One week ago we effectively said good-bye to one of the best known names in the sport of mixed martial arts. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fought what many believed to be his last duel in the UFC. While, Jackson has not explicitly confirmed that he’s retiring, he has stated that he will not fight for the UFC again – which for all intents and purposes means that his career in the MMA limelight is over. With this being noted, can one honestly believe with the utmost confidence that Rampage has cemented a place amongst the MMA gods for all time? Methinks not.
I’m going to put one thing out there before I am crucified for my last comment – I’m a Rampage fan! One thing you’re typically guaranteed when Rampage enters the ring is havoc. Quinton Jackson set the tone to for today’s strikers, and how it’s supposed to be done. Unfortunately, politics, ring rust and a total lack of desire seems to have put him in a lower tier of fighters. However, I think it goes even beyond this recent string of misfortune.
There are a lot of people who did not know Rampage prior to his entrance into the UFC, but he did have a long career as one of the best known names in PRIDE FC before joining Dana White and company. In PRIDE FC Jackson was well known for his exciting fights, his ability to slam, his crisp boxing, and most predominantly his ability to take a punch. His rivalry with Wanderlei Silva was legendary, and he laid down some beatings on some credible fighters (Chuck Liddell, Matt Lindland, Ricardo Arona, Ninja Rua, Kevin Randleman). However, one thing that was missing from his time in PRIDE FC was his ability to grab a title of any kind. Yes, he did put up exciting fights, but his ability to seal the deal was always lacking.
It wasn’t until Rampage came into the UFC that he finally managed to grab a title. His build match to his title fight with Chuck Liddell was against a sub-par fighter in Marvin Eastman. When he fought Chuck for the light heavyweight title, Liddell was arguably on his way down (think what you want, it’s true). Jackson’s most compelling victory was against Dan Henderson; a five round war that would be Jackson’s first and only successful title defense. After this point Jackson’s career would be inconsistent at best.
Jackson would lose the title in a lackluster fight against Forrest Griffin, he would put together a few wins after this, lose a few fights, win some, lose many. Jackson seemed to have lost the fire in his belly after a certain point in his UFC career. He stopped taking chances, and always seemed a little tentative. His decisive finishes, became long drawn out decisions. Often times (warning: controversy alert) it seemed that Jackson was winning his decisions based on his name alone.
So, why don’t I think Rampage Jackson deserves a place amongst the greats? Read the resume above. His last three fights aside (which were all losses for the record), Jackson never really held a credible title for that long. In all fairness, Tim Sylvia won more championship bouts than Jackson – would anyone put him in the pantheon of greats? Take a look at Jackson’s record in championship bouts (PRIDE FC/UFC):
- 2003 PRIDE FC Middleweight Grand Prix Final: Loss to Wanderlei Silva
- PRIDE FC Middleweight Championship (2004): Loss to Wanderlei Silva
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (UFC 71): Win against Chuck Liddell
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (UFC 75): Win against Dan Henderson
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (UFC 86): Loss to Forrest Griffin
- UFC Light Heavyweight Championship (UFC 135): Loss to Jon Jones
2-4 when faced with the big dance? Not exactly an astoundingly impressive record, especially not when you put him up against other legends of the sport and compare their championship bout records: Matt Hughes (9-4), Randy Couture (10-7), Chuck Liddell (5-2), Anderson Silva (16-0), Georges St. Pierre (14-2), just to name a few.
With all of this evidence in mind, can you really consider Rampage to a “great”? Yes, he’s an exciting fighter. Yes, he always puts his heart on the line (mostly). Does this make him a legend – dear God, no. The greats don’t lose three fights in a row to the likes of guys like Ryan Bader.
At any rate, Rampage you will be missed. At 34 years old you still have a fruitful career ahead of you. I just hope to see you back in the UFC one day… or at least back on the big screen playing B.A.!
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