Rampage Jackson Unsure He Wants to Take Fight Against Rashad Evans in May
by Michael Rome on Mar 8, 2009 3:02 AM EST
in MMA News
Email
Print
Rampage Jackson was just on Steve Cofield's radio show. His rant on Ariel Helwani was amazing, but the big news was that he isn't sure he wants to take the fight with Rashad so quickly. He said he has a couple injuries he wants to take care of and he doesn't know if he wants to fight so soon.
They may have to go with GSP-Alves after all, or pay Quinton more to take this fight. He only had a 4 week or so training camp for this fight, and to go right back into training sounded like a demoralizing thought to him.
At the press conference, Jackson said he didn't know about the fight with Rashad Evans being moved up to May 23 until 15 minutes before he got out...He was clearly not thrilled about it. Dana White said they would wait a few days to give Jackson a chance to assess how he felt coming out of a tough fight and noted if Jackson turned it down, that Machida had already verbally accepted.
102 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I was thinking about this just a few minutes ago. I was a little worried about the prospect of Rampage fighting again so quickly, might not be abloe to come out of his camp at the peak of his abilities, etc. Good to hear that he’s not going to just blindly accept it.
It would be nice to see GSP/Alves sooner, rather than later. I’m looking forward to that fight.
Please GOD!
Move up the GSP vs Alves fight and push this one back to UFC100. Alves has been off for a longer time than Rashad and GSP will have had plenty of time off already. If Rampage isn’t fully committed I just don’t think he will go in there the way he should be. I definately don’t want to be hearing “oh well Rampage wasn’t ready” and blah blah blah. I don’t want any excuses from both fighters.
Oh and PLEASE do a UFC Primetime for this fight :)
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 8, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions
Well, it's not like Rampage wasn't adding to the hype.
That post-fight interview was freaking incredible. :)
If you see Mark Coleman in person, drop $5 on the floor and watch the fun as he tries in vain to bend down and pick it up.
Yeah, there’s a major difference between backing up in 8-10 weeks when you’ve won by KO early while taking no damage and backing up in that time when you’ve just been in a three round war. Any chance of them doing Evans vs Machida at 98 and the winner then fighting Rampage in August or September?
With the trash talking segment, I don't see how they can't do Evans vs Jackson
With Jackson and Evans confronting each other and having that incredible post-fight trash talking segment, I just can’t see how the UFC can do any other fight besides Jackson vs Evans. It would be “leaving money on the table” if Evans fought anyone else at this point because that segment hyped up and brought anticipation to a fight between those two. Pretty much, the first shots were already fired between Jackson and Evans with the trash talking and with the grudge being that Jackson just beat Evans’ sparring partner-Jardine. I just can’t see how the UFC can do any other fight at this point because there is just too much money to be made with Jackson vs Evans.
Yikes...
what a weird thing for them to do. Announce a fight with what seems like less than full commitment from the involved fighters…
Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Mar 8, 2009 3:17 AM EST reply actions
they must have thought rampage was gonna have a short night.
by bdw on Mar 8, 2009 3:18 AM EST up reply actions
Rampage just came back after getting no break. I can’t believe UFC was expecting him to do it back to back.
The last one was more offensive, he only had a 4 week training camp for this fight.
At least he could get a full camp here…but honestly, he said he hurt his arm in this fight, and there is no reason to rush this fight.
If it was a quick KO by Rampage it would make sense and sure Rampage would be willing to step in the ring believing he is on a roll.
I’m a little confused to how UFC management would think Rampage would finish the Jardine fight early without harm. Jardine vs Wanderlei is more the aberration, most of Jardine fights go the distance in a battle of attrition. To be fair, they are probably caught off guard with the Mir news and really haven’t had the time to sit down and think about a replacement with having to put on UFC 96.
Agree, just like the Mir fight no need to rush and tarnish a good match up if a participant has an injury. UFC can easily surmise til these match ups do come to fruition.
