As he prepares for his fight with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is thinking about the way losing has made him better. But he's not thinking about his two losses to Silva, in 2003 and 2004. He's thinking about his most recent loss, to Forrest Griffin, who took the UFC light heavyweight title from him in July."My last fight was the best thing that happened to me," Rampage said in a call to promote UFC 92. "I got rid of some old baggage and it made me hungrier. It made me train really hard -- my cardio is the best it's ever been -- and it made me think about my career."
Rampage said thinking about his career meant thinking of himself as a professional athlete who needs to take complete care of his body -- especially what he puts into his body.
"I'm a professional fighter so I need to eat like one," he said. "I've got a good nutritionist and good people behind me. I'm getting stronger and faster. I should have been doing this years ago, but I didn't have the right people around me. ... I was going out and eating hamburgers and french fries before I'd go train. That wasn't the proper fuel for my body. My new way of taking care of my body is going to help my career. I'm 30. I've got a good three to five more years left in me."
Rampage, whose career record is 28-7, said he views his upcoming fight with Silva not just as a way to get revenge for those two losses, but also as a way to get back on top of the light heavyweight division.
"When I spar I can feel myself getting to 100 percent, like I always wanted to," Rampage said. "I want my belt back and I'm going to get my belt back."
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