Rampage Jackson endures UFC return bout, but did he impress?
It had been 27 months since UFC fans last saw Quinton “Rampage” Jackson fighting for the UFC and on Saturday night at UFC 186, the 36-year-old former light heavyweight champion of the world was determined to make up for lost time.
Showing a varied attack, filled with flashes of the old “Rampage” mixed with an updated technical approach, Jackson picked apart opponent Fabio Maldonado en route to a unanimous decision victory in front of the Bell Centre crowd in Montreal.
“I’m baaaack!” Rampage said to UFC announcer Joe Rogan post-fight.
“Hey, you guys don’t know how stressed I was. I wanted to come here and fight in front of the Canadian fans so much.
“[But] I had to fight to get here. I had some haters that were trying to stop my return to the UFC. I thought I was gonna do better by leaving the UFC, but I was wrong. I’m the first to admit I was wrong. UFC is the best organization on the planet – I tested it!”
Jackson, of course, is referring to his well-publicized departure from the UFC in 2013 when he jumped ship to rival promotion, Viacom-owned Bellator FC. Jackson left the UFC on a three-fight losing streak but in Bellator he had the opposite fortunes, earning three victories in a row. However, soon after his decision win over Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal in May 2014, Jackson became disenfranchised with Bellator. A regime change was said to have sparked discontent between Rampage and his new employer and he let it be known that he wanted out.
By February 2014 it was announced that Jackson had left Bellator amidst a contract dispute and was coming back to the UFC. When Jackson was billed as the UFC 186 co-main event in March, Bellator filed an injunction to bar Jackson from competing – they said he was still a Bellator-signed fighter. With weeks to go, Jackson was pulled from the card until litigators worked their magic. Early Monday, Jackson made a late arrival for fight week with news breaking that a New Jersey court had lifted the injunction.
It was a wild ride to UFC 186 for Quinton Jackson, and what was even more surprising than the journey to the fight was the actual fight itself.
Sure, Jackson was mixing it up against a fighter who was known to engage on the feet – often at times to his detriment. But that doesn’t make Jackson’s performance any less impressive.
For years, fans (and Joe Rogan) have been clamoring for Jackson to use a different approach in his fights. All too often, Rampage fans were left with a one-two fighter, plodding forward looking for the big finish.
Not on Saturday night, though. No, on Saturday, Jackson displayed a skillset that even his most ardent supporters could not have expected.
There were the signature looping left hooks and ripping right uppercuts – and they came in droves. But it was Jackson’s combo punching, head movement, and use of his kicking game that really showed through. At one point, late in the third round (and after a second round where Rampage looked quite winded), Jackson fired off a short, slicing elbow that was preceded by a slick leg kick. It was a leg-kick/elbow combo that had never been seen before from the MMA veteran of 16 years.
“I’ve been wanting to kick for so long,” he said. “Joe Rogan was saying, ‘He don’t kick! He don’t kick’, but when people are desperately trying to take you down, the last thing you wanna do is kick.”
Jackson continued, and in the process butchering his opponent’s name. However, this is Rampage Jackson we are talking about, and surely, censors had to have been plenty pleased that a surname snafu was all that followed.
“But, Fabio ‘Maldaba-bo,’ – what’s his name,” asked Jackson to Rogan. “He’s a boxer! Man, I was like, ‘this guy’s got moxie! He’s gonna stand with me!’ And he did a good job – much respect. Honestly, I trained to knock him out. That guy has a chin of steel because I hit him with everything but the kitchen sink.”
With four consecutive wins under his belt and an entertaining UFC return to his credit, fight fans can only wonder what’s next for the brawler.
