Quinton Jackson
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Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American professional mixed martial arts fighter who rose to prominence with his fights in Japan's PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is the former UFC light heavyweight champion losing to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 by unanimous decision. He has a professional record of 28 wins with seven losses. Jackson is ranked by Sherdog as the number two light heavyweight in the world. Outside the ring, he is known for his humor and colorful personality.
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Mixed martial arts career
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, USA, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had his first taste of combat sport as a wrestler for Raleigh-Egypt High School where his successful career was punctuated by All-State honors. Originally, Jackson had intended on pursuing a career in professional wrestling upon finishing high school, but ultimately ended up extending his amateur career in junior college before discovering mixed martial arts. Impressed by the success of other wrestlers in MMA, Jackson decided to try his own hand at the sport. Jackson built up an impressive record of 11 wins and 1 loss fighting for a variety of smaller scale American promotions, including King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge and Dangerzone.
PRIDE Fighting Championships
For all his early successes it was not on his native soil but rather in Japan's PRIDE organization that Jackson rose to fame in the world of mixed martial arts. Entering PRIDE in 2001 as a previously unknown fighter, Jackson was matched at PRIDE 15 against fellow wrestler and Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba, who was at that time PRIDE's most prominent domestic fighter. Jackson lost due to a rear naked choke from Sakuraba, but his performance opened the eyes of PRIDE's fan base and its executive office.
After besting pro-wrestler Alexander Otsuka in a fight for the Battlarts promotion, Jackson was invited back for PRIDE 17 where he scored a knockout victory over Otsuka’s training partner, Yuki Ishikawa. In his next fight, Jackson was disqualified for an accidental low blow against Daijiro Matsui.
Jackson then went on to defeat Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman and Mikhail Illoukhine in successive PRIDE bouts. He also made forays into kickboxing with a pair of victories over kickboxer Cyril Abidi, under K-1 rules. In 2002, when PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 were exchanging talent, Jackson was sent to fight kickboxer Cyril Abidi under K-1 rules. The first kickboxing bout between Abidi and Jackson was on July 14, 2002. Many expected Jackson's wild style of striking would not translate into the K-1 ring, thinking he would be outclassed by such a schooled and disciplined striker as Abidi. Instead, Jackson overwhelmed Abidi from the opening bell, and knocked him down less than a minute into the bout. Jackson then scored a hard underhand right to the chin of Abidi, knocking him out only 1:55 into the very first round.
Later in the year, Abidi wanted to prove his loss to the undisciplined Jackson was nothing more than a fluke, and faced him on the New Year's Eve Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye card, again in a K-1 rules bout. Jackson laid a lot of criticism to rest by once again defeating Abidi, this time not by early knockout, but via a clear decision. It would be Jackson's last foray with kickboxing, as he returned to full-time MMA competition after his second win over Abidi.
Around this time, Jackson began stating his intentions to capture the PRIDE middleweight (205 lb/93 kb) title from Wanderlei Silva. In the opening round of PRIDE's 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, Jackson won a split decision over Murilo Bustamante. Three months later, Jackson defeated UFC fighter Chuck Liddell in the tournament's semi-finals at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 by corner stoppage, putting him in place to battle Silva in the tournament finals that night. Jackson fought for the championship against Silva in what was called fight of the year by various MMA media. After taking Wanderlei Silva down and bloodying him, a stand-up was called by the referee and Jackson was stopped with a series of knees to the head.
Jackson continued his PRIDE career with victories over Ikuhisa Minowa and Ricardo Arona, finishing the latter bout with a powerbomb slam by which Jackson rendered Arona unconscious after Arona had locked Jackson in a very tight triangle choke.
Prior to his rematch with Silva, the notoriously brash Jackson made headlines with the public announcement of his conversion to born again Christianity. In the fight itself, Jackson floored Silva in the opening round and later scored a takedown which led to a series of knees and elbows at the end of the round. Jackson scored another takedown in the second round, but Silva escaped to his feet and proceeded to knock out Jackson with knee strikes to the head for the second time.
