Fighter Profile: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

"Change Can Happen"

“Change” seems to be the popular phrase around this time as it was the slogan for our 44 th President Barack Obama. It also seems to be a slogan that would suit UFC light-heavyweight fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as his life comes full circle after his wild driving accident took him in and out of the California courthouse.

Rampage began his Mixed Martial Arts career after a successful career as a high school wrestler in Memphis, Tennessee. He continued on from high school wrestler to Junior College standout and eventually into MMA after seeing the success of other excellent amateur wrestlers.

From wrestling to MMA was a short and successful transition for Rampage. He had his first MMA fight in his hometown of Memphis against a young Mike Pyle. He eventually won that fight, and overall 10 of his first 11 fights. His only loss, one which he would later avenge, was to UFC vet Marvin Eastman.

Riding a 10-1 overall record from small organizations in the United States, Jackson took his show to “The Land of the Rising Sun” fighting for the popular PRIDE FC banner. He took on many popular fighters in his first two years fighting in Japan but it wasn’t until his November 2003 fight against UFC champ Chuck Liddell that made his name as a legit contender. He would strike and slam his way through the PRIDE organization to a 12-5 record.

After winning by decision in his last PRIDE fight, he and the executives of the Japanese company decided to cut ties. He signed a multi-fight deal with the upstart World Fighting Alliance with the likes of Lyota Machida, Matt Lindland and Eastman. His WFA career would last one fight with his split decision win over Lindland. The WFA would soon fold when the UFC acquired the contract rights to many of the fighters.

Now, the UFC and American fans would see what the Japanese fight fans were witnessing for years. Jackson’s popularity would come to an all time high when he would win his first 3 UFC fights and claim the UFC Light Heavyweight championship belt with yet another win over rival Chuck Liddell at UFC 71. He would defend that title one time over another former PRIDE superstar Dan Henderson in September of 2007 with a unanimous decision win.

Next up for Rampage was the popular Spike TV show “The Ultimate Fighter” matched up against number one contender Forrest Griffin. Team Rampage was dominated during the taping of the show but other than a couple of outbursts, Rampage did a fair job of coaching his team of upstart fighters. The seventh season eventually came to an end with Team Forrest’s Amir Sadollah defeated Team Rampage’s C.B. Dollaway by submission. His next step was to fight the opposing coach at UFC 86 in July of 2008.

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Rampage and Griffin battled 5 rounds in a back and forth battle that many were left not knowing who would leave as the UFC's Light Heavyweight champ. Many thought that Rampage did enough to defend his title for the second time while others thought that Forrest’s leg kicks did enough to make Forrest the next UFC LHW champ. In the end Forrest did enough to convince the judges to award him the next UFC Light Heavyweight champion. It was the start of many “changes” for Quinton Jackson.

Soon after the fight, television cameras had caught the former champ in his “monster truck” riding down a California highway showing little regard for vehicles and people in his path. He was soon arrested and charged with suspicion of felony reckless driving and felony hit and run after hitting several cars along his path. The charges were serious enough to possibly face up to three years in jail. Many thought that the accident was a result of him being depressed after losing his UFC belt. Although, the real reason for the “road rage” was never really explained, UFC President Dana White announced that it was a result of Rampage fasting and consuming a large amount of energy drinks causing him to go into a delirious state.

In early January of 2009 Jackson accepted a plea bargain by pleading guilty to a count of evading a police officer and driving against traffic along with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving.

Along with his legal troubles he was also having problems with his manager/trainer Juanito Ibarra. There were enough problems that led Rampage to split from his friend and mentor Ibarra. Although the true reason of the split between manager and fighter is not known, Rampage later landed on his feet and joined the England based Wolfslair fight team. Other members of Wolfslair include UFC Middleweight Michael Bisping and UFC Heavyweight Cheick Kongo.

A rejuvenated Jackson showed his progress by winning his next fight at UFC 92 “The Ultimate 2008” when he showed excellent striking skills in getting back a little revenge with Wanderlei Silva. Silva had beat Jackson in their two previous fights under PRIDE FC rules. The fight lasted only 3:21 when Jackson delivered a highlight KO punch putting Silva to sleep. This latest win has brought his record to an impressive 29 wins and 7 losses.

Many thought his impressive showing at UFC 92 would earn him another title shot against Rashad Evans, who at UFC 92 beat then-champ Forrest Griffin. Although the fight was very impressive, Jackson did not earn another title shot and will instead be fighting Keith Jardine at UFC 96 in March at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Jackson’s career has brought him full circle and back on track once again. He looks as young and as fresh as ever with hopes of seeing yet another important “change.” He hopes to “change” the name of the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. With a win over Jardine in March he will force the UFC to give him that opportunity.

Recent Rampage Jackson MMA News:

• Defeated Keith Jardine by Unanimous Decision at UFC 96 on March 7, 2009 - UFC 96 results

• Lost to Rashad Evans by Unanimous Decision at UFC 114 on May 29, 2010 in Las Vegas, NV - UFC 114 results

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Published January 2009

Photo courtesy of UFC