Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who meets Matt Hamill in the main event of UFC 130 later this month for a possible title shot, plans to retire from mixed martial arts within two years.
Just days after commenting that he’d quit MMA once “movies start paying me more than fighting,” the nearly 33-year-old Jackson told ESPN that he plans to retire when he turns 35:
“I’ve always said I’ll retire when I’m 35. I don’t want to fight past 35. There are young guys coming in and doing good. I’ve been fighting for a long time and it’s no secret that I don’t fight the same way I used to.
“I’ve got a lot of injuries, one or two things that bother me. But when I’m fighting, the injuries don’t bother me, it’s the training that gets old. Going through each camp I go through all these pains and think, ‘Man I don’t want to do this anymore’. But after the fight I say, ‘OK, I’ll give it one more’. So who knows? But at 35 I’m done.”
Despite the retirement talk, Jackson said he’s still motivated and hopes to put on an exciting fight in hopes of earning a shot at 205-pound champ Jon Jones as early as this fall.
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Best of luck Rampage!
I like Hamill, and I definitely think he is capable of winning this fight, but in all honesty I would much prefer to see Jones/Jackson than Jones/Hamill 2.
@newfie
Not only are YOU looking for Jones-Jackson, but so is Dana White & Co.
And I suspect the majority of MMA fans.
Not to be a d!ck, but Hamill got bludgeoned by Jones in their first scrap, and his promotability is limited.
Jackson would have a puncher’s chance against Jones, and he brings a lot more to the table commercially…
I am not interested in seeing any rematches where the first bout was pretty one-sided but we may have to get over that considering Jone has walked through everyone he has faced and may be at the top of the LHW division for a long time to come.
I also have to disagree on the marketability of Hamill. He was a fan favorite in TUF 3, he is tireless worker who always wants to improve and come back stronger, and if he were ever able to become champion his story has the potential to bring positive attention to the sport from many in the public who had never given MMA a chance.. Plus a win over Rpage will earn him some serious cred from the doubters. I don’t think Hamill gets a title shot by beating Rampage anyway, but in my opinion Dana and the UFC see a bigger long-term upside in Hamill winning this fight than an aging apathetic pain-in-their butt Rampage winning.
May the best man win!
I could care less about promotability, I want to see the best fighter win, and that’s what happens.
Yes, Jones beat Hamill very convincingly, but if hamill gets past rampage, how could anyone say Rampage would have faired any better?
The best man will win, and that’s how it should/will work.
As far as Hamill’s promotability, imo he has a pretty big appeal, if not already, atleast potentially. Fan favourite for obvious reasons, not to mention his fighting style is pretty darn exciting. I’d like to see him utilize a little more out of his wrestling prowess, but if he wants to stand and bang, he can do that too.
Looking forward to this fight big time, will be a 3 round war. I do see both guys leaving the cage with significant damage, and I hope both guys are ok after the fight.
this is for a shot at the title? I hope not. I would like to see Rampage win and Shogun beat Forrest, and then have a #1 contender fight between Rampage and Shogun. I like Rampage, and I think he would lose to Shogun, but I think it would be a good fight. But I dont think Rampage has much to offer Jones.
Well maybe Jones (if rampage wins)will retire Rampage eariler than 35
i hope hes playing possum a little, because I don’t see Matt Hamill beating him…Rampage has become a bit one dimensional but Hamill is slow and will let Rampage beat on him…as far as Jon Jones, once this guy defends his belt, then i’ll give him the credit he deserves, but I believe alot of fans think hes gonna run through everyone like a hot knife thru butter and i disagree. shogun has had like a bazillion knee surgeries, hes a sick fighter but hes human…rampage is as durable a fighter as your gonna get, and Jones will not run thru him like he did with Shogun (if the fight comes to fruition ofcourse). Rampage has less tools and seems to be less dynamic than Shogun at this point, but hes still got a chin made of granite, and heavy HEAVY hands, and better endurance in my opinion. I haven’t seen Jone’s KO anyone with his standup yet, so to think hes gonna do that to Rampage is just hilarious to me
Is that you MK4?
As far as giving Jones props only after defending his title…Shogun has never successfully defended a title, so why is he getting props?
LOL! no its not mk4, and i’m giving Shogun props for a career full of epic beatdowns…fine, jones is the messiah lol, but i’m not giving him props because according to what you said, hes in the same boat as shogun for right now. hes talented for sure, but i think a lot of people are discrediting the likes of machida, rampage, rashad and other top tier fighters. i guess all i can say is we’ll see…
The difference there is Machida and Rampage defended their belts at least once. And each also got dominated by those who haven’t. 205 is a super stacked division. And I’ve seen nothing from Rampage that matches up well against a better athlete, better striker, better wrestler in Jones.
And after watching Machida get dominated by Rua on the feet and watching what happened to Rua against Jones…not thinking there’s all that much to worry about there except a lucky punch.
No disrespect intended towards Jackson, but this isn’t exactly breaking “news”.
