Feb 14, 2012 - In 2001, a 23-year-old junior college wrestler from Memphis, Tenn. by the name of Quinton Jackson traveled overseas to serve as an easy foil for Japanese folk hero Kazushi Sakuraba. Few could have predicted the chain of events that would follow.
Six years and 17 fights later, Quinton had become "Rampage," a Japanese folk hero in his own right, adored by a nation for his powerhouse style and violent victories over the best Pride Fighting Championships had to offer.
Now, over a decade since he first voyaged to the Land of the Rising Sun, Jackson returns with a new task in mind. Sure he would like to emerge triumphant over Ryan Bader at UFC 144's co-main event, but next weekend is also about something larger.
Jackson hopes to reignite the once-vibrant flame of Japanese mixed martial arts that was doused by the death of Pride.
"I think if anybody has a chance, it's the UFC," Rampage conceded during Tuesday's UFC 144 conference call. "The UFC is the biggest show on the planet right now. I remember back in the days when Pride was the biggest show, but the UFC has surpassed them. I think if anybody has a chance, it's the UFC, and if I have anything to do with it, I'm going to go there and fight my heart out. Put on a big show and try to put on the most exciting fight the Japanese fans have ever seen, to maybe want them to have the UFC come back."
That desire for excitement is the exact trait which endeared Rampage to Japanese audiences back in the old days. Between the iron chains, the howling, and ruthless performances personified by his slam of Ricardo Arona, Jackson cultivated an image by appealing to the eastern culture of showmanship.
"I was young, I didn't care. I just wanted to fight and put on the types of fights for the crowd," Jackson explained. "They love that type of stuff because pro wrestling is real popular there, and I kind of brought that type of factor to MMA."
It was inevitable the legend of Rampage would sprout quickly in a land where entertainment is at a premium. In retrospect, Pride's slew of squash matches and circus fights may not have been very sporting, but they produced an undeniable backlog of moments. And if you ask Rampage, those moments have mostly gone missing since he headed back west.
"Honestly, if I gave my thoughts on the match-making in the UFC, Joe Silva probably wouldn't even talk to me anymore, so I'm going to keep quiet on that," Jackson admitted, somewhat surprisingly. "Just to be honest, I think Pride had their match-makers make exciting fights.
"I don't think people understand, in America everybody is worried about who's going to win, and this and that. Who's winning and who's winning. Like, it ain't all about that. It's entertainment at the end of the day. The fans, they want to see entertaining fights, and fans got that. I don't think America has that yet."
If Jackson's remarks sound bitter, they surely aren't meant to be. Rather than digs at the UFC brass, his words hang in the air as wistful reminiscences of an era that exists only in memories of those that lived it.
"I really miss the fans, I'm not going to lie. I really miss fighting there," Jackson revealed. "It's something personal for me.
"My kids are from Japan. My kids grandparents are from there, and they never really watched me fight back in the day ... My two younger kids can come and watch me fight, and the in-laws can be in the crowd and watch me fight. I've never had that before, so it's just something I want to do."
To say Jackson is looking forward to Japan more than he is to Bader may not be that bold of an assumption. But just because the usual trash-talk has subdued into a starker form of reflection, it would still be unwise to think Rampage has gone soft.
"I've got nothing against Ryan Bader at all," the fighter coolly concluded. "I'm still going to try to knock his head off, but there ain't going to be no hard feelings about it."
16 comments
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nostalgia
thats what its all about and living your dreams…(whatever floats your boat)
by huckabuck878 on Feb 14, 2012 5:51 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Am I the only one who thought Rampage was overrated in Pride?
