Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Just saying the name brings a smile to my face. For several years, Rampage was one of the most exciting fighters in the world. Win or lose, he always put on a show. If he was on a card, I was going to watch it. Period.
Rampage truly is one of the old guard of mixed martial arts. In fact, he competed at a time when they didn't even call it mixed martial arts--not widely, at least. The more frequently used term back in 1999, when Rampage had his first fight, was no holds barred. Of course, the term was an exaggeration. Even back then there were some illegal moves. You couldn't bite, poke eyes, purposely break someone's fingers, fishhook their mouths, etc. But it wasn't quite as tame as it is today, that's for sure.
Looking back at his record, I find it a bit ironic that Rampage made his professional debut against a guy I've mentioned in my last two blog posts:
Mike Pyle.
The reason I've mentioned Pyle twice recently is because Pyle is currently a ranked welterweight in the UFC. He fought and won last weekend, and he is the only man to have defeated John Hathaway, one of the headliners of this weekend's UFC card.
And Rampage fought him, too. Of course, Rampage is much bigger than Pyle. Pyle fights at 170. Rampage has to cut weight to make 205 (and doesn't always make the cut...). And Pyle also was fighting for the first time that night, way back in 1999.
Rampage left with the victory.
Six months later, he fought again, and won via rear naked choke against a man named Marco Bermudaz. According to the Sherdog record base, that was the one and only time Bermudaz ever fought. It would also be one of the only times that Rampage would win via choke. He would pull that off only once more in his career against a man named Kenneth Williams a year later. But he wouldn't choke Barmudez before he slammed him!
In his third fight, Rampage faced an experienced, muscle bound muay thai fighter named Marvin Eastman. They fought in a small venue for a small organization called King of the Cage. The two went at it for three rounds and when the dust had settled, the judges gave the decision to Eastman. 7 years later, Rampage would get a rematch on the biggest stage in the world: The Ultimate Fighting Championship. Revenge was sweet. Rampage knocked out Eastman in the 2nd round. He famously called it, "black on black crime."
But after that first loss to Eastman, Rampage went on a tear, winning his next 8 fights and drawing the attention of the biggest, baddest mma promotion in the world (at the time): The Pride Fighting Championship. They called him up and asked him to fight Kazushi Sakuraba--on short notice, if I remember correctly. Sakuraba, for those who don't know, is a legend. He was the first man to defeat a Gracie in mixed martial arts. Not only did he defeat Royce Gracie, the man who won the first few UFC's, he also defeated Royler Gracie, Ryan Gracie, and Renzo Gracie. Though he was coming off a loss to Wanderlei Silva (a legend in his own right), most expected Sakuraba to have little trouble submitting Rampage, the the young brawler with a penchant for slamming people. He did submit Rampage. But not before Rampage threw him around like a stuffed animal.
The Japanese fans loved it. It was like a David and Goliath match, with Sakuraba enduring a horrible beating before finally catching the monstrously powerful Rampage with an armbar. The Pride brass loved it, too. They invited Rampage back.
And he went on an awe-inspiring run of destruction. Other than Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva, there wasn't a more feared fighter in Pride. Rampage absolutely smashed a bunch of good fighters. His fight against Igor Vovchanchyn was brutal. And Vovchanchyn is considered one of the greatest wrecking machines of his time, but Rampage tossed him around as easily as he had tossed the much smaller Sakuraba.
He followed that by pounding out former UFC hotshot, Kevin Randleman. Those were both huge wins over huge names. Before his streak was over, he would notch wins over two more UFC champions: Murilo Bustamante and the legendary Chuck Liddell.
Liddell had come over as part of a deal the UFC had made with Pride. The UFC agreed to bring some of their guys over to Pride and fight under their rules and their banner. In return, Pride was supposed to send some of their guys over to the UFC to fight under its rules and its banner. The UFC held up their end of the deal. Pride did not.
