Rampage Jackson Says He’s "Kinda Tired" of MMA, Focused on a Boxing Career

When the UFC was seeking an opponent for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to face at UFC 144, it was unlikely that Ryan Bader was high on his list.The former PRIDE star will be just one of the many fighters to be featured on the highly-anticipated card in Jap…

When the UFC was seeking an opponent for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson to face at UFC 144, it was unlikely that Ryan Bader was high on his list.

The former PRIDE star will be just one of the many fighters to be featured on the highly-anticipated card in Japan this weekend. Jackson, who is recently coming off a loss to Jon Jones, looks to reaffirm his stance in the light heavyweight division when he meets up-and-coming prospect Ryan Bader.

While Bader might not be the most appealing name to attract Jackson, he told MMAWeekly.com that he is content on competing against Bader, for the purpose of putting on an entertaining bout for the Japanese fans. 

“Sometimes it is hard to get motivated (for a fight),” Jackson said. “When I fought Matt Hamill, I really wasn’t motivated for that fight, but at the end of the day, it’s my job to fight.”

Originally, “Rampage” had intended on facing Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. The Brazilian was the last fighter to defeat him in Japan, and Jackson was hoping to face someone who had instant recognition and could help make their fight more marketable. 

Jackson has not picked up a knockout victory since 2008, and his past performances against Matt Hamill, Keith Jardine and Rashad Evans have left fans a little unsatisfied, and Jackson possibly considering a career change.

Honestly, I am kinda tired of fighting a bunch of wrestlers who want to take me down, I would like to face more striker-based fighters, he said. That’s why I said I’m going to go into boxing and try it out because actually I’m getting kinda bored fighting with guys who just want to take me down all the time. 

It is almost certain Jackson will hope to make the best of his situation on Saturday night, win or lose.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 144 Predictions: Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson

Frankie Edgar will put his UFC lightweight title on the line this Saturday when he faces Benson Henderson in the main event of UFC 144.  The fight will mark the first time that Edgar has faced an opponent other than BJ Penn or Gray Maynard since h…

Frankie Edgar will put his UFC lightweight title on the line this Saturday when he faces Benson Henderson in the main event of UFC 144.  The fight will mark the first time that Edgar has faced an opponent other than BJ Penn or Gray Maynard since he defeated Matt Veach on December 5, 2009.

This one calls for a pretty deep dig to come up with a prediction.

If you’ve witnessed the last four fights of Henderson’s career you have seen a fighter that sets a relentless pace throughout. All four of those fights have gone the distance, including the five round WEC title bout against Anthony Pettis. In fact, Henderson has participated in two five round title fights in his past, losing to Pettis and defeating Donald Cerrone.

Edgar is no slouch in the cardio department either with his average fight time tops in UFC history at 16:28 seconds. Going the distance in three consecutive UFC title fights will increase one’s average fight time.

Next, we’ll take a look at wrestling. Both fighters have a wrestling base, but Edgar’s background is stronger in this particular discipline and the fact that he remains active in wrestling at a high level with the Rutgers squad gives him the nod on this one.

Henderson is by no means a bad wrestler, in fact his takedown defense is slightly better than that of Edgars, but overall Edgar is the stronger of the two.

One place Henderson has a distinct advantage is in the size department. Edgar comes in at 5’ 6”, while Henderson comes in at 5’ 9”.  Edgar fights very close to his walking around weight, while Henderson cuts a fair amount to hit the 155-pound limit.  While the weight cutting can deplete stamina and strength, it has not been a factor for Henderson in the past.

The one thing that may come into play here is the weight cut on foreign soil, something that has caused other fighters a problem in the past. It will be interesting to see how Henderson fares during his cut and rehydration.

Next up is the submission game. Henderson is 15-2 in his MMA career with eight of those wins coming via submission. In addition he has some of the slickest submission defense in the UFC. 

Edgar is also a brown belt in BJJ, having three submissions to his name, two of which came in his second and third professional bouts. 

I’m not expecting a grappling battle in this one, but if it does come to that, Henderson gets the nod.

As far as striking is concerned, Edgar is a wrestler first and as such his striking game is not nearly as diverse as that of his opponent, Henderson. Henderson can come at you from all angles with a variety of strikes.  Edgar’s strikes are functional, used to set up his wrestling skills, while Henderson’s attack is much more well rounded, giving him the advantage in this department.

On paper it would be fairly easy to pick Henderson to win this one, but my brain keeps screaming, “don’t bet against Frankie Edgar!” Edgar is a trooper, a battler, a blue-collar guy, no glamour or glitz, just pure guts and for that reason I see Edgar getting his hand raised at the end of a very close five round battle.

