UFC 186 suffered a lot of criticism in the lead-up to the event, but once Saturday came, the fighters who were left on the card delivered.
Two high-ranked women’s bouts helped bolster the undercard. No. 6-ranked strawweight Randa Markos defeated No. 10…
UFC 186 suffered a lot of criticism in the lead-up to the event, but once Saturday came, the fighters who were left on the card delivered.
Two high-ranked women’s bouts helped bolster the undercard. No. 6-ranked strawweight Randa Markos defeated No. 10-ranked Aisling Daly in the opening fight of the night, and No. 3-ranked bantamweight Alexis Davis finished No. 5-ranked Sarah Kaufman a little later in the evening.
On the main card, we were treated to the comeuppance of a top-tier prospect, the return of a legend and the championship statement of Mighty Mouse.
Demetrious Johnson completed the latest finish in UFC history at four minutes, 59 seconds of the fifth round when he got the armbar on Kyoji Horiguchi. Just another title defense for the flyweight kingpin.
UFC 186 delivered on all fronts. It was a fun card, but there were winners and losers. Real winners and losers.
Here is your look at UFC 186’s real winners and losers coming out of Montreal.
Against all odds, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado actually happened at UFC 186. While it seemed like a courtroom battle between Jackson and Bellator MMA that would scuttle the fight, a surprise ruling in New Jersey’s appellate court …
Against all odds, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Fabio Maldonado actually happened at UFC 186. While it seemed like a courtroom battle between Jackson and Bellator MMA that would scuttle the fight, a surprise ruling in New Jersey’s appellate court brought the fight back to life…much to the chagrin of Maldonado.
From the first buzzer, Jackson pressed the action, swinging his heavy punches and threatening Maldonado along the cage. For the most part, the Brazilian had no real answer to that. Both men would tire as the minutes wore on, but Rampage never really lost control of the fight.
Jackson would take the victory via a fairly decisive unanimous decision. So what did we learn from this fight?
Fans Shouldn’t Get Too Attached to Rampage
While Rampage may have made his way back to the UFC for this fight with Maldonado, there is a serious likelihood that he will be back with Bellator by the end of the year. While the preliminary injunction that initially blocked Jackson from competing at UFC 186 was lifted, he will still be appearing before a judge to determine whether or not he will stay.
It was a huge shock to those in the know that Jackson wound up fighting at UFC 186 at all, and it feels even less likely that he will wind up back with the UFC permanently.
Jackson willy-nilly leaving Bellator for the UFC while still under contract would represent a major shift in the dynamics of the promoter-fighter relationship, and Bellator’s claims of irreparable damage are likely justified. Because of that, we’re far more likely to see his next fight be in a circular cage than the Octagon unless the UFC hurries him back into the cage before the next hearing.
Neither Man Is a Serious Top 10 Fighter
Maldonado and Jackson, on-paper, were fringe Top 10 fighters. While there was plenty of reason to question either man’s staying power when it comes to the top of the division, this fight basically proved all the doubters correct.
In spite of his 3-0 run with Bellator, Rampage remains a technically unremarkable fighter who has questionable cardio and an arsenal limited to devastating haymakers. Maldonado, on the other hand, is still the guy who was gift-wrapped a win over Joey Beltran.
Are they the worst fighters in the world? Far from it. But both men should be labeled as “sideshow” rather than “contender.”
Rampage Jackson Is Still a Huge Complainer
Jackson is yet to cross a bridge that he hasn’t burned. He had an ugly breakup with Pride. He had an ugly breakup with the UFC. Now he’s having an ugly breakup with Bellator.
But even as he tries to rebuild his relationship with the UFC, he can’t help but air his dirty laundry. Before and after the fight, Jackson couldn’t help but complain about his first UFC run. The problem, for those who don’t remember, wasn’t money, or promotion or anything of that sort.
The problem was that he didn’t (and still doesn’t) like to fight wrestlers. Fighting wrestlers is hard. You see…Jackson wants to play real-life Rock’em Sock’em Robots.
