By Alan Murphy
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s walk to the Octagon on fight night is a master-class in menace. He doesn’t bob and skip along like other fighters. He doesn’t smile, or high-five the fans en route. He moves slowly, snarling, occasionally stopping to throw back his head and howl like a wolf.
And the former UFC champion is no less intimidating – or entertaining – when the bell rings. Jackson spent his early career electrifying audiences in the Japanese Pride organisation, where he’d use his enormous strength to scoop opponents over his head and slam them violently to the canvas (he famously knocked out Ricardo Arona directly from a ‘slam’).
Though twelve of his sixteen Pride bouts ended in victory, Jackson suffered three brutal stoppage losses: two to nemesis Wanderlei Silva, and one to current UFC champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua. Since signing for the UFC in 2007, his only blemish is a controversial decision loss to Forrest Griffin in which he relinquished the belt he earned a year earlier by knocking out Chuck Liddell.
At UFC 92, Jackson avenged a loss by knocking out archrival Wanderlei Silva, and he hopes to avenge another by re-matching ‘Shogun’ for the UFC belt. But first he must overcome Rashad Evans later this month at UFC 114 in Las Vegas.
Rampage was originally slated to fight Evans at UFC 107. The pair coached opposite each other on season 10 of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ to promote the bout, drawing huge ratings with their endless feuding. But having whetted fans’ appetites, Jackson incensed the UFC by pulling out of the fight to instead play B. A. Baracus in the forthcoming A-Team remake.
Relationships between Jackson and the UFC have been strained ever since, but on May 29th – five months late – fans will finally get to see Jackson settle his grudge with Evans.