Jackson's next two bouts were against Silva's Chute Boxe training camp partners. He won a split decision over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, but fell to Rua's younger brother, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, via TKO in the elimination series of PRIDE's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix, where Rua broke several of Jackson's ribs early in the fight and proceeded to win by soccer kicks to Jackson's head.
Jackson was berated by his trainers following the loss to "Shogun". Soon after, Jackson was contacted by veteran boxing and MMA trainer Juanito Ibarra, who saw potential in Jackson's natural abilities but viewed his profane reputation as a downfall. After a short conversation, Jackson entrusted Ibarra, a fellow born again Christian, with the managerial and training direction of his career.
Jackson then earned wins over Hirotaka Yokoi and Yoon Dong-Sik before leaving the PRIDE organization.
After PRIDE
On May 16, 2006, the World Fighting Alliance announced it had signed Jackson to a multi-fight deal. He defeated Matt Lindland in by split decision at WFA: King of the Streets on July 22, 2006. "He is a good fighter," Jackson said. "I trained hard. He is an Olympic silver medalist. So much respect to him. I knew I had to bring it." The match turned out to be a tough one for the Memphis native who got caught in guillotine choke holds twice. "Rampage" managed to get out both times, and slammed Lindland a few times before cutting the bridge of his nose with ground and pound on his way to the win.
UFC career
On December 11, 2006, Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, announced it had acquired select assets from the World Fighting Alliance, which ceased operations as part of their sales agreement. Jackson's WFA contract was one of the assets acquired.
In an interview on the UFC program Inside the UFC, Jackson said it was finally time for him to enter the organization, and that he had not before because of his friendship with UFC fighter Tito Ortiz. Jackson said that because Ortiz was one of the biggest stars in the UFC, and that both were fighters in the same weight class, he did not want to interfere.
Jackson made his UFC debut at UFC 67, where he knocked out Marvin Eastman, avenging an early career loss.
At UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 Jackson faced UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell in a title rematch of their 2003 PRIDE bout. Approximately 90 seconds into the first round, Jackson caught Liddell with a right hook to the jaw that sent him down to the mat, whereupon Jackson pummeled him for a referee stoppage at 1:53 seconds to capture the UFC light heavyweight championship.
Jackson then narrowly defeated PRIDE Middleweight Champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75, on September 8, 2007 in London, England via unanimous decision to unify the two organizations' titles.
The Ultimate Fighter 7
On December 9, 2007 it was announced by Dana White at Spike TV's Video Game Awards show that Jackson will be one of the two coaches of The Ultimate Fighter 7. At the conclusion of the season, Jackson fought the other coach and number one contender Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. During the show, Jackson showed his temper after his fighters repeatedly lost to Team Forrest. Going into the semifinals only 2 of Jacksons original fighters made the cut while Forrest had 6 of his fighters advance. In the finale Team Griffin's pick, Amir Sadollah beat Team Rampage's top fighter C.B. Dollaway via armbar in the first round.
On July 5, 2008 he fought Griffin for the light heavyweight championship at UFC 86. In the first round of the fight Rampage wobbled Griffin with two solid power punches, and soon after knocking Griffin down. Rampage's power proved to be problematic for the young Griffin as Rampage consistently tagged him throughout the fight. In contrast, Griffin pushed the pace of the fight from start to finish and stayed much more aggresive than Jackson for most of the second round with multiple leg kicks and by mounting Quinton and landing elbows to his head. In later rounds Jackson managed to take Griffin down twice and work his own ground game, even executing his signature power bomb. Many took note as Jackson was showing obvious discomfort from the effects of the leg kicks. The next three rounds were described by Sherdog as "somewhat uneventful" with Rampage searching for the knockout punch while Griffin threw whatever he could with long jabs, leg and body kicks. Griffin was awarded a unanimous decision with the scores 46-48, 46-48 and 46-49 in what many considered an upset. After the fight both Griffin and his coach Randy Couture expressed that they thought the fight was close, and Rampage's coach, Juanito Ibarra, had planned to protest the unanimous decision with the Nevada State Athletic Commission. However, after speaking with the commission about his complaint, he decided not to file because he was informed that even if the judges scores were changed to his satisfaction, the fight would still result in a victory for Griffin by a majority decision.
