Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson appeared recently on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour and discussed his strange career over the past few years. He left the UFC and signed with Bellator, winning three in a row. Then he felt Bellator failed to fulfill his contract and in his words determined it was, “better the devil you know,” and signed a new contract with the UFC.
Bellator got an injunction to prevent ‘Page from fighting in the UFC but a court overturned it, so Jackson fought Fabio Maldonado. Then the fighter settled with Bellator and he won another one vs. Satoshi Ishii in June of last year. He has a rematch with Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal at Bellator 175 on March 31, 2017, the last fight on his contract.
He believes he still has to fulfill the UFC contract he signed in 2014, but is upset with the Reebok deal. He used to have a direct sponsorship with Reebok, but the apparel giant refused to pay the UFC sponsor tax. Now, ironically, he has to wear Reebok, and that doesn’t sit well with him. Further, he can no longer make 205.
I’ve been in a lot of wars, brother, said Jackson, 38, as transcribed by Marc Raimondi for MMA Fighting.
If the TV stuff takes off, I’ll retire from fighting. If not, I’ll finish up my contract, finish up my stuff and then retire.
I don’t want to look like all the other fighters. I’ve been proud to not be or act or look like any other fighters. I don’t want to have to wear the same outfit that the other fighters wear. I don’t want to blend in. I’m nothing like the other fighters. I don’t really want to look like them. I don’t want to wear the ugly-ass shorts they wear.
I wouldn’t mind going back to Japan and fight. That’s what my heart really wants to do.
However, he doesn’t know if the UFC contract would allow it, or if RIZIN would compensate him adequately.
I just wish that things would be a little bit different with Bellator, a little bit better, Jackson said. I wish I knew where the venue was right away and stuff like that. The fight is like eight weeks away, how do you not know where the venue is? I got my family texting me, like, ‘Man, we want to get our tickets now, we want to get our flights now.’
So could his next fight be the last?
It’s a real possibility, said Jackson. It’s a possibility that it could be my last fight.