That’s still a serious issue, of course. Light heavyweight remains chock-full of high-level wrestlers, and while there are more Maldonados and Manuwas these days, the “money” fights for Jackson remain guys such as Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier. Not good.
You’ve Got to Feel Bad for Steve Bosse
Seriously. Steve Bosse went from fighting on a pay-per-view main card in his UFC debut to…not actually having a UFC debut. It’s a crappy break for the former hockey enforcer, but those are the breaks with MMA promotion.
This card needed Jackson vs. Maldonado a lot more than it needed Maldonado vs. Bosse. You can’t fault the UFC for scrambling to put the fight back together…but you can feel bad for him, getting his hopes up only to have them dashed without a second thought.
For the first time in four years, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson picked up a victory in the UFC with a unanimous-decision win over Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Bleacher Report MMA tweeted Saturday night’s result:
Jackso…
For the first time in four years, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson picked up a victory in the UFC with a unanimous-decision win over Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Jackson came out as the aggressor from the opening bell, looking to close the distance and pin Maldonado against the cage. After some early success in the clinch, he was more willing to create some separation and do his damage from close range. A barrage of knees, kicks and punches showed off diverse arsenal that Jackson doesn’t always bring to his fights.
MMA Fighting noted how well Rampage mixed things up:
The second round saw Maldonado become the aggressor as he took his turn to pin Jackson against the cage. His offense was less diverse than Jackson’s as he went to the body with some dirty boxing on the inside. Once again, the fighters spent the latter half of the round fighting at distance. Unfortunately for Maldonado, that also meant more effective striking from Jackson.
Any concerns about Rampage’s fitness were answered in the third and final frame. Despite some attempts to work the body from Maldonado, Jackson was the much more active fighter in the third round. He continued to pepper his opponent with a variety of strikes en route to a decisive decision victory.
The sight of Jackson having his hand raised in a UFC bout is one that seemed nearly impossible just a year ago. Rampage was putting on the finishing touches of a three-fight stint in Bellator. After openly disparaging the UFC in the past, it appears the light heavyweight has changed his tune about the organization.
“Honestly there’s a lot worse shows out there than the UFC.” Jackson said, via Chuck Mindenhall of MMA Fighting. “People think that MMA fighters have been treated bad and stuff like that…there are people out there that don’t care about your one bit. At least in the UFC you can earn a pretty good living. Other places, I don’t see you earning no living like you earn in the UFC.”
With the previously disgruntled star’s rocky relationship with the organization apparently mended, this shouldn’t be the last we see of him in the Octagon.
Those who think this win is a steppingstone to bigger and better things might want to pump the brakes a bit, though. His lengthy hiatus from the UFC doesn’t cover the fact that he jumped to Bellator in the midst of a three-fight losing streak.
His three-fight win streak in Bellator and this win over Maldonado may prove that he’s in a better position to fight his way up the rankings again, or it could be a testament to the talent gap that exists between Bellator and the UFC.
Joey Beltran, Christian M’Pumbu and Muhammed Lawal isn’t exactly a murderers’ row of opponents. Even Maldonado matched up perfectly for Rampage. The Brazilian is a straightforward striker who rarely looks to take down opponents.
As Reed Kuhn of Fightnomics noted, Rampage didn’t even have to worry about leg kicks heading into the fight:
Ultimately, this fight told us little about Rampage’s long-term stock in the UFC. Whether or not he can climb his way back to being a legitimate Top 10 light heavyweight is still up in the air.
For now, fans of Rampage can sit back and enjoy at least one more UFC win for one of the sport’s most recognizable stars.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is making his highly anticipated return to the UFC, as he’s slated to square off with Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 in Montreal’s Bell Centre on Saturday.
At age 36, Jackson may not have much left to offer in the Octagon. He’s lo…
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is making his highly anticipated return to the UFC, as he’s slated to square off with Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 in Montreal’s Bell Centre on Saturday.