It’s interesting…Rashad/Rampage is a money fight and by delaying it they risk losing a lot. No offense, but Machida is not drawing any huge numbers. Oh well, I think that fight is 1 v. 3 and still a great main event.
I don’t think UFC has to risk losing any match up now. It’s not 2004 where they either made a profit or lost money on PPV. These days they make money or lots of money on PPV. If they can put on the same fight with a few months of delay they have the roster and following to keep the fans entertained and interested until they can put on the cash cow event.
They should have just announced Rashad/Machida.
"I hit [Evensen], and you could just see it in his head. He went, 'Oh, man. We don't have to do this anymore. I'm good. Thanks for having me. I'm going to go home now." -Pat "The Real Techno Viking" Berry
I favor Rampage and Machida over Rashad . . .getting Rashad out of the way means I get to see the main of event of Rampage vs Machida sooner.
Machida would destroy Rampage.
I love the guy and all, but Jardine was a good last twenty seconds away from stealing the win tonight.
He just doesn’t have anything but striking, and Machida has everything.
If you see Mark Coleman in person, drop $5 on the floor and watch the fun as he tries in vain to bend down and pick it up.
Until I see Machida survive a shot like Rampage’s left, it’s still an open question. I mean, people respond way too much to the last fight they saw. You have Rampage with a 4 week camp here fighting a very game opponent, and he still got the win.
you wont have to see it, cause he wont land it..
i know you love your boy rampage, but if he fought machida, he’d lose for sure.. Now evans, thats a bigger challenge for machida..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 8, 2009 4:06 AM EST up reply actions
You’re kind of doing the sherdog style thing here of assuming everything has to do with loving a fighter. I’m a huge Machida fan too, the most annoying internet message board thing is just accusing others of being fans of a guy. There’s a lot of fighters I like a lot, and I think Machida is the number 1 light heavyweight in the world. But I hardly think one sloppy fight from Rampage proves Machida will win when he’s never dealt with Rampage’s power before. It remains an open question.
Funny, it wasn’t too long ago that you strongly implied Machida is boring for both you and the fans.
by Flying Gogoplata on Mar 8, 2009 4:15 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, I’ve had a pretty big change of heart since May on his style. I think he’d beat nearly every 205 guy 9 out of 10 times. Do I always like watching him fight? No, not really, but I do find it interesting to watch and see if someone can figure him out. I think he’s the best 205 guy with Rampage at number 2.
I went back to see my response to his May fight and I wrote that Machida looks like he will be unbeatable, and that he would be a bad fight for Quinton. I would pick him there too, but I don’t think it’s some kind of slam dunk pick.
i really dont know how that has to do with sherdog since i never went to thier forum..and it’s not really one sloppy fight.. He’s been “sloppy” since the forrest fight.. I dont think he hasn’t changed much since losing to him.. sure he’s got power, but i dont see him winning against machida.. Im not attacking you or anything, i just don’t think he can catch machida..
I think evans would be a bigger challenge for lyoto since he’s patient, has quicker hands, better footwork, and arguably same power as rampage.. plus i dont think evans will eat leg kicks that much..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 8, 2009 5:42 AM EST up reply actions
I’m not sold on Evans either. Essentially he lost to Tito . . . I give him lots of credit for hanging with a guy with far superior experience and still a top notch fighter but I didn’t see that fight as a draw.
Chuck is not what he once was. UFC would have never, ever, ever, ever have booked Liddell vs Evans if they thought Evans had a stand up game to mention. Evans was suppose to be the prototypical wrestler without a stand up that Chuck has always ate up. Evan’s won that fight partly by surprise. Does anyone think Chuck trained for a good Evans boxing game?
The Forrest fight was the most telling. Forrest clearly won the first two rounds but poor Forrest doesn’t have much power for the LWH division. Any other top LWH would have punished Rashad enough that he probably wouldn’t have been able to surmount such a turnaround in the 3rd round. Typically when a guy loses the first two rounds it shows! I think Rampage would put a beating on Evans fast and early that he could not recover from.