Soon after the fight, Jackson fired his long time trainer/manager Ibarra. There were talks of an immediate rematch after the fight.
Personal life
A well known fact is Jackson's change to Christianity. This occurred sometime after his successful fight with Ricardo Arona (September, 2004). An article written by Sherdog's Josh Gross describes Jackson's experience: "In the middle of a late-summer night Jackson and his kindergarten-age son D’Angelo woke up to separate, though eerily similar dreams. Both were shaken, so much so that at 4 a.m. they had to get out of their apartment. To Jackson, it was a sign. 'You know how girls cry when they’re happy?' he said. 'That’s how I was. I think I felt Jesus' love. I don’t know. I automatically knew everything after I was born again.'"
Jackson resides in Irvine, CA with four children: D'Angelo, Raja, Elijah and Naname Nakia Jackson. All three boys have the middle name "Rampage" while Naname has just "'Page." Jackson's wife, Yuki, separated from him in 2006 after a blood test proved that he had fathered a child, Raja, with another woman in 2000.
Jackson starred in the film Confessions of a Pit Fighter. Jackson has appeared on Fox Sports Network's, "Sports Science," Episode 2, in which the force of Jackson's punch and a sumo wrestler's force are compared. Jackson also appeared on an episode of Jackass giving Ryan Dunn tips on fighting.
Arrest
On July 15, 2008, Jackson was arrested and booked on suspicion of felony reckless driving, and felony hit and run after striking several vehicles. He led pursuing officers on a chase while driving on the wrong side of the street and on city sidewalks in his lifted Ford F-350 with his picture painted on the side. During the chase one of the tires blew out on his truck and he continued to flee while driving on his rims and showering the street with sparks. The day before his arrest, Jackson gave an interview and said he had become depressed after his recent loss by decision to Forrest Griffin.
On July 16, 2008, someone in Jackson's household flagged down police and reported that Jackson was acting unusually. Jackson was escorted to a mental health institution for observations. On July 18, 2008, UFC President Dana White gave an interview to Yahoo! Sports in which he said that Jackson had initially been detained for a 72 hour stay, but that had been extended. White was quoted as saying, "I think it's going to be a while before we get him back." White also claimed that before the detainment, Jackson did not sleep for four days and was not eating, but only drinking water and energy drinks. According to White, no drugs were found in Jackson's system.
A woman involved in one of the hits and run crashes with Quinton Jackson has miscarried her baby. Her name is Holly Griggs and she's 38 years old. As of yet she hasn't officially filed any action against Jackson.
Quinton Jackson has been charged with 1 felony count of evading police while driving recklessly, 1 felony count of evading police and driving against traffic, 3 misdemeanor counts of hit and run with property damage, and 1 misdemeanor count of reckless driving when he nearly hit several pedestrians. If convicted, Jackson could face up to 3 years in prison.
On August 28, 2008 Jackson pleaded not guilty to the above 2 felonies and 3 misdemeanors. His next court appearance is currently scheduled for November 3, 2008.