The man has chattered on and off for more than 2 years about how he has “more fights behind him than in front of him”, and his style hasn’t exactly evolved at the same pace the sport has.
When Jackson entered MMA, he was one of the most explosive and athletic guys fighting at his weight.
How he’s been slowed by injuries and the probable onset of PRIDE syndrome, plus the 205 talent level has exploded.
Jackson in PRIDE was a sweet combination of athleticism and wrestling.
Now the UFC rocks better athletes, better wrestlers, and of course better all-around fighters.
Plus there is the rise of Jon Jones.
I wouldn’t blame Jackson and his handlers for stating to sketch out an exit strategy. After all, not everyone can do the Randy Couture routine, and Jackson’s personality should help him find a post-MMA career in Hollywood or maybe even television…
@Everyone
Rampage will beat Hamill the challenge Jones for the belt after jones is healed up, take his belt THEN retire. I’m calling it right now :)
Lmao, time will tell jazz, time will tell.
^newfie LOL
In all seriousness i think it’s very possible for Rampage to become champion before he retires.
Consider that he’s fresh off a win over “the dragon” and that IF he beats hamill, he’ll be in a great position to get a title shot. Why? Because the #1 contender,”sugar” FINALLY decided he wants to fight and took that match against “mr wonderful” and he could possibly lose, or get hurt during the fight. That leaves the next guy in line which would without question be Rampage to face a heald up Jones for the title in the fall.
Now to the matchup,
Rampage is the best boxer at 205 with the sickes power. He has a wreslting background with a wealth of experience facing wrestlers/grapplers. He could totally whoop on Jones, Enough Said. :)
^jazz
I agree there’s a good chance Jackson gets the shot should he beat Hamill, I also would never count him out of a fight. I just think if he does get a shot at Jones he may be in over his head. Maybe he does have the best boxing, but his overall standup is nothing compared with the things we’ve seen come from ‘Bones’.
Can Rampage hold the belt again before he retires, of course. Is it likely while JBJ is champ? Not IMO.
Not gettin off topic but I think I’m the only one that wants forrest to beat shogun but I like shogun too so its a double edged sword… But I think rampage will beat hammill as well to go on to win the belt and retire..
Rampage will win the title again and retire as a champion….
…And then Jackson will come out of retirement shortly before the premiere of A-Team 2 to defend his imaginational 205 title against Randy Couture on the Natural’s 50th birthday, with Chuck Lidddell getting winners.
Its nice to have a dream…
;-)
Rampage has provided so many great memorable fights throughout the years. He has really been one of the sport’s premiere iconic symbols as well. It will be a shame when he decides to hang em up, but right now he can still fight. He’s still got that wicked close range hand speed and power and he’s still got his chin. Not to mention he’s still more then relivent in his weight division.
Is rampage still training with wolfslair? It didn’t seem like that in his videos leading up to the machida fight. Either way if rampage stops hamill and Rashad wins a decision over Phil Davis then to be fair we should see rampage Evans 2 for #1 contender. But I think Dana has expressed his lack of interest in this so maybe not. I don’t see any of these guys lasting 5 rounds with jones.
I don’t see any of those guys lasting 1 round with Jones, let alone 5.
I agree. I think Machida may have the best shot due to his style and movement.
everyone can say what they want. The fact is that no one has given a real reason as to why rampage can’t become champion before he retires.
Someone please state a fact backing up why rampage cannot not only get a title shot but also why he can’t beat “mr right now” Jon jones.
Jackson hasn’t even lost 3 fights in the last 5-6 years and his first loss in the UFC to griffin is HE11a debatable. “but Forrest leg kicked the $hit out of rampage” yes he did but that won a round at best NOT the full fight.
Jacksons the only guy to defend his title since Lidell(machida lost both fights with shogun period) and that was to the current SF LHW champ and former olympic wrestler hendo.
His only losses came after 14 month layoffs AND he beat your boy machida. No one in the lhw division has his boxing skills or ko power.
Now I say again where are the facts for why quinton can’t still be champ?
Hey jazz,
Big reason I see rampage isn’t winning the belt (in the UFC at least, I’m sure he could take hendersons sf belt and probably be in for a decent payday) is the interview above, he openly admits he doesn’t want to do this anymore. Compare this to a GSP interview who says he wants to get better everyday. I think the ‘competitive fire’ that rampage showed in his pride days has gone out. He looked good against chuck and wanderlei but mediocre vs Forrest, rashad and even jardine. I do like rampage and he has a chance of getting the title in a match at 205 against any of the 205 elite EXCEPT the champ. Jones is the next GSP/silva. And yes he has to defend the title but he has dominated everybody including making shogun, the cream of the crop at 205, tap from strikes.
Quote: “but Forrest leg kicked the $hit out of rampage” yes he did but that won a round at best NOT the full fight.
Rebuttal: He also kept Rampage from landing a single punch, kick, or accidental bead of sweat flying through the air…for a full 5 minute round (2) while landing 44 ground strikes of his own, attempting 3 submissions; to most, that becomes a 10-8. After those 2, the BEST Rampage could do was a draw (it was 29-27 at that point).
