UFC
Into final UFC bout at UFC 153, "Rampage" Jackson says "MMA is getting boring to me"
Sep 10, 2012 - 3:20:25 PM Into final UFC bout at UFC 153, "Rampage" Jackson says "MMA is getting boring to me"

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's run in the UFC may be coming to an end next month after UFC 153, and it may just be the end of his run in MMA as well. At least for now. In an interview with former foe and now duel pro wrestler/MMA competitor Muhammed "King Mo" Lawal for their sponsor MMA Elite, Jackson ripped into the sport of MMA, targeting increasingly infamous MMA coach Greg Jackson.

"I wanna go to boxing or something," Jackson said about his life after the UFC (transcribed by BloodyElbow.com). "I wanna do something different. I wanna do kickboxing, I wanna do something different. MMA is getting boring to me. Like honestly, Greg Jackson, he's changing fighters, the sport is f***ing boring as f***."

Jackson then turned his attention to the promoting side of the sport, accusing promoters of not listening to fighters or disrespecting the competitors in the sport.

"We the ones puttin' our lifes on the line, puttin' our health on the line to make them [promoters] money," Jackson said. "They make more money than we're making. We don't get the respect. If we lose the fight, they call us crap or we finished or somethin' like that."

It's that last sentiment that has brought Jackson to the end of his time with the organization, with his fight against Glover Teixeira next month in Brazil being the final bout on his contract. After that, the UFC will let him walk away on his own accord, and that's clearly just what he plans to do.

Penick's Analysis: There is something to be said for fighters who draw business for the UFC getting a bigger cut than they currently do, and eventually it could be brought about by the formation of a union and collective bargaining. However, not every fighter in the UFC makes the UFC money. That's just a reality. The fighters who make the UFC money are the ones who bring in eyeballs to the organization. The fighters who drive ticket sales. The fighters who bring pay-per-view buys. The vast majority of those on the roster are in a better spot financially because of the UFC's exposure than they'd be in any other MMA organization, yet they're not moving the needle one iota for the organization. Demonize the promoter end of things all you want - and there are certainly valid reasons to do so - but the sentiment that the UFC is the inherent bad guy because the fighters are the ones "putting it on the line" inside the cage is false. Rampage continues to play the victim card because the UFC had the audacity to suggest that he wasn't drawing fans like he used to. That's simply a fact of life in MMA, and as his own performances skewed toward the "boring" end of things, that's just what happened. His feelings on the state of the sport certainly won't be shared by everyone, and really it will make many others simply happy when he stops wasting his time while not caring.

[Rampage Jackson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]