 

 

UFC 144 Predictions You Can BANK On: Main Card

I am back with the main card predictions, as I promised! Seven fights packed into four hours of intense MMA action. My excitement levels are through the roof!If you guys read my prelim predictions then you probably know by now that I am the real deal. …

I am back with the main card predictions, as I promised! Seven fights packed into four hours of intense MMA action. My excitement levels are through the roof!

If you guys read my prelim predictions then you probably know by now that I am the real deal. Also, to my loyal fans, you may notice that the article titles are now changed. As I begin to write my prediction articles with the “take it to the bank” series, I noticed another writer has started using that title. I took a year off so I guess I am at fault, but this is not over….this is not over.

Now, since this is a new beginning, I assure you that my predictions will be on point as usual, and like all my other predictions, they will be flawless.

Let’s get this seven fight main card prediction fest under way.

Shall we?

Begin Slideshow

Quote of the Day: Melvin Guillard is “Praying” for a Joe Lauzon Rematch

Joe Lauzon Melvin Guillard UFC 136
(Come to think of it, we’d watch this again.) 

Perhaps Melvin Guillard has made some DRASTIC improvements to his ground game since joining up with the Blackzilians, or perhaps he simply has some sort of autoerotic asphyxiation fetish, because the hard hitting lightweight recently told MMA Weekly that he wants his next fight to be a rematch against Joe Lauzon, whom you may recall, dropped Guillard and finished him with a rear-naked choke in just under 50 seconds of their UFC 136 bout. According to Guillard, the loss is the only in his career that he felt he truly should have won. Here’s what “The Young Assassin” had to say:

In the 10 losses I have in my MMA career, I haven’t rematched anyone I’ve lost to. Not once, I’ve never really cared for rematches because I felt they won, now I’ll move on. Right now, I’m at the point where this fight means something to me, I have something to prove against Joe Lauzon, so this is a rematch I’m asking for. Right now, I’m looking to watch the fights in Japan and I’m praying that he loses to (Anthony) Pettis because I want a rematch against Joe Lauzon. I don’t want to fight nobody next but Joe Lauzon. I don’t even care how it goes, I just want to see Pettis win and I want an immediate rematch with Joe Lauzon. Hopefully, I can get that rematch by fourth of July in Vegas.

Join us after the jump for a few more interesting musings from Guillard’s interview.

Joe Lauzon Melvin Guillard UFC 136
(Come to think of it, we’d watch this again.) 

Perhaps Melvin Guillard has made some DRASTIC improvements to his ground game since joining up with the Blackzilians, or perhaps he simply has some sort of autoerotic asphyxiation fetish, because the hard hitting lightweight recently told MMA Weekly that he wants his next fight to be a rematch against Joe Lauzon, whom you may recall, dropped Guillard and finished him with a rear-naked choke in just under 50 seconds of their UFC 136 bout. According to Guillard, the loss is the only in his career that he felt he truly should have won. Here’s what “The Young Assassin” had to say:

In the 10 losses I have in my MMA career, I haven’t rematched anyone I’ve lost to. Not once, I’ve never really cared for rematches because I felt they won, now I’ll move on. Right now, I’m at the point where this fight means something to me, I have something to prove against Joe Lauzon, so this is a rematch I’m asking for. Right now, I’m looking to watch the fights in Japan and I’m praying that he loses to (Anthony) Pettis because I want a rematch against Joe Lauzon. I don’t want to fight nobody next but Joe Lauzon. I don’t even care how it goes, I just want to see Pettis win and I want an immediate rematch with Joe Lauzon. Hopefully, I can get that rematch by fourth of July in Vegas.

Guillard also stated that his dislike for Lauzon has dramatically increased over the past couple months thanks to Twitter, go figure. Apparently Lauzon had some less than nice things to say about Guillard in the wake of his first round submission (also by rear-naked choke) loss to Jim Miller at the inaugural UFC on FX event. Shortly after the fight was over, Lauzon posted, “Some people never learn…that looked familiar.” That statement, along with several other comments Lauzon made expressing his frustration over Guillard’s claims that the loss was a fluke seem to have angered Guillard to no end:

Lately on my Twitter some posts have been popping up and I’m like what the hell is this? So I’m looking and next thing I know it’s people talking about Joe Lauzon hit the nail on the head, he was right, so I went in and read the article and all of a sudden he’s blasting me talking about he slapped me and he choked me out, and Melvin’s going around telling everybody I got lucky. 