4th round to Jackson (38-37 Griffin), and with nearly even punches thrown and landed and no takedowns in the 5th, Griffin kicked the shit out of Jackon’s lower body to seal it.
There’s no controversy to anyone who isn’t already on Jackson’s nuts.
DBIZ,
I know you’re probably some 18 year old kid angry at the world for some reason and that’s fine. You actually make me laugh sometimes.
But you have yet to state a reason as to why rampage can’t become the champion before he retires.
You saw the forrest fight the way you saw it. Just like you probably think machida beat shogun and rampage…It’s kool man :)
Really? You’re going to start the flame baiting again? Seriously?
BSBIZ,
Seriously, you’re saying that I’M starting?
and am I to assume that you’ll be part of every conversation I have with dbiz?
When you’re baiting by saying “I know you’re probably some 18 year old kid angry at the world for some reason and that’s fine” then yes, I will step in as a moderator. The rest of it I don’t care about.
I only responded in that way because he said I was on rampage’s nuts. I was playing off what he said.
It’s kool man I won’t say anything else. There’s no need to disrespect anyone or start $hit so I’ll back off.
@jazzkok
I addressed one sentence of your statement because it is the part that is blatantly false. Anything I didn’t address there is nothing concrete to dispute. could Rampage become champ? Sure. Could Donald Trump get a decent haircut? Sure.
I notice you can’t refute my analysis of the Griffin-Rampage fight, so I’ll take that as agreement and assume that maybe you do actually know a lil something about this sport.
I think Rampage will win this fight due to the fact that Hamill will probably try to stand with him. You never know though. Rampage could get caught on the wrong side of a headkick like Munoz did. I also think Machida would stand the best chance against Jones due to his style.
I agree with Jazz. Jones destroyed Shogun and then a bunch of nobodys (Ryan Bader is a nobody). His resume isn’t the best. He has not yet fought the best of the best like Rampage has. People are hyping Jones way too much off of one fight.
Rampage has fought the best in their primes. Rampage has better hands than Jones has showed so far. Jones better try and do some leg kicks instead of that spinning back elbow. If rampage gets a hold of him he’s getting put on his back.
Some clarity here on this Rampage Jackson/possible future 205 championship thing:
- Yes, Jackson can probably leverage his promotability into a title shot if he beats Matt Hamill, especially if he’s trying to co-promote some major motion picture he’s in, like A-Team 2.
Or if he throws Hamill a beating that gets replayed all week long on ESPN ;-)
At the very least a Jackson win at 130 will score him a contenders fight with one of the other former 205 titleholders.
Also, lets assume that Jackson really does plan to retire in 24 months or less, and lets assume that Dana White & Co actually believe him.
In that case Zuffa is motivated to squeeze every last bit of promotability they can out of Jackson, and that means a title shot coming off of his next win.
Or two.
- No, assuming he gets that far and finds himself looking across the cage at Jon Jones, Jackson CANNOT beat Jones, all things being equal, because he’s inferior to Jones in almost every relevent MMA catagory.
Jones is younger, faster, more athletic, has the reach advantage, has displayed more creative stand-up and a more diverse groundgame, fights with sharper tecnhique, and trains with a better fightcamp.
Jackson is also EXTREMELY predictable in his MMA approach, and Jones is proving to be very unpredictable with his striking and throws.
Is that glass clear or do I have to break it down even further?
And finally, I really thought we were past these sh!t posts with people commenting about how Jones is overrated and his opponents suck and wahwahwah.
Enough.
Please.
If you hate Jones, at least have the courtesy to label yourself a Jones hater, and not pretend to be posting factually.
Same deal if you’re a Jackson fan, or a Rua fan, or a Bader fan.
Its all good if you want to support your fave fighter, we all do it, but doing it nonsensically serves no real purpose, does it?
If I want to read nonsense posts, I’d go to Sherpup ;-)
And what, I’m supposed to believe that Rua and Bader lost to Jones because they suck?
What about all those people picking Jones to lose those fights for whatever reason/s?
Were they wrong then or are they wrong now?
Rua and Bader are 2 of the better 204 MMA fighters in the sport, they just aren’t good enough to hang with Jon Jones. Posting contrary POVs disrespects both men as well as Jones.
Lets just all keep it real, ok?
Much obliged…
at least someone knows that machida is probably the best challenger for jones.
i agree machida will be the hardest and most dangerous prospect for jones to get a lock on, ground and elbow.
machida has a good chance at winning a Dec. or even getting a TKO – he’s often surprising that way, he hits hard enough to stun and moves in to capitalize when the chance arrives.
Jones is as good as all the hype but cmon y’all knew the day would come when he seems beatable would come.
Although machida’s throws/ sumo are awesome they wouldn’t likely neutralize the greco roman/talent/athleticism of jones but might be enough to keep jones at bay.
it’d be first but it’s not unimaginable by any stretch.