Quote of the Day: Underselling Rampage Jackson

by Luke Thomas on Jun 30, 2008 10:31 AM EDT in News

"Stranger still is an auspicious lack of promotion for Jackson, who has easily earned an hour's worth of highlights in his Pride career. Why not package a propaganda piece prior to the show that elaborates on his impressive history? Wasn't that more or less the point of acquiring that video library?"

-- Jake Rossen, in a piece wondering why there is no heat in the build-up for Griffin vs. Jackson this weekend at UFC 86.

I'm somewhat mystified by the lack of mainstream enthusiasm for Rampage as well, but we forget that Rampage's appeal is driven by both his endearing personality and in-cage performances. It's the one-two combination that he possesses that makes him so likable to the hardcore fan base: you laugh when he talks, and cry for his opponents when he brutally slams them to the canvas. With a 10 month layoff since his last fight, it's not hard to see why casual fans need more than a few jokes about Griffin's ears or stained underwear to become Rampage's street soldiers.

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Ya know..

I was wondering the same thing….as far as the hype for this card doesn’t seem to be even close to where it should be. However, according to mmapayout.com…the arena is nearly sold out…I don’t know what that translates into as far as PPV. But that says alot about the UFC in general I suppose. Selling out an Las Vegas arena with little to no promotion.

by Tha Realness on Jun 30, 2008 10:36 AM EDT 0 recs

You guys are all absolutely correct.

Rampage is one of the guys the UFC will have to bank on in the future as a mega-star. And yet, they aren’t giving him the push you’d expect.

by Hardcharger on Jun 30, 2008 10:49 AM EDT 0 recs

You would think that with more competitors emerging, the UFC would us Rampage to dampen excitement for the other promotions. Maybe I’m missing something, but it doesn’t make much sense. With all the difficulties marketing a guy like Machida, and even Anderson Silva, Hyping up a charismatic fighter like Rampage would seem to be an easy decision.

by Cannon J on Jun 30, 2008 10:54 AM EDT 0 recs

Rampage could be bigger than chuck if they would just promote him. it makes no sense to me that besides a few ads here and there they arent doing anything.

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by mmastation on Jun 30, 2008 11:09 AM EDT 0 recs

He might be the easiest sell they have. I could probably market him. If he got half the push Liddell does he would be insanely popular.

by SplitBreast on Jun 30, 2008 11:17 AM EDT up 0 recs

A Liddell interview vs. a Rampage interview = no contest.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 30, 2008 11:21 AM EDT up 0 recs

The problem is the lack of performances inside the cage. His first against Eastman was underwhelming, the Chuck one too fast to leave an impression, and the Henderson one was a brutal war, but it was boring to the casual fans I watched with. Chuck is popular because of his exciting KO’s, Forrest for his gritty performances. Jackson just needs a great fight to go along with it to cement his popularity.

by Michael Rome on Jun 30, 2008 11:46 AM EDT 0 recs

Eastman was underwhelming? He got the TKO in Rd 2 while taking virtually zero damage. I guess it wasn’t a highlight reel KO or a patented Rampage slam, but if we’re at the point where a 2nd Rd TKO against Eastman is underwhelming and the 5 round fight against Henderson was boring (that fight was amazing), we’re setting the bar for excitement exceedingly high.

by Hardcharger on Jun 30, 2008 12:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

The fans in attendance booed the lack of action at one point during that fight.

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by Richard on Jun 30, 2008 4:25 PM EDT up 0 recs

I agree with hardcharger.

by Tha Realness on Jun 30, 2008 12:50 PM EDT 0 recs

the first round of the Eastman fight was awful. Look what McFedries did to him in about a minute last month. That was hardly a great performance from Jackson.

by Michael Rome on Jun 30, 2008 1:30 PM EDT 0 recs

Didn’t Rampage say even he got the UFC jitters in that Eastman fight?

The Liddell fight was a great ko on a great fighter and the Henderson fight was excellent and proved he can go the distance in a high paced hard fought war. Forrest will not be able to push the pace harder than it was in that fight.

by SplitBreast on Jun 30, 2008 1:57 PM EDT up 0 recs

It was Rampage’s first UFC fight as well.

His last 2 fights he stalked the biggest UFC star and UFC champ in Liddell, getting Chuck to attack, and then put him down and finished him cleanly in 1 Round.

His last fight, he beats the PRIDE 205 champ, outgrappling a former Olympian and standing and trading for a significant portion of a 5 round fight with a guy who also throws bombs. That was a great fight.

Even if we call the Eastman fight less than spectacular, that’s 2 of 3 performances where he has looked outstanding.

by Hardcharger on Jun 30, 2008 3:18 PM EDT up 0 recs

All the casual fans I watched with and spoke to thought the Henderson fight was boring.

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by Richard on Jun 30, 2008 4:26 PM EDT up 0 recs

You must hang around with some extremely uninformed casual fans. Thanks for giving us the pulse of the average fans you fraternize with.

by Hardcharger on Jun 30, 2008 4:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

Be cool.

by Luke Thomas on Jun 30, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up 0 recs

Thanks for letting me know who I hang out with. I was previously unaware of the character of these imbeciles.

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by Richard on Jun 30, 2008 5:12 PM EDT up 0 recs

I’m not trying to undersell the guy, but he’s yet to have the kind of crazy fight that has the crowd going insane for multiple rounds. He hasn’t had his Forrest/Bonnar moment, he’s yet to do one of his slams in the UFC, etc. I just think it is going to take a breakout fight like that for him to really bust into the superstar level. I think we’ll get it this Saturday.

by Michael Rome on Jun 30, 2008 2:12 PM EDT 0 recs

I think i said this before…I don’t think the UFC is giving Rampage a big push because he doesnt appeal to the demographic (white male, 18-34) that the organization tends to attract. I could be way off base there, but it seems that two years or so ago, Dana White was trying to shove Chuck Liddell down our throats. People who had never watched an MMA event knew who he was on sight…there are people I know that see pictures of Rampage, and for some odd reason, get him mixed up with Kimbo Slice! Rampage has done no where near the number of guest spots on popular television shows or talk show interviews on t.v. , that Chuck did at the height of his championship reign. Hell, Forrest didn’t even have a title, he did a guest spot on Law and Order SVU. I think that if Forrest wins, the marketing machine cranks up again, and if Rampage wins, Dana White/ Joe Silva are going to send every up and comer with a heartbeat and marketability at 205 at Rampage.

by Cmad77 on Jul 1, 2008 4:24 PM EDT 0 recs

P.S. I am by NO MEANS saying that the lack of pub for Rampage is racially motivated. I think it’s a business thing.

by Cmad77 on Jul 1, 2008 4:27 PM EDT 0 recs