Liddell entered the tournament as one of the favorites. His first round match was against current heavyweight contender, Alistair Overeem. Overeem gave him trouble for awhile, but then Chuck landed a haymaker that put Overeem on wobbly legs. Once Chuck smelled blood, it was a wrap. He swarmed and finished the Dutchman with a furious combination of punches.
But then he ran into Rampage. This Rampage may very well have been the best version of Rampage we would ever see. He had already faced a slew of great fighters and had beaten almost all of them. Even in his losses, he had looked good. No one had really "beaten him up." So when he stepped into the ring against UFC poster boy, Chuck Liddell, he was ready to win.
And win he did.
He stopped Chuck in the second round. UFC president Dana White was ringside, furious at his fighter's performance. He famously stated that Chuck hadn't "followed our game plan," as if he had been the one forming a fight strategy and implying that Chuck was just too stupid to stick to it.
It was a special night for Rampage. He would have to fight once more that evening, and it would be for the most prestigious mma tournament title in the world: The Pride Middleweight Grand Prix. But the man he would face for the Grand Prix title was none other than Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva--the current Middleweight champion, and the only guy in the world who was more feared than Rampage.
Silva had just finished a fight of his own, winning a decision over the Japanese gold medal-winning-judoka, Hidehiko Yoshida. So neither man was fresh or without minor injuries. All the same, they came into the ring ready to go to war. As a fan, I can't remember a mixed martial arts fight that had me more excited (maybe Fedor vs Cro Cop, but it's close). The two scariest 205 pounders in the world faced each other that night. And they gave us a great fight.
Though Rampage fought well, Wanderlei was in his absolute prime. He was a beast. He trapped Rampage in a vicious muay thai plum (basically, he had his hands wrapped around Rampage's head, fingers laced together), and drove one piston-like knee after another into Rampage's face. I lost count at 17 unanswered knee-strikes. Eventually, Rampage sagged against the ropes, out on his feet, and the referee stopped the fight. Wanderlei was not only the middleweight champion then, he was the Grand Prix champion, too.
And Rampage had, for the first time, gotten his butt kicked.
He didn't let the loss deter him. He went back to work and soon faced Japanese pro-wrestler, Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa. Minowa was a crowd favorite, and a good fighter, but he was no match for Rampage. Rampage pounded him out in the second round.
Then came the fight. Of all the legendary fights Rampage had over his career, this one made the biggest impression. He faced Ricardo Arona. Arona was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu master and one of the best wrestlers in the world. He had already notched wins over stars like Jeremy Horn, Guy Mezger, "Ninja" Rua, and the legendary Dan Henderson. He had even faced the heavyweight greatest of all time--Fedor Emelianenko--and lost a controversial decision. To this day, many fans argue that he should have been given the decision over Fedor.
So was it any surprise that many thought he would use his wrestling to take Rampage down and then use his jiu-jitsu to twist him into a pretzel? The fight began, and Arona set the pace. He slammed Rampage time and again with leg kicks. He hit him so hard and so often, Rampage had difficulty staying on his feet.
Eventually, Rampage managed to get Arona on his back. After losing most of the round, he finally had a chance to do some damage! But Arona slapped his legs around Rampage's neck and locked-up a triangle choke. As I watched, I remember thinking, Oh, no...
You see, I was rooting for Rampage. I won't deny it. I wanted him to win and I wanted him to have a rematch with Wanderlei Silva. But when Arona tightened up the choke, I thought it was all over. But Rampage had a different idea.
He lifted Arona--who was HUGE, by the way--up over his head, and then slammed him down with all the force of a Titan. He followed up with a sledgehammer right hand, and put Arona to sleep.
Here is the clip of that historic slam. Watch it. Savor it. Be sure to tell your friends to click on this blog to see it.
Check back with me tomorrow for part 2 of The Rise and Fall of Rampage Jackson, where I will tell you what happened next...
And don't forget that he fights tonight for Bellator on Spike TV.
Until then.
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