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Quinton "Rampage" JacksonQuinton “Rampage” Jackson is a mixed martial artist who has competed in PRIDE, UFC, and smaller promotions like King of the Cage. At various points in his career, he has been ranked as the number one light heavyweight fighter in the world, and he has held the UFC light heavyweight title. Skilled in wrestling, boxing and Muay Thai kickboxing, the 6’1”, 205 pound Quinton Jackson is known for his sense of humor and outgoing personality.
At this point, Quinton Jackson discovered mixed martial arts and saw the success that other amateur wrestlers were having. He threw his hat into the ring (or, in this case, octagon) and compiled a record of 11-1 fighting for smaller promotions like Dangerzone, Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage. His only loss during this period would come by decision at the hands of Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman. Jackson was then offered a spot on the card at PRIDE 15. His opponent was to be Japanese icon Kazushi Sakuraba. While he was no doubt brought in to lose to the hometown hero, Jackson surprised the crowd by coming to the ring with his “rumble chain” and proceeding to take the fight right to Sakuraba. He landed repeated power bombs and demonstrated his raw power and mastery of wrestling. While he ultimately succumbed to a rear naked choke, Jackson had made a lasting impression on both the audience and PRIDE officials. After a win over Alexander Otsuka at a BattlArts event, Jackson was once again invited back to PRIDE. He competed in PRIDE 17 and scored a knockout win over Yuki Ishikawa. Quinton Jackson returned for PRIDE 18 and took on Daijiro Matsui. Although it was accidental, Quinton was disqualified after landing a low blow to his opponent. He then reeled off nine straight wins, taking on fighters such as Kevin Randleman, Igor Vovchanchyn and Murilo Bustamante. Two of these wins also came in the K-1 organization against kickboxer Cyril Abidi. Jackson surprised everyone by dominating the match and getting an early knockout win. Abidi asked for a rematch and Jackson obliged, this time winning by decision. His final win in the streak would come against UFC fighter Chuck Liddell at PRIDE Final Conflict 2003. The winner of the bout would earn the right to face middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva later in the night. In what many called the fight of the year, Jackson took Silva to the ground and bloodied him. But the referee then called for a stand up, and Silva mounted a comeback and knocked out Jackson with repeated knees to the head. Jackson came back from the loss and got wins over Ikuhisa Minowa and Ricardo Arona. In the Arona fight, Jackson earned his title as “King of the Slams” by picking up Arona, powerbombing him to the mat, and knocking him out cold. These wins earned him another shot at Silva, and the two met for a second time at PRIDE 28. While Jackson had success in the match, he was once again knocked out by knees from the defending champion. During this time, Quinton Jackson also made news by becoming a born again Christian. According to Jackson, “You know how girls cry when they’re happy? That’s how I was. I think I felt Jesus’ love.” Jackson followed up the Silva loss by defeating Murilo “Ninja” Rua. He then fell to Rua’s brother, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in a TKO loss. He sustained a broken rib early in the fight and was never able to get into a rhythm. His final fights in PRIDE were wins over Hirotaka Yokoi and Yoon Dong-Sik. With his contract up, and unhappy with the way he was treated by PRIDE’s front office, Jackson left the company. In 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed with the World Fighting Alliance. His first fight for the organization was a split decision victory over Matt “The Law” Lindland. In December of 2006, it was announced that Zuffa, the parent company of the UFC, had purchased World Fighting Alliance. Jackson’s contract was acquired in the purchase and the WFA ceased operations. In an interview, Jackson stated that he had not previously entered the UFC due to his friendship with Tito Ortiz. Since both men were in the same weight division, Jackson did not wish to interfere with the success of his friend. Jackson debuted at UFC 67 and avenged his early career loss to Marvin Eastman by getting a TKO victory in the second round. His next fight would be a shot at the UFC light heavyweight title and champion Chuck Liddell. Jackson was the only fighter at the time to have an unavenged win over Liddell. At UFC 71, the two men met in the main event. At the 90 second mark, Jackson caught Liddell with a right hook and sent him to the mat. Jackson followed up with punches, and the fight was stopped at 1:53. Jackson was now the UFC light heavyweight champion. Dan Henderson held the PRIDE middleweight title when the company had been purchased by the UFC, and the two men were scheduled to meet at UFC 75 to unify the belts. Fighting in London on September 8th, 2007, Jackson won by unanimous decision after five tough rounds. Jackson makes his home in Irvine, California with his three boys (D’Angelo, Raja, and Elijah) and daughter (Naname). All of his sons have the middle name “Rampage,” while his daughter’s middle name is “Page.” He was married to a Japanese woman named Yuki, but the couple separated in 2006. When he’s not fighting or training, Jackson likes to listen to music and play video games. Before his conversion to Christianity, Jackson was also known to have recorded several rap songs. See also: |
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