Tag: Quinton Jackson

Two mixed martial arts (MMA) legends will clash on December 29 in Japan. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko will headline Bellator Japan from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Recently, Jackson spoke to MMA Junkie to discuss his upcoming bout with Emelianenko. During the interview, the topic of possible retirement came up. Jackson admitted that he’s always thinking about retirement.

“Man, I’m 41. You don’t think … I think about it every time I get on the mat, every time I train. It’s all I can think about is my retirement,” Jackson said.

“It’s going to be like old times. I really do miss fighting (in Japan), and I was telling my coach like maybe a couple months ago, like man it would be nice to finish up my career fighting in Japan again. And he said yeah, that would be nice, fighting back there, so hopefully I can fight back there again.”

Jackson has been competing in MMA since 1999, competing for promotions such as King Of The Cage, Pride, the UFC, and Bellator. There were plenty of opportunities during Jackson’s days with Pride for “Rampage” and Emelianenko to collide, however, Jackson wasn’t a heavyweight yet.

As soon as he made the jump up in weight, Jackson new a fight with the Russian legend was inevitable.

“I never dreamed of fighting Fedor because back when we were both in PRIDE, I wasn’t a heavyweight, and I’m a big guy now. I’m a heavyweight now; he’s obviously still a heavyweight,” Jackson said. “I knew it was a matter of time that I was going to have to fight him as soon as I came to heavyweight, but I never thought about it.”

What do you think about Jackson saying he’s always thinking about retirement?

The post Rampage Jackson: I’m Always Thinking About Retirement appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.

Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is nearing the end of his combat sports career, and wants to get in a boxing match before riding off into the sunset.

Jackson is currently slated to meet fellow heavyweight MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko in a New Year’s Eve clash in Japan. After that, however, as Jackson tells TMZ Sports, he’s interested in boxing. Jackson notes that he asked UFC president Dana White, during his days with the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion, about allowing him to box. Unfortunately, there was nobody for him to fight.

Now, however, Jackson wants to give it one more shot, and is ready to step into the squared circle. (H/T BJPenn.com)

“I asked Dana White a long time ago, way before Conor McGregor even was around, let me do some boxing. It wasn’t my time, there was nobody for me to fight. I still want to fight a boxing match before I retire,” Jackson said.

Of course, there are some opponents Jackson would rather not box. One being WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Jackson said he doesn’t like fighting tall opponents with a long reach. Jackson finds matchups like these extremely difficult, most notably his submission loss to Jon Jones in 2011.

“I’ll fight anybody but Deontay Wilder. He’s too tall. Unless they give me like $100 mil, then I’d fight him. I’m keeping it real. I don’t like to fight tall guys with a long reach. I’ll tell you what. I’ll fight him if they give me $100 mil and we do me one boxing match and one MMA match, then I’ll fight him. $100 mil. I’m keeping it real. I don’t like fighting them long, tall dudes,” Jackson said.

What do you think about Jackson potentially pursuing a career in professional boxing before he retires?

The post Quinton Jackson Interested In Taking Boxing Fight, Just Not Against Deontay Wilder appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.