Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson got a chance to regain his title at UFC 135, but was submitted in the fourth round by reigning champ Jon Jones. In this month's issue of Fighters Only magazine, Rampage discussed the fight and stated that he would have actually considered retiring if he had won the fight (transcribed by BJPenn.com):
"Believe me I still want to retire as champion. I want to hold the belt once more. I guess if I had won that Jon Jones fight and if the Japan show wasn't next then there'd have been a very good chance I would have retired already. It would have been a great time to bow out. But I almost certainly would have stayed around to fight in Japan anyway, to defend the belt. Then if I would have successfully defended it on this [UFC 144] show, I definitely would be retiring - and retiring a very happy man too!"
It's a moot point now, but the statement is interesting. Would he have really gone through with that? I tend to think he wouldn't. In addition to that, it's unlikely that the UFC would have had Rampage defend the light heavyweight title on the Japan show anyway. Back in the real world, Rampage is set to face Ryan Bader at UFC 144 in the co-main event. How many more times are we going to see Jackson in the octagon? It seems the the clock is winding down on his career.
0 recs | 94 comments
Typical Rampage blustering.
Jonathan. - February 11, 2012
Welllllllllll
if ya wanna go out a champ, it’s either time to change weight classes or head on over to SF, cuz you have nothing for Jones, sir.
PS: I respect the hell out of rampage, and I’m not trying to dis him here, just bein’ honest
Cory Braiterman - February 11, 2012
You be fadin' Rampage
ihateemo - February 11, 2012 via mobile
You can't fade Rampage
He’s the Sharpie of MMA fighters.
Jeremy Couturier - February 11, 2012
That's racist..?
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
Sharpies can be in other colors too, Hey!!
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
I don't believe this
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
So glad you added the ‘hey’. Perfect.
RonSwanson - February 12, 2012
Because a Sharpie can’t be wiped out.
What do mean YOU people?
Jeremy Couturier - February 11, 2012
Rampage the $&@"!
F.U.B.A.R - February 11, 2012
I think he's a great fighter, with a gift in his fists
But he is not understanding of his hysterically drunk fans
F.U.B.A.R - February 11, 2012
I don’t know man. He took a picture with me, and I didn’t even have to bait him with my wife.
Heenan - February 11, 2012
Yea
I don’t really care
F.U.B.A.R - February 11, 2012
You don't?
From what you wrote way back when, I thought you’d be quite jealous.
halitosis - February 11, 2012
You might have won that belt too
If you didnt sit back and let him pick you apart. 5 or 6 times jones left himself open for the counter and page did nothing. Most frustrating fight I’ve ever watched and i’m not really even a page fan.
cager - February 11, 2012
I want to see him rematch Shogun or Forrest. I think he’d ko forrest this time around, but the shogun fight would be a lot of fun.
Tats16 - February 11, 2012
"I bet you choke" - Rampage in the UFC 135 promo
Apparently Jones does. And Rampage tapped.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
Well, that’s just silly.
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Rampage loves money too much to retire like that.
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Rampage will fight for that belt again
at ufc 144 I know for a fact he’s going to run through Ryan bader and that will get him back in the mix.. the comeback begins for rampage this month..
psychoblack - February 11, 2012 via mobile
I think even a poorly trained Rampage should be able to handle Bader. But hopefully he comes in in good shape and gets a finish.
Zachary Kater - February 11, 2012
Bader doesnt offer a whole lot against Page
He isnt going to take Page down and even if he does Page is great at getting up off his back and scrambling and hes planets away from being the striker Bader is.
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Err being the striker Page is.
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Lol
Now we have psychoblack and Negrodamus
halitosis - February 11, 2012 via mobile
We also have "The so called Beautiful"
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
hahaha I will fade you all!
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Was your screenname inspired by psychoblack?
halitosis - February 11, 2012 via mobile
Paul Mooney as Negrodamus
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
well, whoever meme'd that up is a total dumbass
“Nostradamus” lol
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Negrodamus is legend
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Chapelle Show but I figured it would get a few laughs too because of psychoblack
Negrodamus - February 11, 2012
Bader is a one-handed puncher
Who has worse technique than Chris Lytle.
Rampage should shut his lights off.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
Hopefully you guys knew I was meaning Rampage being in good shape and getting a finish.
