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Who's to blame for Rampage retiring?
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After last month's announcement that former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson would be forgoing his grudge match against Rashad Evans at UFC 107 in favor of starring in the new upcoming A-Team movie, I knew it was only a matter of time before UFC President Dana White would ridicule Jackson.
True to form, White blasted Jackson's decision to star in the movie rather than fulfill his commitment and fight in front of his hometown fans in Memphis. The two men seemed to come to somewhat of a truce but apparently Jackson was not satisfied with what he had heard from White.
In a blog posted on his personal website, Jackson shockingly announced his departure from mixed martial arts and stated his intentions were now to focus on making movies. Here is what Jackson had to say:
"The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddell even when I clearly stated I wasn't ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn't know me but I took the fight and didn't complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them & it hurt me deeply.
Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.
Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close & controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Vanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn't want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn't have had a long break between camp. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn't even worth it to me financially).
Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Vanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn't make it to but I couldn't fight cause I needed jaw surgery. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That's why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press & so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained & I did it all.
Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year & as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away & asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the tv show as a kid when my parents were still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcoholic & addicted to drugs & we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad & I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad & I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the TV with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that & I still did nothing. Dana & I finally talked & we made up & then after that he went back on the internet & said some bullsh*t & he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released & talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I'm not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I won't be able to fight until my forties & neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy.. so I'm done fighting. I've been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids through college. So I'm hanging it up. I'm gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they'll follow me to my new career & I will gain more loyal fans along the way. & all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy a**! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my a**!
I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn't respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for & that's all that matters to me"
As you can see Jackson harbors some resentment for being thrown into the Liddell fight when he felt he wasn't ready for the opportunity. Even though he was successful it took him some time to get the UFC fans on his side. If what Rampage is saying is true, he has every right to be upset at the games White has been playing with him. When it comes to White, he likes to play by one simple rule, my way or the highway.
This season of The Ultimate Fighter is easily the most anticipated one in a long time. Based around the feud between Jacskon and Evans along with the signing of Kimbo Slice to participate on the show, the UFC had to be salivating when it thought of the ratings the show would bring in. They were right as the first episode brought in more viewers than any other episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
With the fight between the coaches now called off and Rampage flying the coop, one has to wonder if the show will be able to sustain the success from its first episode. Not only that, the UFC is losing one of its more marketable fighters in Jackson. Not only is he a fantastic fighter with an exciting style, he is a great promoter of the sport, his wit and charm has won over many casual fans.
I truly hope they can come to some sort of resolution. There are so many terrific match-ups for Rampage in the UFC. A rematch with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, the bout with Evans, Machida, Forrest Griffin and maybe even Anderson Silva. White can go on and on about how much Rampage is losing here but the UFC will also suffer a major hit as well. It never helps a company to have a bitter employee air their dirty laundry.
Many fans have said that Rampage is a fighter first and he should live up to his obligation and fight Evans. I say walk a mile in a man's shoes before you can comment on his actions. Jackson is doing what he feels is right for him and his family. We may not agree with his decision but we all need to respect it, Rampage has earned that.
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