blame an injury. In the words of our President, that’s a bullshitter.
(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)
After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)
After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.
(Props: YouTube.com/JonJones. Fight starts at the 13:50 mark, but it’s worth it to watch the entrances, just to see Jackson and Jones walk out to those obviously patched-in nü-metal tracks, I guess because the UFC couldn’t secure replay rights on YouTube for the songs they actually walked out to. It’s hilariously jarring. Couldn’t they find generic rap tracks to include for situations like this?)
After winning the UFC light-heavyweight championship in March 2011 with his demolition of Mauricio Rua, 24-year-old Jon Jones attempted his first title defense in September at UFC 135 in Denver, against former champion Quinton Jackson. And for the second title fight in a row, Jones gave nothing and took everything. Over four rounds, Bones picked his shots and wore Rampage down, confounding Jackson with his unorthodox kicks and elbows, and clowning ‘Page whenever the inspiration struck. (Skip to 31:08 for an all-time classic.)
After winning the first three rounds handily, Jones closed the curtains in the fourth frame, taking Jackson down with ease then finishing him with a rear-naked choke. It was the first time Jackson was ever stopped in the UFC. To put it lightly, aging legends have never really performed well against Jon Jones, and Dan Henderson might not fare any better at UFC 151 — that is, if Hendo actually makes it to the fight. There are some nasty rumors swirling around right now…we’ll update you if they turn out to be legit.
(Hello Quinton, Areva Mookjai here with the Thailand Lady-Boy Observer, I was just wondering if…wow, you go right after it, don’t you?)
We almost feel silly reporting on this, being that there is no way in hell this quarrel will actually be settled in the near future, but just in case you haven’t heard, Quinton Jackson and Chael Sonnen are apparently not a fan of one another, you guys. If you recall, during our thrilling interview with Page a couple of months ago, Jackson stated that he thought Sonnen was “a fool” and was tired of people asking him questions about the former middleweight title challenger on Twitter.
This is where we’d normally say something like, “Time has a way of healing all wounds,” but then of course, we wouldn’t be talking about Rampage Jackson, a man who seemingly has a gripe with everyone and everything from American fans to the UFC to driving down the correct side of a freeway. During a brief interview with MMAElite.net, Jackson aired out his dirty laundry in regards to Sonnen, claiming that he should “leave the UFC because that’s what he said he was going to do if he lost.” Also, “F*ck Chael.” While the former remark could be passed off as a simple criticism, the latter not so much:
Join us after the jump for Chael’s response, which is a doozy.
(Hello Quinton, Areva Mookjai here with the Thailand Lady-Boy Observer, I was just wondering if…wow, you go right after it, don’t you?)
We almost feel silly reporting on this, being that there is no way in hell this quarrel will actually be settled in the near future, but just in case you haven’t heard, Quinton Jackson and Chael Sonnen are apparently not a fan of one another, you guys. If you recall, during our thrilling interview with Page a couple of months ago, Jackson stated that he thought Sonnen was “a fool” and was tired of people asking him questions about the former middleweight title challenger on Twitter.
This is where we’d normally say something like, “Time has a way of healing all wounds,” but then of course, we wouldn’t be talking about Rampage Jackson, a man who seemingly has a gripe with everyone and everything from American fans to the UFC to driving down the correct side of a freeway. During a brief interview with MMAElite.net, Jackson aired out his dirty laundry in regards to Sonnen, claiming that he should “leave the UFC because that’s what he said he was going to do if he lost.” Also, “F*ck Chael.” While the former remark could be passed off as a simple criticism, the latter not so much:
Being the charismatic and media-savvy guy that he is, Chael took to his old post on FUEL TV’s UFCTonight to issue a response. Wasting little time, Sonnen went with the time tested, “Why don’t you stick to *list prior faults of subject at hand*” defense. It was rather effective if you ask us.
Chael’s response begins at the 40 second mark, where, after patting himself on the back a little, Sonnen actually tries to take the high road, stating:
To keep it professional, my answer would simply be, listen, Rampage has one fight left and it’s not against me.
And if you had never heard of Chael Sonnen before, you would likely think that this would be the end of it. But you know better than that, Potato Nation. Sonnen is NEVER professional when it comes to the trash-talking game, and the day that he sits idly by and lets someone lob insults at him without returning fire will be the day that CagePotato receives UFC press credentials. The man is a master of emotional manipulation, and would undoubtedly be the undisputed champion of Yo Momma if that show were still around.
Matter of fact, if you pause the video at the 51 second mark, you can almost see the inner workings of Sonnen’s mind preparing a comeback. Gears are turning, data is being collected, schematics are be constructed — it’s like poetry, really. And with a simple “Now,” Sonnen makes The Switch, not unlike Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top, and unleashes the following:
Now, had you asked me in the streets, in my kingdom, amongst my people, while I’m not wearing the suit and I don’t have the earpiece, and I’m in my sponsor’s t-shirt, my answer might have been different. I’d have probably said ‘Hey Rampage, why don’t you stick to violating female reporters, making box office disasters, and driving the wrong way down the freeway while you’re jacked up on Mountain Dew. Because you ‘Page are not on my level.’ But you didn’t ask me outside, you asked me inside so let’s keep it professional. I don’t wanna get that message out there.
Notice how Sonnen turns to camera 1 to deliver his direct message to Page, as if an alternate persona is stepping in to do his dirty work. Brilliant. But perhaps less than brilliant would be claiming that a former UFC champion, a real former champion, is not “on your level.” Then again, us trying to tell Sonnen how to spit game would be like Sonnen trying to tell us how to defend a triangle choke, so we’ll just thank him for more or less giving us a shout out with the whole “violating female reporters” nod and leave it at that.
Like we said, the fact that these two will never come to blows takes a significant amount of steam out of this potential rivalry, if not all of it. But we’d be nowhere if it wasn’t for needless speculation, which is why we ask unto you:
Given a fight between Sonnen and Page were to take place nowadays, and at a catchweight of 195 lbs, who takes it and how?