I buy all this, but to be honest if we’re doing this kind of thing we can discredit almost every win. Tito is a shell of his former self, Thiago Silva’s standup is not very good at all…you can make excuses to knock down everyone’s wins. It starts getting to the point where there are no legitimate wins.
I’m not killing Evans for his wins. I’m just saying he hasn’t sold me as the legit top LHW. I’ve been more impressed with the showings a few other LHW that Evans has yet to face, mainly both Rampage and Machida. I’ve seen dominate wins by both those fighters, I’ve seen a bit of circumstance in most of Evans big wins.
I guess my problem is with the way people focus on singular performances to the exclusion of a body of work. I am actually with you on Rashad, I think Quinton would beat him up. I think he got a bit lucky that Forrest broke his hand early, had to rely on kicks alone and became predictable. Still, they were great wins.
I think back to Ortiz/machida. I believe Machida would beat Tito 99/100 times. However, Machida himself admits he almost passed out in the triangle and that he got out just in the nick of time. Had tito not switched to the armbar Machida likely would have passed out. In my view, even if that happened Machida would still be the toughest 205 fighter in the world. There’s an aspect of MMA that’s unlike boxing where the small gloves and submissions make it possible for anyone to pull an upset. People focus on a questionable win or a single performance way too much.
Jackson has the best record at 205 against top 10 opponents of anyone in his division since coming to the UFC. He’s 4-1 against top 10 guys, and in my opinion he is really 5-0. Chuck was number 1 when he fought him, Dan was number 2, and Wand and Jardine were in like the 5-8 range. You look at others in the division like Wand, Chuck, Jardine, Forrest…they are even or worse against top competition. The division is a shark tank, winning a gritty decision over a tough fighter shouldn’t be a noose around a fighter’s neck.
I don’t think Tito’s game was that far off. Chuck is as bad of a match up for Tito as Rampage is for Chuck.
Tito’s other wars were against Forrest and Evans who both have gone to prove they belong in the upper echelon . . . my opinion not the best but they are damn good.
If you look at all of Machida’s fights. You have to say Tito has probably done a better job than anyone to this point. He avoided getting really hurt and looked to be figuring out pieces of Machida’s game at the end of the fight. I don’t put too much stock in Machida performance against Thiago because I thought they guy was a brusing knucklehead. I more remember Machida’s performance against Soku because Soku usually puts on hurting on his opponents before he gasses. Machida escaped the early onslaught without a scrape, can’t say I’ve seen another fighter pull that off.
Forgot about Sok, but that is an interesting one. his game has been so badly exposed since that it’s hard to know how to categorize that win.
The win against Soku doesn’t mean much now. How easily he was able to handle the early Soku barrage is telling. The next fight Soku gave Luis Cane all he could handle in the first. Watching the Affliction fight, I don’t think Soku had any fight in him on that one. Babalu appeared to control the fight from the start without much effort.
BJ Penn
I think Penn did the best job out of all of Machida’s opponents. Tito did not avoid getting really hurt; perhaps you did not see Tito crumple to the floor from that liver shot.
It is really embarrassing for Machida fans to talk about the Penn fight because Machida just barely won against a natural lightweight.
by Flying Gogoplata on Mar 8, 2009 4:45 AM EST up reply actions
yes thankyou..
they must’ve watched a different fight if they saw tito avoid getting hurt..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 8, 2009 6:08 AM EST up reply actions
I don’t buy that the UFC was unaware of Rashad Evans striking potential, the Sean Salmon fights made it pretty obvious that he did have some stand up skills and striking power.
The fight was originally booked as a late replacement fight when Shogun got injured, and then rebooked when Chuck got injured. I don’t think the UFC was just feeding Rashad to Chuck, particularly after they got burned feeding Jardine to Chuck, yea I’m sure they thought Chuck would have a good chance but by that point it wasn’t a slam dunk to put anyone in there with Chuck anymore.
