Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Quinton Jackson has suffered 11 losses to 10 different fighters in his career. But still to this day, none of those outcomes “haunts” Jackson quite like his first-round knockout loss against Mauricio Rua in April 2005.
Jackson (36-11 MMA, 8-5 UFC) has made it clear several times over the years that he wants a second opportunity to compete against Rua (22-10 MMA, 6-8 UFC) after fighting injured in the first contest.
It’s been more than a decade since their first clash under the now-defunct PRIDE banner, and still Jackson is pursuing a rematch. In fact, “Rampage” said in a recent post on his official Instagram account that Rua “owes” him a second fight.
The first meeting between Jackson and “Shogun” was a one-sided affair for the Brazilian. Rua landed cleaner, more significant strikes in the early portion of the fight before he trapped Jackson in the corner of the ring and unloaded a hellacious flurry of soccer kicks to the face to end the bout.
Jackson has not been stopped again by strikes in his 19 fights since he shared the PRIDE ring with Rua. He’d like a shot at revenge under the UFC banner, but there are several obstacles standing in the way of his desired matchup.
The most prominent issue is Jackson’s current contractual situation. The 37-year-old beat Fabio Maldonado via decision at UFC 186 in his first UFC fight in more than two years. Prior to that he was part of Bellator, which he claims breached a contract by not disclosing pay-per-view numbers from his Bellator 120 bout against Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal.
Bellator, meanwhile, believes Jackson breached when he negotiated with the UFC and in December signed a contract with the industry-leading promotion.
Bellator won the first round of the legal fight when a judge ruled the Viacom-owned promotion had a reasonable chance of proving its claims in court and granted an injunction against Jackson. After winning a partial reversal, the ex-UFC champ then sought a dismissal in court.
Jackson remains under a general injunction after a judge ruled against a motion to dismiss. There is no timetable in place for a resolution and thus, Jackson’s next fight.
Even if the former UFC champ were cleared to compete, Rua currently has his hands full in the form of a UFC 190 co-main event bout with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira on Aug. 1 in Rio de Janeiro.
If Jackson is cleared to fight in the UFC in the coming months, though, it’s possible he could get his wish.
For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