I hate to write fighters off before a fight, but Bader really has zero paths to victory in this one.
Zachary Kater - February 11, 2012
Blacksplosive History Month ?
Anthony Peer - February 11, 2012
you are probably correct
so that means Bones Jones get to beat the living fuck out of him again
attgnp - February 11, 2012
Fun fact
It’s black history month and I believe rampage was the 1st ever black ufc lhw champion
psychoblack - February 11, 2012 via mobile
You are 100% correct
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
wow psychoblack is BAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!
thats great noone can fade him !
szanpan - February 11, 2012
what the hell?!?!?!?
Fun Facts?!@?!?!?!?!111
Who faded you and started posting fun facts pretending to be you?
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Slap yoself
psychoblack - February 11, 2012
Yeah boi
halitosis - February 11, 2012 via mobile
banned?
vivero - February 11, 2012
What, why?
I guess I should look that up. I saw some rap music video with the lyrics as captions and they kept saying that.
halitosis - February 11, 2012
Now that I looked it up
I apologize to all of the lesbians I may have offended.
…..
But it also said that it was the ghetto way of saying boy.
…..
I don’t know though.
…..
Sorry if you were offended, vivero.
halitosis - February 11, 2012
I was just kidding bro.
I thought some would get it from the Subo post.
vivero - February 11, 2012
So the real question here is whether or not psychoblack is in his thirties
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
He's back!!!
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
fucking reply fail
goddammit
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
It's a rough day for you, huh?
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
my girlfriends cat wont stop trying to make love to my laptop while i am using it
its fucking my world up
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Found a solution for you
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
fucking cats are evil
attgnp - February 11, 2012
This made me laugh way more than it should have.
T.C. Engel - February 12, 2012
I had to login,
just to rec this. I don’t know why but it made me crack the f$#k up.
wmuk - February 12, 2012
and the gif
wmuk - February 12, 2012
Is it HIM??? or another psychoblack?
all i can say is WOW …
szanpan - February 11, 2012
Ah, a classic szanpan reply fail..
Back to the good ole days..
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
Slap Yoself
it wasnt a failure thats exactly where its supposed to be
szanpan - February 11, 2012
Her first night here is legend.
T.C. Engel - February 12, 2012
I really hope
Bader knocks his fucking head off
TheIrishLemon - February 11, 2012 via mobile
isnt an irish lemon just a lime?
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Prepare to be disappointed
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
yeah well fuck you
just joking, but seriously really?
attgnp - February 11, 2012
Holy crap Whitney Houston died?
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
damn
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
Yup
You can cry. No one here will judge you.
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
Whats so special about that?
vivero - February 11, 2012
God faded Whitney Houston
ZapRowsdower - February 11, 2012
given a different game plan
is it possible ramapage could win?
perhaps if he fought him again a 2nd time he would not be so hesitant and just try to blitz him, he should train with machida
AnotherBadPrediction - February 11, 2012
No!
attgnp - February 11, 2012
Alot are selling off Bader, he is a live dog on this one.
vivero - February 11, 2012
How does he win the fight?
His standup isn’t as good as Rampage’s, his wrestling likely won’t be good enough to take Rampage down and he’s not particularly fast. I don’t see a lot of paths to victory for him.
wonderfulspam - February 11, 2012
I think he could outwork Jackson. Rampage has really slowed down. Bader could set up a gameplan to upset a primarily one dimensional fighter in Jackson.
vivero - February 11, 2012
Bader is slow
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
Jackson isn't really one dimensional
He also has great footwork and is all around better than Bader in every facet of the sport.
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
Just like Diaz as to Condit, but most were proven wrong. Bader has decent skillset, and with the right gameplan against a fighter whom youll already know what hell do – I think he has a chance.
vivero - February 11, 2012
"Just like Diaz as to Condit"
Eh …. what? Condit has a more diverse striking attack including great knees and elbows. Bader on the other hand does very little that Rampage doesn’t either do better (boxing) or nullify (wrestling).
wonderfulspam - February 11, 2012
Hindsight is 20/20. Read the staff predictions, most said Diaz would win because he was better than Condit almost on all facet.