Jardine = Striker
Evans = Wrestler
If you look back at Chuck’s record he almost always dominated the wrestlers and BJJ guys. Strikers traditionally gave him the most trouble. The majority of people I chatted with believe the Evans fight was merely a setup of a big Chuck vs Forrest PPV.
Well most people didn’t give Rashad much of a chance going in but that doesn’t mean that the UFC was just throwing a guy away that they had been pushing just for the sake of feeding Chuck another wrestler.
You can always set up interesting style match ups but they had to know that Rashad was fighting the 2008 Chuck not the 2005 one and that it just wouldn’t be feeding Chuck a wrestler.
I still don’t agree. When a talented guy takes on an opponent clearly below his skill level you tend to see highlight reel type stuff that doesn’t materialize when competition gets tougher.
Yes, it should have probably been considered but I don’t know how much you could evaluate from Rashad in that fight.
Yea but the UFC isn’t stupid, they also had the Bisbing fight to look at and they knew that Greg Jackson has already coached Jardine to a win over Chuck. The fight the UFC was wanting was Chuck vs Shogun they just had a lot of problems getting it together.
I just don’t buy that their plan was to throw Rashad under the bus as a easy wrestler KO for Chuck, they had to know it would be a much closer fight than that going in to it and they had been pushing Rashad pretty hard up to that point.
Chuck vs Forrest . . . potential for 1 million + PPV buys. For that kind of money just about anyone on the roster is available to be tossed under the bus.
I don’t think management was sold on Rashad or that Chuck had maybe lost something at that time. Rashad had yet to put on a good performance against an elite fighter . . . we all know that Bisping was still in development and still is to this point. I think most people saw the Jardine win over Chuck as a hangover effect and Camp Jackson hadn’t built a rep yet.
I agree that they obviously wanted Chuck vs Forrest and I agree that they probably thought it was a good style match up for Chuck but I just don’t think they thought it was going to be an easy win for him. They were still wanting Chuck to prove something before they gave him the title shot, heck if they had wanted a sure thing there are plenty of “just wrestlers” they could of thrown him in there with.
Machida claims that the hardest punch he’s ever taken (in MMA) was a left from Nakamura. Obviously, Jackson is a lot stronger but you can examine for yourself what happens when Machida gets hit by a decent shot.
by Flying Gogoplata on Mar 8, 2009 4:09 AM EST up reply actions
Frankly, I think this proves the opposite of what you say, simply that Nakamura doesn’t hit hard at all and it was the hardest punch he’s taken.
I’m not trying to prove anything. I’m just telling you to examine what happens when Machida gets hit by a decent shot, and perhaps extrapolate that to a situation where Machida gets hit by a stronger shot.
by Flying Gogoplata on Mar 8, 2009 4:13 AM EST up reply actions
Extrapolate for me, I’m missing your argument. Here’s my general thought on Machida/Rampage: Machida will not finish him, and he’ll win if it goes all 5. Rampage will need to conserve energy and try to explode in to land a big shot. The question is whether he’ll be able to catch him over the course of the 5 rounds, and how Machida would respond to it if he did get cracked.
Well, I’m not arguing.
You’re curious about how Machida will respond to a decent shot. Well, perhaps you could look at Nakamura’s shot and analyze for yourself whether it is relevant and if it is what are its implications.
by Flying Gogoplata on Mar 8, 2009 4:32 AM EST up reply actions
I also favor Machida. Rampage is solid but I tend to believe those reports even from sources like Ibarra that the guy isn’t exactly giving it all in training. How many fights now has it been without an ounce of development towards leg kick defense? A real training junkie would have addressed the issue by now. It looks like the guy gets in the gym long enough to keep his routine going but isn’t putting in enough time to develop new techniques.