I never said the dude got lucky. I said it was a good fight, I always gave Joe Lauzon the respect that was due, and I thought he was the better guy that day. Did I think the fight was a fluke on my part? Yeah, the fight was a fluke on my part, but I never took anything from him. So I guess he misinterpreted what I said.

Guillard has grown so heated over Lauzon’s recent comments, in fact, that he has threatened to violate the CP ban of bringing back your old self when discussing his future pans for “J-Lau.”

The new me, I’m trying to be respectful and handle it the right way, but at this point right now I’m kind of fed up with it. The old me is about to come out on Joe Lauzon. He’s about to take Rich Clementi’s place of being that guy that I just don’t like.

If you recall, Clementi and Guillard had an epic war of words before, during, and after their UFC 79 battle. If you also recall, Clementi won that fight by way of REAR-NAKED CHOKE. Afterward, Clementi and Guillard nearly came to blows yet again when Clementi told Joe Rogan in the post fight interview that Melvin “still hadn’t learned his lesson.” Ironic.

What do you guys think? Does Guillard deserve another shot at Lauzon, or should we be talking about the fact that a man who was being touted as the next lightweight title contender not too long ago is now asking for rematch against an opponent who would hypothetically be coming off a loss? Discuss.

-J. Jones

UFC 144 Predictions: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Ryan Bader

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson said he was in the best shape of his life when he faced Jon Jones at UFC 135, a fight he lost via fourth round submission. With the rear naked choke Jones became only the second fighter to ever submit Jackson, the first be…

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson said he was in the best shape of his life when he faced Jon Jones at UFC 135, a fight he lost via fourth round submission. With the rear naked choke Jones became only the second fighter to ever submit Jackson, the first being Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE 15, in July 2001.  The fight against Sakuraba was Jackson’s first fight in PRIDE.

I fully expect Jackson to come into this fight in even better condition and more focused than he has been in years. It’s no secret that Jackson loves fighting in Japan and after practically begging Dana White and Lorenza Fertitta for the opportunity to fight on this card he will want to make sure they know they did not make a mistake in giving him that chance.

Jackson’s opponent, Ryan Bader is no slouch and he will be just as determined to win so that he can get back in the mix of the UFC’s light heavyweight division.  While I expect that Bader will put forth a valiant effort, I just can’t see him hanging with Jackson.

I predict a Jackson victory by second round TKO. I’d like to add that even though it is unlikely, it would be somewhat fitting and very memorable if Jackson announced his retirement after the victory in front of the crowd in Japan.

Must-See: A Night in Tokyo With Rampage Jackson

There’s a lot to like about this new 45-minute video feature from MMAFighting.com. First of all, it’s nice to see that Quinton Jackson and Ariel Helwani have squashed their beef. Also, it’s nice to see Rampage out in public in Japan without humiliating the locals.

So here we have Quinton and Ariel on the streets of Tokyo four days before UFC 144, walking and talking, and walking and talking, and walking and talking until they finally arrive at an arcade to play Tekken Tag. Along the way, they discuss Rampage’s first trip to Japan fighting Kazushi Sakuraba, the different kind of racism in Japan, the unmatched atmosphere of PRIDE in its heyday, how a person’s personality is determined by their blood type, fight fixing, his betrayal by you-know-who and subsequent reckless driving arrest. Then they walk some more, and Quinton talks about parenting, matchmaking, his greatest career triumph, privacy, retirement, and how he won’t be fully appreciated until he’s gone.

It’s probably the most in-depth interview with Rampage you’ll ever see. Give it a look.

There’s a lot to like about this new 45-minute video feature from MMAFighting.com. First of all, it’s nice to see that Quinton Jackson and Ariel Helwani have squashed their beef. Also, it’s nice to see Rampage out in public in Japan without humiliating the locals.

So here we have Quinton and Ariel on the streets of Tokyo four days before UFC 144, walking and talking, and walking and talking, and walking and talking until they finally arrive at an arcade to play Tekken Tag. Along the way, they discuss Rampage’s first trip to Japan fighting Kazushi Sakuraba, the different kind of racism in Japan, the unmatched atmosphere of PRIDE in its heyday, how a person’s personality is determined by their blood type, fight fixing, his betrayal by you-know-who and subsequent reckless driving arrest. Then they walk some more, and Quinton talks about parenting, matchmaking, his greatest career triumph, privacy, retirement, and how he won’t be fully appreciated until he’s gone.

It’s probably the most in-depth interview with Rampage you’ll ever see. Give it a look.