Not to say he wasn’t good, but people keep saying he’s not as well rounded as he was then, which I think is untrue. First off, if you look at all those slams, most of them were on guys who were a lot smaller than he was. Rampage was beating up undersized Japanese dudes. He mixed some real good wins in there, but most of the fighters weren’t that good to my knowledge. NOW when he came to the UFC, he learned how to box. Yeah he had power in Pride, but he wasn’t a standup fighter at all. Now in the UFC Rampage learned how to box and he became more of a sprawl nd brawl guy. People say being well rounded is better, but sometimes when you have a guy who becomes really good at 1 thing, it often makes them more dangerous than they were before. Just check out Rousimar Palhares or JDS. Rampage doesn’t throw much kicks but his kicks and elbows are sharp when he throws them. I’d like to see him mix in wrestling more, but if Rampage fought like this during his Pride days I think he knocks a lot more guys out.
by Bigs- on Feb 14, 2012 6:22 PM EST reply actions
With that said
I wouldn’t be shocked if Rampage retires in the ring that night if he wins
by Bigs- on Feb 14, 2012 6:24 PM EST up reply actions
I don't think he was overrated...
Rampage was mostly a sprawl and brawl guy in his pride days as well but he wasn’t afraid to slam people and ground a pound either. He did fight a few cans in Japan but that was par for the course in Pride. But he also beat a lot of solid guys. Bustamante, Arona, Liddell, Vovchanchyn, Randleman, Ninja Rua, etc. were all in their prime and were top 10 ranked fighters then (and many were former Champions as well)…and Rampage beat them. The only people we was losing to were Sakuraba (the consensus #1 MMA submission grappler at the time), Wanderlei (arguably the pound for pound #1 at the time) and Shogun (Who was beating everyone). That’s not a bad run and there are too many good names on his list list to call the guy who beat them overrated IMO.
by KenpoJuJitsu3 on Feb 15, 2012 9:05 AM EST up reply actions
True
I wasn’t taking anything away from his wins. I’m not sure if you understood the point I was trying to make, or not. In terms of how he used to fight, I think he’d have done better in Pride if he fought how he did in his early UFC days and even mix in some of this new thai fighting he’s displayed as of late. I wasn’t saying guys like Vovchanchyn weren’t worthy opponents, but Igor Vovchanchyn is not a big guy at all. I think the fact that Rampage fought bigger guys in the UFC has really effected his older style.
by Bigs- on Feb 15, 2012 2:06 PM EST up reply actions
I would love to see an event in Japan
The crowds are always very respectful and they praise technique. Great article tho Shaun, I wonder how many more times Rampage is gonna fight before he retires
by Rob2507 on Feb 14, 2012 6:50 PM EST reply actions
In Japan.....
he’s not nearly as famous here as dana white and the american media makes him out to be. I like rampage a lot, met him twice and he is a cool dude…..but
i just wanna get out there is that, mma is not big at all in japan. most ppl here dont even know the fighters names or anything over here. even “fans” are only fans of yamamoto kid, sakuraba, and genki sudo and the last mma fight theyve seen was pride and heros of k-1 a few years back.
also when i hear dana and everyone talk about how yoshiro akiyama is a super star here, it isnt true. his nickname of sexyama isnt even said over here. most of the ppl who even know akiyama would call him NURIyama. Nuri means rub on because he is known for cheating against sakuraba by rubbing grease over his body to prevent take downs.
dont get me wrong, i love mma and i love the fighters and great respect, i grew up in the US but ive been living in japan and when i see dana and the ufc and the media promote the fighters as “super stars” in japan, that isnt true. there really is no mma super stars. yamamoto kid, genki sudo, masato(k-1), musashi(k-1), wanderlei, silva overeem, crocop, fedor, and shogun are the closest thing to what you might call a super star. ask ppl in the streets and a few might know who they are. almost no one would know rampage, let along hatsu hioki or mizugaki,
i’m not hating but i just wanna point out that the media is really hyping up the popularity up by a lot.
and i will say that there are some ppl who knows but a magority of ppl by a huge margin does not know who these guys are. mma is really such a minor sport and not even televised except once a year. and ufc is only available trough cable television ppv. most ppl dont have cable so they dont know the existence of ufc.i once went to a boxing gym and they didnt know what ufc was and also went to a mma gym and most of the ppl see the ufc once in a blue moon.
im not a hater by any means. i love mma and is my favoirte sport. but i just wanna point out that the media is saying stuff that is not true. thats all.
by taktaku on Feb 14, 2012 8:35 PM EST reply actions
Different eras
Rampage’s star has faded in Japan since his move to the UFC, and he acknowledged that during the call. But back in the glory days of Pride, it’s hard to deny he was one of the bigger personalities.