It sounds like the UFC has Machida waiting in the wings just in case Rampage does balk at the fight date. It sounds like the title fight date is set regardless of what Rampage wants it’s just whether he says yes or no to being the challenger. Knowing that they will give the fight to someone else if he doesn’t accept that date will probably play into his decision(which is probably why Dana left that out there like that).
I hope Rampage can go but Machida-Rashad is the one fight where fireworks will happen.
With the way the post-fight banter went, I’d be very surprised if Rampage didn’t go through with it.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Sir Winston Churchill
Evans turned Rampage down before saying he needed time
so if Rampage did it back to Evans, it would be funny.
The more we all discuss this, the more in favor I am of just doing Machida/Rashad. Give Quinton time to rest.
Seconded – as long as his shot at the winner is safe, why not?
by Derek Suboticki on Mar 8, 2009 5:05 AM EST up reply actions
Meltzer’s got a new column up on Yahoo now, he indicates that Rampage isn’t delighted with the switch but will probably still fight in May anyway. Rampage ’s quotes came across as him feeling he owes Dana for strongly sticking by him last year.
Also, Meltzer’s Yahoo article says that Rampage wasn’t aware of the fight being moved from July to May until after the fight was over, not 15 minutes before as his original F4W update seems to imply.
damn rome, you got my hopes up in seeing machida/evans..
it looks like rampage is gonna accept it after all..
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 8, 2009 6:15 AM EST up reply actions
Rampage/Rashad is a bigger money fight than Machida/anyone, regardless of whether Machida could beat both of them or whatever. Ultimately this is a business and they have to take that into consideration. There’s also nothing to be lost, hype-wise, if they push this back until UFC 100. In fact I think it would only benefit more. I think it would be more practical to bump up GSP/Alves to May and put Rampage/Rashad on at UFC 100, with Machida getting the winner.
But Machida and Evans are undefeated
You can be sure the UFC would be able to really milk and market the aspect of 2 undefeated fighters competing for the title.
And yet, Rampage/Rashad is still bigger
Seriously, Rampage is a bigger star than either Rashad or Machida. Yes, two undefeated fighters colliding is a great angle, but neither fighter is the superstar that Rampage is. Furthermore, you have the angle where Rashad is looking to avenge his training partner and close friend. And Rampage is a former Champion looking for redemption. Plus he is one of the best promos in the sport, and the confrontation between the two following Rampage’s win last night already did a lot to hype this fight. They’d have to be crazy not to cash in on that. Machida can still get his shot afterwards. If Rashad beats Rampage, he’ll be an even bigger star and the clash of undefeated fighters will mean more. If Rampage wins, Rampage will be an even bigger superstar and an even bigger draw, and Rampage/Machida will be a bigger main-event when it’s Rampage who’s defending.
Also
While Rampage vs Evans is an intriquing bout, I’d rather it not be cheapened because Rampage has had to have very quick turn around’s for 3 bouts. If he were to lose to I guarantee people would start saying “Oh but Evans had more time to rest” etc. etc.
Come on Dana, bite the bullet and give Machida his shot at the title. Jackson does not even want to take the fight right now.
I think what we’re seeing right now is that Jackson is a much bigger ppv drawn the Lyoto Machida. Dana, obviously, would much rather have Rampage as LHW champ than Machida. Rampage is relatively young (30) and could conceivably be a kind of black Chuck.
Machida, not so much. Machida would probably be an Anderson Silva type champ minus the pyrotechnical striking. Uncomfortable with the English language, how the hell do you market a guy like Machida?
On the other hand, if you don’t want guys like Machida to hold the belt, why hire them?
Unfair
Machida showed pyrotechnical striking in his last fight. And it seems he’s making an effort to learn functional English. If he continues on this path he could become marketable.
90% it will be Rampage… 10% it will be Machida.
If it ends up being Machida – Zuffa will have much egg on its face… specifically Dana.