I dont really want to make such a big case for Bader, because I seriously think Rampage will get this. But totally not giving Ryan a chance sounds like a broken cd to me.
vivero - February 11, 2012
The predictions for Condit/Diaz remind me much more of Edgar/Maynard predictions, than mismatch predictions
It’s not that people thought that Condit or Maynard for that matter didn’t have a chance. Everyone knew it was going to be a good fight, but leaned toward Diaz and Edgar to pick up the win.
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
You'd be better off
Comparing Bader-Rampage to Bader-Ortiz since that was a good example of a fighter thought to be as good or better than his opponent in every aspect who still lost. Everybody agreed that Condit had more tools in his standup than Diaz but most people (including me) thought Diaz would prevail.
Of course upsets happen, that’s part of MMA. I was asking HOW it would happen because I don’t see it. Bader has power, that’s for sure, but I can’t see him finding his range. The most likely option is that he wrestlefucks Rampage to a decision but frankly that shouldn’t happen as Rampage’s TDD is a proven commodity.
wonderfulspam - February 11, 2012
I guess its just me. I still think Bader still has some potential to go beyond the propect and gatekeeper levels. He could outwork his opponents through his wrestling. He just needs to give more effort. He just needs to will himself. He is still young, a better mindset will go a long way. I think he can do it, but will he? Its totally up to him.
Jackson’s TDD is pretty swell. But he has slowed down and I’m not going to be surprised if wrestlers these days can find their home on taking him down.
vivero - February 11, 2012
LOL at Anton and Roth's prediction
I’d be less bitter if I hadn’t predicted the same.
The Lethal Haze - February 12, 2012
How?
Chris Hall - February 11, 2012
Nah
halitosis - February 11, 2012
He is the only fighter to be knocked down by Tito Ortiz....probably in Tito's entire UFC career
Seriously.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
Before Trigg (who was a walking punching bag), Serra’s first KO was GSP.
vivero - February 11, 2012
Tito was on a three fight losing streak
That loss was mostly a fluke but the fact that he seriously got caught by a guy with terrible hands does not bode well for him.
SSreporters - February 11, 2012
It won’t take very long for Bader to know that he is getting put to sleep. The look on his face will change drastically after Page touches his chin a a couple times
Earl Montclair - February 11, 2012
That Tito loss did really hurt Bader’s credentials. He can still make a serious run though.
vivero - February 12, 2012
Run at what? He's a fairly incomplete fighter.
He has no quickness as a striker, has great power in his right hand but only lands it against inadequate strikers like Schafer or Magalhes, his wrestling is more than capable of being canceled out, and honestly he doesn’t fight smart.
I mean, the guy tried to pull guard on Jon Jones. What kind of shit is that?
Bader is a solid top 15 LHW. He isn’t elite and hasn’t shown any sign he’s improving to be at that level.
SSreporters - February 12, 2012
I think he has the physicality and background to do it.
Heavy hands plus wrestling. He just needs to push forward for more takedowns, if he failed – then go for another one. It should be his forte. Like a LHW version Sonnen. I think he could do it. Trainings should be delegated more no conditioning and a non stop pace. I am not high on his future, but I guess Im one of those folks who believes he can.
vivero - February 12, 2012
more on
vivero - February 12, 2012
once a fighter starts talking about retirement in any way
you know its basically already over. i love rampage and he will always be a legend because of the fact that he is one of the best fighters in mma history and he has been in some of the best fights in mma history, but, i just dont think he has it in him anymore, i think a prime rampage would have at least given jones a hard fight if not beaten him. usually fighters have to be dragged into retirement, so when a guy who is as true a fighter as there has ever been starts to acknowledge that retirement is near you cant help but feel that they already feel its over. but rampage is a freak and has and has always had the ability to not train nearly as hard as his opponents but still run through them in a way that just looks so natural and easy and i think he will do just that with bader. i dont think we will ever see a guy like rampage again his talent is insane, the fact that he was basically just a streetfighter with some basic wrestling credentials when he was fighting in pride shows you really what a natural fighter and beast rampage is. For my money silva vs rampage 1 and 2 are both in the top 20 best mma fights of all time.
bert44 - February 12, 2012
Gotta love Rampage
Feb 25 will be a great night for him.
JayT86 - February 12, 2012
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