‘Rampage’ learns to get along with UFC
Two years after bolting for Bellator, Jackson returns to cage tonight in Montreal
Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is back in the organization he couldn’t wait to get away from just two years ago.
The grass wasn’t as green on the other side as he had hoped.
Jackson was frustrated and bitter when he left the UFC to sign with Bellator MMA in 2013.
After three fights under the Bellator banner, Jackson claimed a breach of contract by the organization made him a free agent and he announced in December he would re-sign with the UFC.
Jackson’s return comes tonight against Fabio Maldonado at UFC 186 tonight in Montreal. Bellator this month attempted to prevent Jackson from competing, getting an injunction that caused him to be pulled from the bout, but Jackson won a reversal Tuesday to get back on the card.
It took seeing what else was out there for Jackson to realize he wasn’t as dissatisfied as he once believed.
“There’s a lot worse shows out there than the UFC,” the 36-year-old said Thursday. “I thought there was some-
UFC 186 Jackson talks things out with UFC head White
thing better out there. I had to try something.”
Jackson is happy to be back. He hopes more open lines of communication with his bosses will help him stay that way.
“I talked to (UFC President) Dana (White) on the phone the other day; I think we all grew up,” Jackson said. “I had some problems with some things that I felt I wasn’t receiving and things like that. Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I talked about it. This time if I feel like I should receive some stuff that I’m not getting, I’ll talk to them about it first and see if we can fix things.”
First things first, Jackson wants to win tonight. Perhaps because of his dissatisfaction or simply due to strong competition, he had lost his final three fights in the UFC before bolting for Bellator.
While he went 3-0 in his time away, Jackson wants to get back on track in the UFC. He’ll have every opportunity to do so against Maldonado, who typically is just as eager to engage in standup exchanges as Jackson.
One of Jackson’s biggest complaints during his first UFC stint was about matchups. He prefers fighting other standup fighters who want to participate in what he believes are more exciting fights. That didn’t always happen. “I was honest with everyone when I said I was upset with the UFC. I didn’t like the way they treated me,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t respected for what I bring to the table. I’m the guy who always comes to fight and I put on a show. I felt like (matchmaker) Joe Silva kept giving me (expletive) fights.
“Why keep giving me people like (Ryan) Bader who only want to wrestle? It’s unfortunate what happened in the past, so I left and said I could do better.”
Jackson knows it’s unrealistic to only compete against other strikers. It’s just a certain type of matchup that bothers him.
“I’m not looking for guys to (just) stand and trade with me. That would be a perfect world, but I’m just tired of fighting guys who are cowards who are just going to take you down and lay on you,” he said.
Jackson pointed out that Jon Jones took him down, but actively tried to finish the fight on the ground. He believes Rashad Evans was basically just stalling on the mat, though.
“But Maldonado, he’s a standup fighter, and on paper, this is going to be a good show for the fans.”
While the matchup is ideal in theory, his preparation wasn’t. After the UFC announced April 7 he was removed from the fight because of the court ruling, it looked as if Jackson’s return would have to be put on hold, perhaps for some time.
Then he got the news he hoped for Tuesday and was put back on the card.
While Jackson continued preparing, the uncertainty was difficult.
“It was very stressful, but I just kept training and stayed in the gym,” he said. “I feel energized that so far I won (the court ruling). It was very stressful. But when you’re right, you feel like justice. I just felt like a lot of fans were happy I was back in the UFC and they wanted to see this fight, so I kept fighting so I could make it for my fans.”
UFC officials have to be excited for Jackson’s inclusion on the card, as well. Reports out of Montreal suggest disappointing ticket sales on a card decimated by injuries. The card is left with a main-event flyweight title bout pitting little-known Kyoji Horiguchi against champion Demetrious Johnson and not much else to attract a pay-per-view audience.
A middleweight bout between Michael Bisping and CB Dollaway is also on the main card that begins at 7 p.m.
The preliminary card airs on Fox Sports 1 (Cable 329) at 5. Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.