At age 36, Jackson may not have much left to offer in the Octagon. He’s lost his past three UFC appearances but did rattle off three consecutive victories in BellatorMMA to at least provide a foundation of recent, positive results as he returns to top-flight competition.
Bellator MMA had filed a court injunction that took Jackson off the UFC 186 card until this last Tuesday, so the bout appeared to be in doubt until the last minute.
UFC.com’s Nancy Gay reported on the news and also included UFC President Dana White‘s comments about the legal decision to let Jackson fight, along with thoughts on Rampage’s enduring popularity:
We are happy with the decision from the New Jersey Court allowing Rampage to fight in Montreal this Saturday night. I am looking forward to seeing Rampage back in the Octagon. […] Rampage isn’t always the most personable person when you meet him, but he comes to fight. At the end of the day, if you’re a fight fan and you love guys who love to stand up, who love to trade, Rampage is fun to watch.
In case something goes awry and Bellator MMA upends Jackson’s bid to fight for the UFC and neglect his Bellator contract, it’s important to keep tabs on the latest happenings. For now, it appears Rampage is ready to roll for UFC 186 and may well carry on with the company due to his apparent burning of the Bellator bridge.
At Thursday’s press conference, which featured a staredown between the marquee competitors, Maldonado explained how eager he’s been to take on Rampage, per Fox Sports: UFC:
Maldonado has reason to be confident ahead of his showdown with Jackson. The Brazilian veteran registered a TKO in the second round of his outing at UFC 179 against Hans Stringer.
Although few know exactly what to expect from Rampage, his own punching power has knocked out the likes of Chuck Liddell in the past. Jackson and Maldonado are known for having strong chins, which adds to the excitement of their matchup.
Breaking MMA Odds noted how Jackson opened as the clear-cut favorite, and the latest numbers from Odds Shark haven’t done much to drastically alter the perceived fight forecast:
It should be a fascinating, hard-hitting catchweight affair between Jackson and Maldonado—a nicely juxtaposed co-main event along with the flyweight championship clash between Demetrious Johnson and challenger KyojiHoriguchi.
With regard to how the fight will ultimately play out, there’s reason to believe Rampage should be on upset alert. He likely won’t be in peak physical condition, and Maldonado has plenty of motivational fuel as the underdog against his dream-scenario adversary.
Rampage has never truly realized his full potential, which isn’t to take away from the accolades he has achieved in the past as a former UFC light heavyweight champion. Even with the Bellator MMA legal battle serving as a distraction and a lot of lingering uncertainty as to whether Saturday’s fight would actually happen, Jackson has the tools necessary to get past Maldonado by a decision at the very least.
The fans in Montreal will be rallying behind Rampage and cheering him on in his first UFC fight since January 2013. That should be enough to rally the supremely gifted fighter and see Rampage put on a show en route to a victory, improving his UFC mark to 8-5 overall.
UFC 186 hits Montreal this weekend for a flyweight championship main event.
The action-packed fight card is headlined by flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defending his gold against the No. 7-ranked contender Kyoji Horiguchi. In the co-main event, …
UFC 186 hits Montreal this weekend for a flyweight championship main event.
The action-packed fight card is headlined by flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson defending his gold against the No. 7-ranked contender KyojiHoriguchi. In the co-main event, Fabio Maldonado welcomes Quinton “Rampage” Jackson back to the UFC.
Friday sees the fighters hit the scale to make weight for the event.
Bleacher Report will relay all the happenings from UFC 186’s weigh-in when the first fighter hits the scale at 4 p.m. ET. Check back for all the updates coming from the Montreal weigh-ins.
UFC 186 Fight Card
UFC Flyweight Championship: Demetrious Johnson vs. KyojiHoriguchi
It’s fairly common in combat sports for people to say they don’t believe in luck.
Perhaps we have Dan Gable to thank for this. The legendary amateur wrestler and coach is fond of imploring people to “make their own luck” during …
It’s fairly common in combat sports for people to say they don’t believe in luck.
