Should Rampage be Talking Smack?
By Brandt DeLorenzo on Aug 26, 2008
After a controversial decision loss and a police chase that left the MMA community scratching their heads, should Quinton Jackson take a step back away from the spotlight for a little while? I like the guy as a fighter; he shows a ton of heart and he doesn’t give up, but his antics outside of the cage are getting stranger each week. For example, this is what Jackson said to Fighter’s Only Magazine about the man who beat him via decision at UFC 86.
“But now, I don’t respect him as a man. Because if it was me, I would have said, ‘I have to give him a rematch right away, to remove all doubt’.
“I’m a man and when you fight it’s all about honour. I’m not angry at him or anything, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve lost respect for him as a man.”
Does Jackson deserve a rematch right now? Better yet, will he even get past the Orange County court case against him without any consequences? He certainly can’t fight anyone from prison and any time away from training will only make things harder when he does get back into the cage. Would it be best to even allow him to fight Griffin again immediately? I’m siding with Joe Silva and Dana White by allowing him to fight Mauricio Rua, Griffin’s opponent prior his bout with Jackson on July 5th, before getting a chance to avenge his loss.
I know that in the past I have already said that Jackson needs to chill out and watch what he says. Many of his fans have attacked my articles and claimed that I have gone over the top because Jackson is all about having a good time and being funny. This is an opinion site and I respect every single opinion that isn’t attacking me personally, but is Jackson serious? Is this another plea for attention or can someone lose respect for another fighter because that fighter didn’t immediately offer a rematch?
I think Jackson should take a step back and remind himself that he’s still in deep water. He’s been knocked down from his loss to Griffin and he’s reeling from the police chase that resulted in both misdemeanor and felony charges along with a pregnant women who had accused him of harming her unborn child. Let’s hope he gets the help he needs and returns to the cage 100% for his fight with Rua at UFC 91. I certainly hope we all see a rehabilitated Rampage, not a shaken and disturbed Jackson we saw a few weeks ago. What would he do if he lost a rematch against Griffin? Mentally, he needs a break.
Maybe the spotlight is a just bad place for Jackson right now.
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Rampage, unfortunately, doesn’t understand how to deal with political savvy in MMA. He doesn’t understand the importance of letting his game do some of the talking before he runs his mouth. That was his problem in Pride with guys like Shogun and Wanderlei (the guys who kicked his ass in the ring).
I agree, though, Quinton’s management should not be letting him talk like this, at least not until he’s got his own life sorted out enough that he can focus on his return to the octagon.
JOSH. well said. i saw the after fighter interviews and rampage wasnt being sarcastic, he sounded like a fighter who just lost a close fightand forrest said that it was close and would do it again. and yeah when i 1rst read this, it was like does he really think forrest cares what he thinks of him as a man after the crap he just pulled? i doubt it. rampage needs to take a long look in the mirror and like you said keep his mouth shut. i am hoping he fights wandi next and he’ll shut his mouth for him, but its starting to look more like rampage will fight rua next
I’d love to see Rampage vs. Shogun II, because I think that gives alot of exposure to Shogun, and I think that Shogun is going to make it a really exciting fight.
Wanderlei, in my mind, should get a fight with Machida (though I think that Thiago will get it first), but I do think that he should be over Rampage at this point, especially because he wrecked him so bad twice (where as Machida has only broken his face once).
Still, I think we’re on the same page with this one. Whoever Rampage fights next, he should be thinking about fighting.
Both men need to be held accountable to what they said after the fight. On the one hand Quinton Jackson is up there saying he respects forrest forever after the fight. Then you have Griffin saying we need to do this again. Dana White was saying there needs to be a rematch. Now Griffin supposed to fight the winner of liddell and evans. first of all it is much better for him to fight Jackson. If he beats liddell all the forrest griffin haters will say liddell is past his prime, and evans is not going to draw the attention the rematch with jackson will. I am a fan of both fighters.
Rematch now, there’s no way Jackson can be fighting now, not in his condition.
Maybe a change of scenery with Wolfslair will help Rampage. I agree that he needs to cut down on the clown act and parse his words a little better. That being said: this latest comment about Forrest is merely intended to hype a rematch. I don’t fault Rampage for that at all.
As far as the criminal charges go—Rampage is not going to get a severe punishment. The biggest hurdle was Holli Griggs and her miscarried fetus. Now that Rampage isn’t going to be charged for that, the other charges will probably net him probation. It’s not going to be a big deal, relatively speaking.
It’s just crazy how easily people get away with this stuff. Although I don’t think jail time is really necessary for reckless driving, perhaps 80 hours of community service would be appropriate.