
Former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson of Irvine has apparently retired from fighting due to conflicts with UFC president Dana White, Jackson announced in an open letter posted on his official web site on Tuesday afternoon.
Jackson is currently being featured as one of the coaches on "The Ultimate Fighter 10," which airs Wednesday nights at 10 on Spike TV. After the 11-week run on TUF 10, which was taped earlier this year, Jackson was supposed to face off against rival TUF 10 coach Rashad Evans at UFC 107 on Dec. 12 in Memphis where Jackson was born and raised.
But Jackson pulled out of UFC 107 when he got the role of B.A. Baracus in "The A-Team" remake, which is currently filming in Vancouver.
"He wants to do this thing, and he's like, 'Listen, man, this is really important to me. There's some sentimental value here for me, me and my dad grew up watching 'The A-Team' together and we loved it,'" White said at the UFC 102 post-fight news conference. "I said, 'Guess what Rashad Evans is thinking about right now? He's thinking about beating your (expletive) ass. He's not sitting around thinking about how him and his mom used to watch the (expletive) 'Love Boat' together and (how) he wants to get the role of 'Isaac the Bartender.'"
In his open letter, Jackson complained the UFC pushed him into fights against Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Keith Jardine. He also stated that White told him what to say to the media regarding a delayed bout against UFC 205-pound champion Lyoto Machida. He stated the UFC didn't fulfill a number of promises such as promoting him as the undisputed champion after he unified the UFC and Pride titles.
Jackson also stated his body has been breaking down and he won't be able to fight into his forties like Randy Couture, so he said "I'm done fighting" and "I'm hanging it up."
Jackson is a tremendously talented fighter with an engaging personality and a great sense of humor. That's the reasons why the UFC was able to develop him into one of the biggest stars in the sport and why he is now getting offered roles in movies.
I witnessed what a great ambassador of the sport Jackson can be during a trip to Camp Pendleton a couple of years ago. Jackson spent the whole day with the Marines, joking, taking pictures and signing autographs. I've seen him on countless occasions interacting with fans.
At the same time, Jackson hasn't been completely stable either. He trashed his former trainer Juanito Ibarra and made wild allegations before firing him after he lost the title to Forrest Griffin. Ibarra took him in when many people felt he was washed up and done as a top-level fighter, but Ibarra turned his career around and led him to the UFC title. This happened shortly before Jackson's energy-drink-induced rampage through the Orange County freeways and Newport Beach.
Here is the open letter posted under Jackson's name on his official web site in its entirety:
"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 Liddel 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 surgury. 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 where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcohalic & 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 (expletive) & 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 wont 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 ... fans that don't pay my bills or put my kids though 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 (butt)! & anybody that don't like what I just said can come try to kick my (butt)!
"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 & thats all that matters to me!"
stay off the streets too!
greg: That's rough, but he does have a track record.
Great article Carlos. The Isaac and the Love Boat quote was Hilarious. Im a big Rampage fan. But he has been acting weird. I think he is a little jealous of Kimbo. I saw him watching Kimbo train. I thought Kimbo's Stand up looked impressive. Ibarra is cool. I see he took over the old Westminster Boxing club. I went there once but the doors were locked. "Say it aint so Rampage."
Quintinator: Juanito is working Javier Mora's corner tomorrow on Klitschko-Arreola undercard. I hope Rampage comes back too. Let the emotions settle down, take a role as Isaac the Bartender and then come back to MMA.
LULz! Jealous of Kimbo? Kimbo losses his first fight in TUF.
JNation. Dana White would not Say Kimbo is in the UFC win or lose, after lossing to Big Country. I think he might make it all the way to the finals, Thus the win or lose. I never saw a TAP OUT Rampage Shirt. Kimbo is sporting his Tap Out Kimbo Slice shirt. Even the Rappers rap about Kimbo Slice, not Rampage. And when Kimbo came out Rampage was like "who is it Tank Abott." Would he be mad if some one introduced him as the Junk Yard Dog?
Man rampage forget all the haters man. You live ur life the way you want to man. Ur a bad fighter And you have nothing else to prove. And if Dana white was a man he would admit his mistakes. I am a big fan of rampage Jackson And I say if you don't like what rampage respects for his family then you have no respect 4 urself. Peace.