White: Pending Hand Injury, ‘Rampage’ Could Be Top Contender

Quinton Jackson (file photo) moved back into the proverbial mix Saturday. | Photo: Sherdog.com

Following Jackson’s one-sided but methodical decision win over Matt Hamill at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, UFC President Dana White addressed the possibility of Jackson challenging for Jon Jones’ light heavyweight title in the fall, stating that a title shot would depend on the severity of an apparent hand injury that “Rampage” sustained last year.

“Obviously, Rampage came out and looked good in the beginning [against Hamill]. He gassed out halfway through the fight. I say it all the time: the guy has got to stay busy,” White remarked during the post-fight press conference. “After the fight, Rampage said he had a fractured hand. That sucks. Hopefully it’s not [fractured] and we can keep him busy. He’s one of the best of the world. When he’s on, he’s on.”

Though Jackson managed to earn the unanimous victory Saturday, the injury that apparently hampered him against Hamill was originally sustained away from both the cage and the training room.

“Honestly, I hurt my hand in Japan back in December, [around] Christmas,” said Jackson. “[I was] drunk and [play] fighting around with my friend... I thought it would heal up.”

Regarding his bout with Hamill, Jackson was honest in his appraisal of his performance, noting that there was room for improvement despite the verdict going his way. The former champion managed to avoid all of Hamill’s takedown attempts while making “The Hammer” pay with counter punches after most of the failed shots.

“I was OK with my performance, but I wanted to do a little bit more. I knew I could stay on my feet with Matt Hamill,” said Jackson. “Matt had a great game plan. As soon as I got in there with him, I saw how far away he was standing so he could take me down. I wanted to come in and put some bungalows on him... but I’ll live.”

To that end, Jackson expressed his disappointment in his inability to deliver a knockout against his durable opponent.

“I wanted a knockout. You guys know how I am,” said Jackson. “Matt has never been knocked out before. I found that out a couple of days ago and I didn’t know that. I saw that as a personal challenge. I don’t think nobody is going to be able to knock him out. He’s tough. I think Matt has got a long future in this sport. I’m telling you, I was trying to knock his head off.”