Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's career remains on hold due to legal issues between himself and former employer Bellator, and while he's had a lot negative to say in the past about UFC, he said the company has been cool with him while things get sorted out.
"The whole thing is nuts," said Jackson (36-11) in a Friday night interview on Inside MMA on AXS TV. "All I try to do is entertain people. That's been my job. I've been doing it for 15 years. I'm the first-ever unified champion of the sport (on Sept. 8, 2007, when he was UFC light heavyweight champion, he defeated Pride champion Dan Henderson in what was billed at the time as a unification match). I don't get credit for that. I think I've been taken advantage of in my career by a lot of promoters. I can't get into that. I'm going through a lawsuit but the UFC has been cool. The UFC has said if I have to settle out of court and I have to fight in Bellator, they won't hold me up, and they'll put my contract on hold. It's nuts."
Jackson last fought for UFC on April 25 in Montreal, winning a decision over Fabio Maldonado. He had an injunction against him by Bellator which claimed he was still under contract to them, but the injunction was temporarily overturned to allow him to fight in Montreal. But the injunction is back in effect.
"All I need is 13 weeks for me to fight in any organization," he said. "I'm older now. I've got all these injuries. I need a good 13-week camp, and I'll be ready to fight anybody."
Jackson said he'd like to fight anyone that he's lost to in the past, mentioning Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, former teammate Michael Bisping and Wanderlei Silva as guys he'd like to face. As for Jon Jones, who beat him four years ago in a light heavyweight title fight, he's got mixed views on that subject, praising Jones for talent but thinking his fighting style is bad for the sport because he hurts people.
"For Jon Jones to do all the stuff he was doing and still be one of the best fighters in the world, it says something about him," said Jackson. "I can't talk much about it. I don't judge people. There's a lot of stuff I've never done. I've only done one drug, when I was a kid, marijuana, an herb. I don't consider it a drug. I don't condone it. I don't do it anymore. But the drug he was doing, people overdose from it, people can die from it. This kid was fighting three days after and he was one of the best. I hope he comes back and he learns from his mistake."
Jones actually tested positive for cocaine in a test a few weeks before his fight with Daniel Cormier. Since cocaine is not prohibited by the Nevada State Athletic Commission outside of competition, he had no right to be punished under their bylaws even with the positive test, but it was a very controversial subject when the news broke shortly after the January fight.
"But I'm not saying it because I'm a fan of Jon Jones, because honestly, I think Jon Jones is bad for the sport, because when he fights people, he injures us. He kicked my knee backwards. My knee has never been the same. He's doing it to a couple of other guys. I saw him rip one guy's shoulder out of his socket (Glover Teixiera). We just try to do the same thing he's trying to do, earn a living and do the sport that we love. We don't go in there and try and injure people."
Jackson admitted he once tried to injure an opponent, Ricardo Arona, who he knocked out cold with a power bomb in their June 20, 2004, Pride fight at the Saitama Super Arena, in one of the most legendary slams in MMA history.
"I tried to fold Arona in half, but it was because of something he did to me. He did some big stuff to me behind the scenes that people don't know about. But this guy's (Jones) doing it to every opponent. He's kicking their knees backwards and really trying to hurt people. So I think that's bad for the sport."
Rua seems to be at the top of Jackson's list of those he wants to fight.
"I fought him at a time in my life when I knew I shouldn't have fought him," he said. "I should have backed out three weeks before. Things didn't go my way. I want to fight Shogun because I know I can beat him. I'd like to fight Bisping because of some personal stuff. I know we're different weight classes, but he was once in my weight class. I think I owe Wanderlei one more fight. I beat him one time (Silva beat Jackson twice in Japan previously in two of the best fights in Pride history) and he dropped out of my weight class. I've got much respect for everybody but Bisping. But I'd like to fight anybody who beat me."
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