Perhaps we have Dan Gable to thank for this. The legendary amateur wrestler and coach is fond of imploring people to “make their own luck” during autograph signings and speaking events. There is an even older adage, often attributed to Thomas Jefferson, which insists, “I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
It’s easy to see why such notions appeal to MMA types. Nobody wants to pour his guts into a grueling life as a professional fighter, one filled with the drudgery of training camps, the pain of injury and worries over long-term health risks, only to think the end result depends largely on chance.
The truth is, however, you just can’t control a lot about this sport.
How else to explain the curious cases of Demetrious Johnson and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, whose divergent paths cross when they serve as the marquee attractions of Saturday’s UFC 186?
One of them is recognized among the sport’s legitimate good guys—not to mention a champion, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet—but he can’t seem to catch a break.
The other? Well, let’s just say he’s having the exact opposite experience.
Regarded as perhaps the sport’s most complete fighter, Johnson is the only flyweight titlist the Octagon has ever known. He’s undefeated at 125 pounds (21-2-1 overall), has won seven in a row and has beaten most of the best competition in his weight class without ever appearing truly vulnerable.
He is a fighting champion who defended his title three times during 2013 and twice last year. Three of his five most recent fights ended in stoppages. He’s been so good that he’s essentially cleaned out the division, and this weekend matchmakers have resorted to putting him opposite KyojiHoriguchi, a 24-year-old unknown who is going off as a 6-1 underdog, according to Odds Shark.
Johnson is a joy to watch—quick as a blink and technically flawless—and he has never backed down from a challenge. Despite garnering little respect as one of the smallest and newest UFC champions, he seldom complains and seems hungry for the best competition that company executives can bring him.
Outside the cage he’s smart, easygoing and likable. In short, he’s everything we say we want in a fighter.
Yet nobody gives a damn about him.
Leading up to the Horiguchi fight, cracks have finally started to show in the champion’s usually calm exterior. Most of the pre-fight press concerned why Johnson hasn’t connected with UFC fans, and he appears a little bit frustrated by the discussion. He’s dropped a few F-bombs here and there, telling fans if they don’t appreciate his work in the cage, that’s their problem.
“Honestly, I’ve seen a lot more positive (responses) from people when I was straight up and said ‘Dude, if you don’t want to watch me, that’s your f—king bad,” Johnson told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani this week. “Go watch soap operas. Go watch WWE. If you want to watch the purest mixed martial arts and two great athletes mixing it up, you need to tune in.”
Despite this new approach, a UFC 186 pay-per-view helmed only by Johnson was largely considered lost property. His two previous headlining efforts at UFCs 174 and 178 garnered an estimated 115,000 and 205,000 buys, respectively. As Yahoo Sports’ Kevin Iole wrote on Tuesday about UFC 186, the biggest challenge facing the UFC was just getting people to care about it:
Nobody, apparently, wanted to talk to Demetrious Johnson … That meant the UFC’s estimable PR staff led by Dave Sholler had a massive challenge ahead of it.
It had to A) convince reporters to write about Johnson; B) try to find a way to get Johnson to be more compelling without compromising who he is as a man; C) sell a bout in which Johnson is roughly a 10-1 favorite as a competitive, must-see match and D) drum up interest in a fight that is in one of the UFC’s least-popular weight classes.
There are easier jobs.
On the polar opposite side of the equation is Jackson.
Here is a man who tumbles through life perpetually disgruntled—a guy who seems willfully unconscious of the fact he’s one of the luckiest men on earth, considering how many transgressions his career has already survived.
In July 2008, Jackson led California police on a high-speed chase while driving a Ford F-350 with his own image emblazoned on the side. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving, and a civil suit filed by a woman who said she miscarried after Jackson’s truck struck her car during the chase was either dropped or settled.
For most guys, in most jobs—including pro athletes—it would be tough to come back from an incident like that, but Jackson’s fighting life continued more or less without impediment.
