Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson says he may have fought for the last time
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had to fight in court before he got to fight in the UFC again last April against Fabio Maldonado. The former world champion won a decision and extended his win streak to four.
However, his former promoter, Viacom, is still fighting to keep him out of the UFC Octagon. They claim that he is in breach of contract by doing so.
Jackson and the UFC say that the fighter was justified in dissolving his contract with Viacom because they didn't live up to terms. Up to now, different courts have taken different sides on the issue, but Jackson said Monday that Viacom is looking to settle with him, and it may result in his not ever fighting again.
"Now I'm tied up and going to court and stuff like that, and I feel like they're just trying to tie me up so I don't fight," he told MMA Fighting.
"I really do think that I fought my last fight . . . Because, you guys weren't in the mediation with me when Viacom said what they want for me to settle. I felt like it was lopsided and my attorney felt like it was lopsided. I don't think I can tell you [what it was], but I could sue them for a lot of money. Because I lost a lot of money. And they want to settle, I was like 'Wow.' "
If he does leave competition behind him, Jackson sounded as though he'd be satisfied with what he accomplished. "At the end of the day, I've been thinking about this a long time. At the end of the day, I've won four fights in a row. I've done a lot in this sport, I've been fighting for 15 years. I love this sport. I'm thinking, Bellator cannot make me fight for them. So I'm thinking I may as just go ahead and retire," he explained.
Jackson went on to say that he, his management, and the UFC all believed he had good legal footing to leave Viacom and its fight promotion Bellator behind. Now that it hasn't turned out so simple, however, Jackson may have to be content to have fought once more in the big leagues as a gift for his many fans.
"This is the thing, people need to realize, I am not a manager, I am a fighter. And my manager is very good at what he does. Viacom breached their contract and they had 45 days to fix the breach. We gave them ninety something days, they didn't fix the breach so in my contract, I was now allowed to terminate my contract if Viacom didn't fix the breach. Because they promised movies, pro wrestling, reality shows," he said.
"Everybody saw what happened to [former Bellator CEO] Bjorn Rebney. He got canned. Scott Coker came in, the company was turned upside down and my contract got shi--ed on. That's all out there. That's common sense. So for some reason Viacom, they didn't want to fix things. So my manager terminated it, and he took everything to the UFC. And the UFC said, 'Yup, he's legal to sign,' and Viacom didn't agree with the termination. So, I don't know if my manager missed one step going to the courts or what not, but they tried to put a hold on my fight.
"I went to the courts and I got that overturned and I fought. And I did that just for the fans."
