Notes from Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s visit to O and A today
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- March
- 26
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was a guest on the Opie and Anthony show today. Quinton has been on the show before and has good chemistry with the boys.
I did my best to transcribe some of the interview. It’s paraphrased, but not exaggerated. Quinton discussed the following topics with the boys: “The Ultimate Fighter: 8” , Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, Brock Lesnar, Kimbo Slice, getting into fighting shape, and the shady operations of now defunct Pride organization.
Quinton mentioned he was out of shape, probably because he has been filming “The Ultimate Fighter 8” show . He mentioned that if he had to get into fighting shape, he could do it in 8 weeks flat while training around five and a half hours a day.
On being a fan friendly fighter:
After the fight where I knocked Chuck out, I got booed. I was devastated. I am a fan friendly fighter. I noticed after that fight [the Liddell fight] I wasn’t that fan friendly to American fans anymore. I’ve always been an international fighter because I fought in Japan and have been more friend family over there
Jim Norton brings up the topic of fighter styles, and how Rampage lost to Wanderlei Silva two times in Pride.
Rampage made some interesting comments about Pride. He starts of by stating that “he doesn’t know” how much he can say, but he makes suggestions about referees favoring fighters to induce desirable outcomes.
I think that if I fought Wanderlei Silva in the UFC I would have beat him. Wanderlei was the chuck Liddell of Pride. If you were beating Wanderlei on the ground, the referee’s would stand you right up. It happened to me. It happened to other fighters that fought him.
Interesting note. I’d like to go back to some of Wanderlei’s fights to watch for this.
Rampage goes on about potential shady goings on during his stint in Pride:
It’s tougher to fight in Pride . The UFC is ran by regular people… Pride wasn’t. I don’t know how much I can say. The UFC is real. The referee can kind of alter the fight in Pride.
He also mentions how the Japanese government, or “other” powerful organizations, might have favored certain fighters. The Yakuza? Who knows.
More on Wanderlei Silva:
Me and Silva don’t even talk to each other. Silva is the type of guy that thinks everyone should be afraid of him. The way I react around him is different. I am not afraid of Wanderlei Silva. They call him “The Axe Murder” because he destroys people in his fights. They threw him chumps and he murdered them. Look at his record of guys he fought. This guy is “The Chump Murderer”. I speak my mind around him and he looks at me all crazy like I shouldn’t be saying that. I think some of the referees took payoffs in Pride. In Japan, I promise you something was up.
On Kimbo Slice:
I heard Kimbo Slice is calling me out. Hold on dawg, you aren’t even in my weight class! You don’t even fight in my organization! Why don’t you call out the heavyweight champion?
On pro wrestlers and Brock Lesnar:
I think that it’s good that pro wrestlers can come over and do some real stuff. Brock Lesnar came and didn’t bring and WWE with him. He didn’t act a fool or nothing like that. He did a good job, he almost finished Mir.
Interesting side notes: – Says to look out for the “purple nurple” in his next fight, a title defense against Forrest Griffin – Was not the slightest bit phased by the infamous video “Two girls one cup” – Rampage thinks the video is fake.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 4:39 pm by Larry Vollmer.
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I posted a message here yesterday but it looks like it didn’t show up for some reason.
Anyway, I went back and watched the second Rampage-Wanderlei fight last night. Rampage definitely was impressive in the first round, but here’s the sequence that ended the fight: Rampage throws a big right hook, Wanderlei dodges and counters with his own right with perfect aim, and on the replay you can see the skin on Rampage’s face rippling out from the force of the punch. Then it’s knee, knee, knee and knee from Wanderlei in a quick flurry, until he finally deposits a knocked-out Rampage onto the ropes, with blood spewing from Rampage’s face. Dude was still down and being attended to by the doctors 10 minutes later as the head Pride guy had his podium set up in the ring and started the whole championship ceremony thing.
So…yeah. Pretty much how I remembered it: One of the most devastating knockouts I’ve seen in MMA. I’d love to see a revitalized Vanderlei come back for a third battle with Quinton.
Oh, and it’s worth mentioning that there were two forced stand-ups by the referees, but neither of them were tied into that knockout sequence: If Rampage had his chance, it was the end of the first round when he was getting into some very good ground-and-pound and the bell saved Wanderlei. Much as I like Rampage, you can’t blame the refs for that.
And yeah…he should be a fan favorite! It’s always fun watching him fight, and I suspect the people booing him after the Liddell match were Johnny Drama and Turtle. Haha.
I love that knockout. My first impression was that Rampage might have just been bitter since he was put away twice by Silva.
I’d love to this match in the cage also.
When Chuck was champion they were rushing to get him to avenge all his old losses. Notice they aren’t so quick to do that with Rampage. I am sure Silva would take that fight in a second.
They’re not rushing Jackson-Silva 3 because silva is 0-3 in his last few fights and 1-3 in the ufc and generally does not deserve a title shot right now. Being that rampage is the champ, and the ufc (unlike Pride) doesnt have their champs fight unless its for the strap, its not likely to happen unless silva gets a few wins or jackson gets a few losses
That logic doesn’t always hold up in the UFC. BJ Penn lost two straight fights in the welterweight division before he dropped to 155, won a fight, and was handed a title shot.
Won’t this be The Ultimate Fighter 7—not 8?
Love Rampage regardless of his past losses to Silva.
I do question Silva’s ability to do as well here as he did in Pride, that is just IMHO.
wander loops his punches nothing straight…he has power and good stamina.
Chuck beat the living crap out of him. Wander luked a high school kid getting a serious whup ass in the parking lot.
For sure Quinton looks different now. He clocked Chuck so hard his Mohawk went flat. Remember Chuck has a peanut sized brain in a head like a coconut. That’s pretty impressive knockout.
Rampage will destroy Wander if they fight in UFC again.
:)
wow rampage calling wanderlei a chump he got his butt whooped twice by the “axe murderer” convincingly.what make a chump?knocking you out twice makes him a chump,hell of a chump.wanderlei will kick his butt again