In 2010, he briefly left MMA for a career in movies, appearing as B.A. Baracus in The A-Team movie. His performance was fine, but in the aftermath at least one story emerged about Jackson clashing with crew members. He hasn’t had much success with acting since.
In more recent years, his skills in the cage have receded too. His interest level has faded from mild to nearly non-existent. Once regarded as an exciting fighter, Jackson’s last few appearances have been tepid, listless.
This weekend he returns to the Octagon after a two-year run in Bellator MMA. He left the UFC at the beginning of 2013, saying he was woefully unhappy, but after just three fights in the smaller organization he decided he was woefully unhappy there, too, and announced he wanted to come back.
He’s made a point over the years to say he doesn’t really care about MMA fans, that he only likes Rampage Jackson fans. In other words, he only cares about what you can offer him.
Yet, somehow, we’re told Jackson remains as popular as ever.
He enters 2015 as not just a viable personality in MMA’s charisma-starved landscape but a desirable one. There is a court battle currently ongoing over his services, with both the UFC and Bellator eager to get him back.
Jackson wasn’t even supposed to make it to UFC 186. Many folks scoffed when he claimed in December that Bellator was in breach of contract. Things got even more hilarious when we actually got a look at the particulars of his deal with that organization, which included a free Tesla sports car and a screenwriter kept on retainer to work with Jackson on reviving his acting career.
Again, riches beyond anything he deserved, yet Jackson didn’t even seem to realize it.
When a judge barred him from appearing at UFC 186 last week, it appeared to be confirmation of what we’d suspected—that the courts weren’t going to let Jackson walk out of his contract just because he felt like it. Then came Judge John C. Kennedy’s halfway inscrutable ruling on Tuesday, which suddenly put Jackson back into his bout against Fabio Maldonado.
“I stayed training, because I always felt like I was going to be here,” Jackson told reporters during a media scrum on Thursday, per MMAFighting.com. “I felt like everything happens for a reason. … It was very stressful, but I just kept training, stayed in the gym.”
Just another lucky break in a professional lifetime full of them.
His return to the card wasn’t necessarily celebrated as the second coming, but there was a generalized sense that UFC 186 was way better off with Jackson on the card. Better, anyway, than simply leaving it to Johnson.
The question is, why?
What is it about the 2015 version of Jackson that a large group of MMA fans still seem excited about watching? He lost three straight fights from 2011 to 2013, just prior to his move to Bellator. We’ve certainly already seen his best performances at 36 years old, and the low-rent stand-up comedy routine that makes up most of Jackson’s work with the media hasn’t had an update in at least a decade.
Why do so many fans continue to prefer him over the UFC’s 28-year-old flyweight champion?
Johnson is on the cutting edge of the sport’s athletic future. Jackson isn’t.
Johnson is still relevant, consumed with shaping his legacy at the highest level. Jackson isn’t.
Johnson seems like a good guy. Does Jackson?
Critics would likely say Johnson doesn’t bring much to the table, promotion-wise, but neither did some of the UFC’s most celebrated champions—Chuck Liddell or Anderson Silva, for example. Saying Johnson’s soft-spoken, nice-guy demeanor doesn’t sell with MMA fans is admitting we have a narrow definition of what it means to “sell the fight.”
Johnson works hard at his craft, but because he’s small and doesn’t pretend to be ConorMcGregor, he can’t make people like him. Jackson barely tries, and the world continues to wait at his beck and call.
This weekend, one of them will excel on every level. He’ll likely handle Horiguchi with ease. He’ll maintain his place at the top of the sport and be rewarded only by a slew of think pieces about what a shame it is more people don’t give him a chance.
The other won’t even be required to make weight. He’ll probably defeat Maldonado at their 215-pound catchweight, in a slow-paced and ugly exchange of punches and then drive off in his free sports car, with money blowing out the windows.
The world’s two largest MMA promotions will continue to chase after him, waving lucrative contract extensions.
The only way to adequately describe this juxtaposition is with sheer dumb luck.
