Quinton "Rampage" Jackson first traveled to Japan for a fight 11 years ago. A young, unknown and inexperienced fighter, he was brought in to lose to Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba and he did. But the young Rampage showed such fighting spirit in his underdog effort that he won the hearts of the Japanese fans and it was the start of a long and legendary run for Japan's Pride Fighting Championships.
Last night Jackson returned to Japan to face Ryan Bader at UFC 144. This time he came as the aging former UFC light heavyweight champ. The 33-year-old Jackson missed weight for the first time in his UFC career. He looked paunchy and old coming into the cage and even worse he showed a remarkable lack of fighting spirit in the cage.
While he did land a brutal and beautiful slam on Bader, it was the lone highlight of the fight for Jackson who was outpunched, outwrestled and plain outfought for 15 minutes in the Saitama Super Arena before a hushed Japanese crowd who was pulling for their old favorite in vain.
UFC president Dana White was open with his doubts about Jackson's level of interest in fighting, saying he's felt that Rampage had been disinterested in his fighting career since making the A-Team movie two years ago. That film's shooting infamously delayed the biggest UFC bout of Jackson's career, a The Ultimate Fighter season 10 capper against Rashad Evans. The Jackson-Evans fight finally took place at UFC 114 in May of 2010, but it was originally set to take place in Jackson's home town of Memphis, TN at UFC 107.
While Quinton Jackson may very well fight again in the UFC, don't hold your breath waiting for the old Rampage to return boys and girls. It seems we've seen the last of the young, hungry fighter who once gave Kazushi Sakuraba everything he could handle.
SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson
- UFC 144 Results: Ben Henderson And Anthony Pettis Ready For Rematch - Nate Wilcox
- UFC 144: Edgar Vs. Henderson Results And Post-Fight Analysis - Brent Brookhouse
- UFC 144 Results: Dana White Says Anthony Pettis Will 'Likely' Get Next UFC Lightweight Title Shot - Bloody Elbow
- UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- UFC Japan Video: Georges St. Pierre Gets Attacked By A Mob Of Kids With Samurai Foam Swords - Bloody Elbow
- Bad Boy Presents Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 139: UFC 144 Results Review
- UFC 144 Results: Ryan Bader Dominates Rampage Jackson To Decision - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Mark Hunt Knocks Out Cheick Kongo In The First Round - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Jake Shields Wins Hard Fought Decision Over Yoshihiro Akiyama - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Tim Boetsch Upsets Yushin Okami In The Third Round - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- UFC 144 Results: Hatsu Hioki Defeats Bart Palaszewski By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Anthony Pettis Knocks Out Joe Lauzon In The First Round - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Takanori Gomi Stops Eiji Mitsuoka In The Second - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Vaughan Lee Submits Kid Yamamoto With An Armbar - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Riki Fukuda Dominates Steve Cantwell To Decision - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Chris Cariaso Defeats Takeya Mizugaki By Unanimous Decision - Matthew Roth
- UFC 144 Results: Issei Tamura Knocks Out Tiequan Zhang - Matthew Roth