Championships
- UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (Former)
- Unified UFC Light Heavyweight & PRIDE Middleweight Championships
MMA record
| 28 Wins - 7 Losses | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Forrest Griffin | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 86 - Jackson vs. Griffin | 7/5/2008 | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Dan Henderson | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 75 - Champion vs. Champion | 9/8/2007 | 5 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Chuck Liddell | TKO (Punches) | UFC 71 - Liddell vs. Jackson | 5/26/2007 | 1 | 1:53 | |
| Win | Marvin Eastman | KO (Punches) | UFC 67 - All or Nothing | 2/3/2007 | 2 | 3:49 | |
| Win | Matt Lindland | Decision (Split) | WFA: King of the Streets | 7/22/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Dong Sik Yoon | Decision (Unanimous) | PRIDE 31 - Dreamers | 2/26/2006 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Hirotaka Yokoi | TKO (Punches and Stomps) | PRIDE 30 - Fully Loaded | 10/23/2005 | 1 | 4:05 | |
| Loss | Mauricio Rua | KO (Strikes) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 | 4/23/2005 | 1 | 4:47 | |
| Win | Murilo Rua | Decision (Split) | PRIDE 29 - Fists Of Fire | 2/20/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Wanderlei Silva | KO (Knees from clinch) | PRIDE 28 - High Octane | 10/31/2004 | 2 | 3:26 | |
| Win | Ricardo Arona | KO (Slam) | PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004 | 6/20/2004 | 1 | 7:32 | |
| Win | Ikuhisa Minowa | TKO (Punches) | PRIDE Shockwave 2003 | 12/31/2003 | 2 | 1:05 | |
| Loss | Wanderlei Silva | TKO (Strikes) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 | 11/9/2003 | 1 | 6:28 | |
| Win | Chuck Liddell | TKO (Strikes) | PRIDE Final Conflict 2003 | 11/9/2003 | 2 | 3:10 | |
| Win | Murilo Bustamante | Decision (Split) | PRIDE Total Elimination 2003 | 8/10/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Mikhail Illoukhine | Submission (Strikes) | PRIDE 26 - Bad to the Bone | 6/8/2003 | 1 | 6:26 | |
| Win | Kevin Randleman | TKO (Punches) | PRIDE 25 - Body Blow | 3/16/2003 | 1 | 6:58 | |
| Win | Igor Vovchanchyn | Submission (Injury) | PRIDE 22 - Beasts From The East 2 | 9/29/2002 | 1 | 7:17 | |
| Win | Sean Gray | TKO | King of the Cage 13: Revolution | 5/17/2002 | 3 | 0:37 | |
| Win | Masaaki Satake | TKO (Injury from Slam) | PRIDE 20 - Armed and Ready | 4/28/2002 | 1 | 7:07 | |
| Loss | Daijiro Matsui | DQ (Knee to groin) | PRIDE 18 - Cold Fury 2 | 12/23/2001 | 1 | 0:14 | |
| Win | Yuki Ishikawa | KO | PRIDE 17 - Championship Chaos | 11/3/2001 | 1 | 1:52 | |
| Win | Alexander Otsuka | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | BattlArts - BattlArts vs. the World | 10/14/2001 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Kazushi Sakuraba | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | PRIDE 15 - Raging Rumble | 7/29/2001 | 1 | 5:41 | |
| Win | Kenneth Williams | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Gladiator Challenge 4 | 6/17/2001 | 1 | 4:40 | |
| Win | Bryson Howvreck | Submission (Strikes) | King of the Cage 8 - Bombs Away | 4/29/2001 | 1 | 1:48 | |
| Win | Rocko Henderson | Submission (Kimura) | Gladiator Challenge 3 | 4/7/2001 | 2 | 1:15 | |
| Win | Dave Taylor | TKO (Towel Thrown Between Rounds) | Gladiator Challenge 2 | 2/18/2001 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Charlie West | Decision | Gladiator Challenge 1 | 12/9/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Rob Smith | Decision | King of the Cage 6 - Road Warriors | 11/29/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Warren Owsley | Submission (Armbar) | Dangerzone - Night of the Beast | 10/28/2000 | 1 | 6:04 | |
| Win | Ron Rumpf | TKO (Punches from Mount) | CFA 2 - Continental Freefighting Alliance 2 | 7/19/2000 | 1 | 1:18 | |
| Loss | Marvin Eastman | Decision | King of the Cage 4 - Gladiators | 6/24/2000 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Marco Bermudaz | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | HBUP - Huntington Beach Underground Pancrase | 5/13/2000 | 2 | ||
| Win | Mike Pyle | Decision | ISCF - Memphis | 11/13/1999 | N/A | ||