Lesson learned. This was a bad move.
If Jackson doesn’t take the fight it hurts credibility… if Jackson does take the fight – is it really fair to him?
Dana got one of his “wand vs chuck” hard on’s and couldn’t release it productively.
The ideal approach would have been to just announce Rashad defending his belt and leaving Rampage and Machida as the 2 possibilities.
Having Machida as an option is better than not having a headline fight for 98 and having Machida already agreed to the fight may put some leverage on Rampage to go ahead and take the fight. I do agree that Dana has himself in a real situation here regardless of what happens in the end.
If Rampage backs out and GSP & Alves won’t agree to move up their fight, then Lyoto/Rashad would be the logical booking choice. Alves has minimal leverage, so barring another injury really it would be up to GSP in that case.
Dave Meltzer reported late Saturday night that Georges St. Pierre was asked by UFC to work the 5/23 date, but GSP turned it down.
http://www.fightopinion.com/2009/03/08/media-coverage-of-ufc-96-fallout/
out of curiosity
what did he say about Ariel lol
There is no way the UFC wants to book Machida/Evans as a main event headliner. No way.
I guarantee they will offer anything to Rampage to ensure a fight with Evans takes place as the main event in place of Brock.
They won’t sell shit with Machida/Evans as the main event.
Ideally, they would book Rampage for Evans and then hope Page gets the Win so they can then make Machida/Page.
I love how Rampage drops the mic and then tries to exit out the wrong side of the cage.
I will play my game beneath the spin light.
Absurd Meridian
by Eugene Schelfaut on Mar 8, 2009 11:07 AM EDT reply actions
“Don’t say that Rashad. Don’t say that Rashad.”
LMFAO!!!!
I swear if there is no UFC Primetime I will be furious!
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
This is my favorite thing in a while. My head today has just been an endless loop of “DON’T SAY THAT RASHAD!” and David Gardner getting RNC’d.
Contributor Emeritus - BloodyElbow.com
by Chris Nelson on Mar 9, 2009 12:02 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
lol
“Don’t say that Rashad…”
The tone of his voice is PURE WINNN!!1
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Mar 9, 2009 8:11 AM EDT up reply actions
nice avatar/userpic! :D
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 9, 2009 8:28 AM EDT up reply actions
I really don’t understand the people still talking about how Dana is “screwing” Machida or something.
The guy is great, but when you look at resumes, I can’t be convinced that he deserves a title shot over Rampage.
If Rampage can’t go in May, fine, give it to Machida. If Rampage can go in May, give Machida the next title shot, that’s fine also.
But Rampage losing a close title fight, then coming back and beating Wandy and Jardine just seems more deserving than Machida to me.
Rampage better take it.
If he wants his title back, he should sign up for it even on the short layoff. Machida will beat Rashard and then would beat Rampage. Stylistically it would just not work as stalk and crack puncher. Its inevitable and not really fair to Rampage but it is what it is and would do a great number. Rashard’s only chance would be to actually go back to wrestling and try heavy top control but Machida’s BJJ is underrated.
Draft Balls Be Kind, The Kings Need Blake! The Padres need Strausberg and the Chargers need Mauluaga!
by bringbackbuddytrees on Mar 8, 2009 2:19 PM EDT reply actions
After a night of thinking on it…I think he should take the fight. He can take a three week rest and then get a 7 week training camp in. He has trained so much the past few months he probably doesn’t need a full 8 week camp.
Rashad is the better match for him than Machida, he’ll make more money there, etc. I believe he will end up taking it.
What was that from Rashad? Why all the swearing? These guys are supposed to be pros. I know he just watched his friend lose, but come on. He needs to learn from GSP. I AM NOT IMPRESSED BY YOUR PERFORMANCE.
He was selling the fight.
Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken
ay was nat impressed buy your parformans
http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/
by Anton Tabuena on Mar 8, 2009 9:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
