‘Rampage’ Jackson Vs Shogun Rua in Jackson’s Last UFC Fight

This past week has had a lot of news centered around UFC fighter ‘Rampage’ Jackson (32-10-0).  Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson made headlines when he publicly announced his wishes to leave the UFC organization if they believed him to have lost his appeal.  In an interview, with Bas Reuten on HDNet this past Monday, Rampage had this to say:

I don’t want to fight for the UFC anymore. Fans don’t understand. They think just because I make a lot of money that I should be happy because I’ve got a nice house. But I’ve always stated that I fight for money because that’s my career,” Rampage stated. “The thing is, the UFC knew I was injured [training for UFC 144], and they knew I still fought for them. Honestly, I feel like if I didn’t fight on that card in Japan I don’t think the appeal would have been as big. I feel like if I would have pulled out with an injury, I don’t think they would have done as well in Japan as they did.

The always colorful ‘Rampage’ Jackson went to discuss his match up with Ryan Bader (14-2-0), at UFC 144.  On the topic of Bader Jackson had this to say:

I didn’t like the opponent that they were giving me. I think Joe Silva needs to be slapped in the face. I’m sorry, but if you’ve got a fighter like me who likes to go out and put on fights, why are you gonna give me wrestlers who are gonna take me down and hump me?  I think that the UFC should say thank you to Rampage. This is my first time ever not making weight. They could tell that something was wrong. In my whole career I’ve always been respectful to everybody and made weight,” Jackson said. “Why would I want to give 20 percent of my purse for not making weight?

Rampage continued the interview revealing that he was starting Testosterone Replacement Therapy to battle a doctor diagnosed deficiency.  At the end of his interview he restated his desire to leave the UFC stating this:

After [UFC 144] I was like, ‘I’m not putting my life on the line for these guys no more.’ They know what’s going on, but they’re still trying to make me look bad. They’re trying to make me lose my fan base. I don’t want to be part of the UFC. If Dana doesn’t want me to be bigger than the UFC, then let me go. If they feel like I lost my appeal, then let me go.

Just days following the interview it seemed that Jackson was going to get his chance to regain some of the appeal that he may have lost, coming off a loss at UFC 144.  The UFC reported that Jackson will fight, former fellow Pride Fighter, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua at an undisclosed time in 2012.  Now, only days after the UFC announcement, Jackson reveals that he must first undergo knee surgery on both his knees prior to meeting Rua in the octagon.  The knee injuries occured, according to the former UFC champion, during the match up with Jon Jones, current UFC champion, and in a sparring session in preparation for UFC 144, against Ryan Bader.  Jackson posted this on his Twitter account, “To keep it real, the ‘Shogun’ fight will have to wait, I just found out that I have to get surgery on both knees, but I heal fast. Don’t trip”