Heading into UFC 96, The Bite is back in Quinton's bark!by Jon Lane on Mar 06, 2009 at 10:40 am ET
Nightfall, a black sky lightly whitewashed by clouds and glazed by the light of a full moon. That's when it's Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's time to play. He borrows that old World Wrestling Federation Junkyard Dog gimmick by adorning not a collar, but a heavy chain. He looks up, and under nature's spotlight, he howls.
Jackson was a JYD fan as a kid and as he grew older, it became clear Rampage wasn't a persona. Even back then, flirting with a path that connected drugs, fights, prison and possible death, Jackson was a noted thug for hire who drew a pack to watch him slay an archrival from the opposing neighborhood in honor of a friend.
It took Peter Bolgeo, the wrestling coach at Raleigh-Egypt High School in Memphis, Tenn., to map out a new plan, one that created a clean way of life. He enrolled Jackson at Raleigh-Egypt as a 17-year-old freshman and watched his pupil place fifth in a state wrestling tournament as a sophomore.
MMA later became Jackson's calling, and while a June arrest for a felony hit-and-run and reckless driving may have him in jail by 2010, Rampage traditionally harnesses pent-up rage inside the controlled environment of a steel structure. Mental toughness has been his makeup since he wore diapers and helps him legally unleash on another opponent standing across the octagon.
"Either you're born with it or you're not," Jackson said during a conference call promoting Saturday's UFC 96 main event. "I think it's something that basically I was born with, but yes, you've got people that can kind of lift you up, and you've got people that try to tear you down as well. So it's all up to your environment."
Keith Jardine will be the next who tries to silence Rampage. Some have slowed Jackson down (Forrest Griffin, Kazushi Sakuraba, Mauricio Rua). One, Wanderlei Silva, twice stopped him stone cold, which Jackson (29-7) avenged by destroying the Brazilian legend with a first-round knockout in December at UFC 92. Jardine's track record suggests he'll either stop the Rampage Express or be a dead man waiting on its tracks. Nobody expected Jardine (14-4-1) to beat Chuck Liddell, but he did and also knocked out Griffin well before the latter defeated Jackson to become the UFC light heavyweight champion. The same Keith Jardine also suffered first-round knockouts to Houston Alexander and Silva, both in less than a minute, and labored during a split-decision win over Brandon Vera. Yet "The Dean of Mean" remains a dangerous opponent.
"I think he's an excellent fighter," Jackson said. "So you know he's got big wins. He got big losses just like us all. That doesn't make a fighter – how many losses, how many wins you got, what type of fighter. Anything can happen on any given day. I like Keith's style. He's got a good little style. He stands up, and he likes to bang. He's a good fighter."
Jardine's unorthodox style – his low kicks are devastating, his unpredictable approach can drive anyone nuts, and he's powerful enough to turn out your lights with one blow – could present the same problem Jackson struggled with fighting Griffin, who frequently chopped at Jackson's legs like he was an oak tree. If you cut a tree just right, it will tumble regardless of thickness or length. Don't think Rampage hasn't noticed that.
"I'm really glad that people think that I have a low-kick defense (problem) because I used to be a kickboxer, so that's how I trained in boxing," Jackson said. "And I didn't work on my kickboxing anymore, so you know now we're just working on everything. I'm kind of happy if you think I have a low-kick-defense problem."
Jackson had to work on everything after Griffin took away his title in a close split decision at UFC 86. In the ring, Jackson graciously accepted defeat, but his coach, Juanito Ibarra, eventually challenged the decision to the Nevada State Athletic Commission (Jackson decided not to file a formal complaint since it would not change the outcome). Turns out his worst enemy was neither Griffin nor the three judges sitting ringside. It was Rampage himself. He took nine months off from training, period, before prepping for Griffin, who coached against him on the seventh season of "The Ultimate Fighter." After first breaking Ibarra's ribs during a session, Jackson dealt with ailments to his elbow, hamstring and ankle.
Worst of all, he dismissed Griffin, an everyman whose dogged persistence and heart made up for any talent disadvantage, as a worthy challenger. If his destruction of Silva was any indication, that may have been his biggest lesson.
"After my performance with Forrest I've been so ashamed of myself, so every fight I'm motivated," Jackson said."I'm motivated to go out there and look good and win because I know what type of fighter I am. And I was really disappointed in myself for letting myself, you know, take it to that point where I'm not motivated, and I get it in my head that all of these guys are easy. You know there's no more easy fights. I'm motivated to train hard every time."
Emotionally crushed by his first loss in three years, Rampage's fall into an abyss was accelerated. He fired Ibarra. Five weeks later, one day after admitting during an interview he became depressed after the Griffin fight, Jackson was arrested and escorted to a mental health institution for observation. In January he pleaded guilty to one felony count of evading a police officer and driving against traffic, and one misdemeanor count of driving recklessly, as part of a plea agreement.
The experience required a return to his roots, for once again it had to be mind over matter. He brusquely dismissed a reporter's probe, knowing the topic was off limits, about the incident. Just like the Silva fight, Jackson dismissed the notion that it's affected his preparation for Jardine. Also before the Silva showdown, Jackson made a decision that turned his heart into a lead paper weight when he left behind his four children and the U.S. to train at the United Kingdom's Wolfslair Academy.
"It's not like the best looking gym you ever want to see," Jackson said. "They don't care about that type of thing. All they care about is putting in hard work. Everybody at the gym is a fighter. It's the type of place where I like to train at.
"The hardest thing for me is not seeing my kids and stuff like that. But I use all of that for me, you know what I'm saying, to prepare for my fights. It's like a sacrifice. And I do need that sometimes to get my mind straight and focused on fighting and stuff like that. I needed a change, so it works out."
How the light-heavyweight picture puzzle will be arranged will be determined by the result of UFC 96's main event. Should he prevail, Jackson pooh-poohed at a rematch with Griffin in hopes for a shot at reigning champion Rashad Evans. If Jardine wins – he's already turned down a bout with Evans, his [Greg] Jackson's Submission Fighting teammate – the undefeated Lyoto Machida becomes the No. 1 contender. Where that leads Jackson is the great unknown, but he may have unknowingly provided bulletin board material for the Machida camp when he dissed the technique of a fighter who hasn't lost a round since arriving to the UFC.
"I think Lyoto, he's like a weird fighter," Jackson said. "He's kind of boring. If I had to fight him, I couldn't really watch his tapes. I couldn't study his tapes. He's boring as hell. I guess his style works for him the way he runs and have people come on to him. I think he's good. He's undefeated, but he's boring. If I was a promoter of a show, I wouldn't have guys like that fighting for me, to be honest."
The bite is back in Jackson's bark, yet at age 30 and having fought 36 MMA fights, Father Time's footsteps are gradually getting louder. Jackson claims he needs no motivation for Jardine, and he's right. He's experienced the lowest of the lows enough to fear one more setback. He was blessed with dealing with adversity. Saturday night in Columbus and what happens beyond that will be his greatest challenges.
Jon Lane is a New York-based sports reporter and an MMAjunkie.com contributor.
Credit to: Jon Lane at MMAJunkie.com
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