Perhaps there was a time when Quinton “Rampage” Jackson was worth the hassle.
Maybe back in 2007—when he entered the UFC with three straight victories and won the light heavyweight championship from Chuck Liddell—it was possible to block out all his background noise.
But those days are long gone now.
Considering his advanced age and considerable baggage (warning: language NSFW), picking a fight over the 2015 version of Rampage Jackson just feels like a lot of trouble the embattled UFC doesn’t need at the moment.
It certainly struck a very weird note on Saturday when the organization breathlessly announced Jackson’s return. It was less than two years ago, after all, that the notoriously disgruntled fighter left the UFC amid scorched earth and hard feelings and, as of right now, we don’t even know if he’s legally allowed to come back.
Rampage contends he’s terminated his relationship with Bellator MMA after the smaller company failed to live up to the terms of their contractual agreement. But Bellator CEO Scott Coker says not so fast, and a court battle now appears in the offing.
Let us be clear that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is under an exclusive contract with #BellatorMMA. We will protect our contractual rights
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) December 21, 2014
Then there was the timing.
Just a week ago, three current and former UFC fighters filed a class-action lawsuit charging the world’s largest MMA promotion with, among other things, “an illegal scheme to eliminate competition from would-be rival MMA Promoters.” For the UFC to grab Jackson and publicly trumpet his homecoming all while Bellator claims to still have him under contract was sort of disquieting.
Nonetheless, everybody managed to keep a straight face over the weekend. The UFC gave Jackson a welcome-back video package and an interview spot on Fox Sports 1 while mostly ignoring the fact it’ll probably take legal action to actually get him back in the Octagon.
"You have no idea how excited I am to come back," Jackson said on TV that night. "This is where I belong."
Maybe, though a judge might still have the last word on that.
In any case, it’s down to this: Rival MMA organizations now appear headed to court to win the services of a guy who, at one time or another, made it clear he disliked both of them.
The whole thing leaves a whiff of desperation on the air, doesn’t it? Both for the UFC to commit time and resources to disentangling him from Bellator, and Bellator for even wanting to keep him.
If Jackson were a hot 23-year-old prospect or potential title challenger, you could understand the interest. If he could even be relied upon to consistently turn in high-level performances against top talent, it might be justifiable.
It should be noted, however, that even when the Rampage Jackson business was firing on all cylinders, it wasn’t the easiest hustle in town. Just 14 months after he beat Liddell to claim the title, he lost the championship to Forrest Griffin and a week later was arrested after a high-speed chase with California police.
Since then, the bad news has been frequent, and the wins somewhat less so.
At this point, he’s just a 36-year-old veteran who was 4-5 during his last handful of years in the UFC, including an 0-3 stretch to finish his first tenure there. Even his wins weren’t that impressive, as he chalked W's over Matt Hamill, Keith Jardine, a flagging Wanderlei Silva and Lyoto Machida, the last in a decision some people thought could’ve gone the other way.
During 2013-14, Bellator rehabilitated his image a bit, serving up a couple of softball matchups and then another controversial decision victory over Muhammad Lawal.
Still, this is a man who clearly ain’t what he used to be.
But for much of the last year, the UFC has looked like it needed all the help it could get at the box office, and it's now pulling out all the stops. Despite an avalanche of stellar fights already planned to open 2015, it thinks it needs even more help. It needs recognizable names, and perhaps that’s the last thing Jackson can still provide.
If the ratings Bellator pulled last month letting Tito Ortiz and Stephan Bonnar duff around the cage for 15 minutes are any indication, there is still a sizable crowd of fight fans eager to watch the fading stars of yesteryear. Jackson should neatly fill that niche and maybe even succeed in propping up pay-per-view buy rates and television ratings for a fight or two.
But the run will be short, and it will no doubt end in flames.
Knowing the bother it will take to even make it happen, it hardly seems worth it.