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by Shaun Al-Shatti on Feb 15, 2012 2:19 AM EST up reply actions
Exactly.
Of course he’s not a big deal there right now. He hasn’t been competing there in a LONG time. But when he was there he was huge. There’s no denying that for anyone that was involved in or simply following the sport at that time.
by KenpoJuJitsu3 on Feb 15, 2012 9:07 AM EST up reply actions
Forgive my ignorance...
Ive never been to Japan, I’m just curious…what do you think the reason is for the UFC not catching on there? I know they haven’t had any events there but the UFC has quite a few Japanese fighters on the roster. Oh well, hopefully this event should help (dont see how it couldnt).
by sharkpop on Feb 15, 2012 9:37 AM EST up reply actions
What i think the reason for that is
first off, there is no promotion going on for mma. the market for combat sports has shrunk a lot due to many japanese ppl dont view violence as entertainment. of course there is a market for it but nothing close to what america, brazil, canada, or Europe’s.
thats why boxing isnt popular over here as much as other countries and the same goes for mma.
but martial arts is still practiced a lot due to the traditions that it comes along with it.
it is said that martial arts teaches discipline
martial arts like judo and karate isnt really viewed as violence
but once they see you step into the cage and they see blood and knockouts,
theyre kind of turned off by it
that goes the same for my cousin and my friends over here….
mma fighters are former gangsters which is really looked down upon in society.
(not all of course, some are real martial artists)
and japanese promotions also put on a lot of freak show fights
thats some of the reason,
also maybe the yakuza or some sort of organized crime has always been involved with mma so it doesnt have a real good image.
its kind of how mma used to be viewed in the states.
by taktaku on Feb 15, 2012 9:58 AM EST up reply actions
Say what?!
“(…) boxing isnt popular over here (…)”
http://www.badlefthook.com/2009/11/30/1180013/naito-kameda-fight-does-ridiculous
by CageDan on Feb 15, 2012 3:53 PM EST up reply actions
look at the date
Boxing is almost never televised here.
That was then, this ia now.
Also kameda doesnt have a good reputation because of the hand picked opponents and his bad attitude.
And that fight, i remember watching it, was promoted like crazy and unlike the US, its on basic tv. Not cable and most definately not ppv.
It was easy for ppl to watch.
by taktaku on Feb 15, 2012 8:23 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I'm not taking anything away from rampage
but….
the ppl who were huge that wernt japanese were fighters like wanderlei, crop cop, Jérôme Le Banner, peter aerts, shogun, overeem, fedor ,bob sapp, nogera and so on…..
but i dont believe rampage was one of the super over the top popular guys although he was one of the more memorable ones.
i remember rampage from that era and i was a fan and still am,
im just saying the media is blowing up some of the popularity of some of these fighters.
i just wanted to point out that they are not celebrity figures that some of the media make them as, such as akiyama.
but im not trying to argue, i just wanted to explain what i have experienced over in japan and how i saw the japanese view the mma culture.
i also want to point out that there is a huge stigma that mma is almost like pro wrestling due to all the promotion and freak show fights that pride and other organizations put on.
by taktaku on Feb 15, 2012 9:47 AM EST up reply actions
Very well written
You encapsulated the whole piece here, well done.
I am Vorn The Unspeakable the skulls of those who defy me bleach in the suns of a hundred worlds...and you are
by Roman727 on Feb 15, 2012 9:16 AM EST reply actions
Thank you for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.
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by Shaun Al-Shatti on Feb 15, 2012 10:06 AM EST up reply actions
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