UFC
Rampage Jackson says he "thought the grass was greener" outside of the UFC, but "they are the best promotion that I've been with"
Dec 22, 2014 - 2:05:20 PM Rampage Jackson says he "thought the grass was greener" outside of the UFC, but "they are the best promotion that I've been with"

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"To be straight, man, I've fought for all the biggest organizations in the world, and I thought the grass was greener over there. I don't agree with everything the UFC does but they are the best promotion that I've been with and I've been most successful with them. So, I just decided I might as well go back and finish my career with them... I was mad about some things when I left the UFC and so I figured the UFC had to be the worst organization out there.

I still don't see eye-to-eye with the UFC on everything, and who knows what they do with stuff I don't see. But no one pays as much as they do. Everybody wants a raise at their job. If you're at a law firm, you want to become partner one day. As human beings, we always want more. I'm sure a lot of things are going to happen and I'm not going to be one hundred percent happy with the UFC. No job is perfect, in this world. But I'm also sure that it will be better than the last situation I was in."

-In a feature interview with Elias Cepeda at FoxSports.com, Rampage Jackson explains why he was willing to come back to the UFC after the way he left in 2013.

Penick's Analysis: There's a lot more from Rampage in the feature interview, a very solid piece from Cepeda worth checking out in full. Rampage left in 2013 because he was unhappy with the matchmaking being done, and he was unhappy with the reality that his star power had fallen a bit. He wasn't the same draw he had been in the past, the UFC booked him as such, and that led to a lot of issues. Then Bjorn Rebney and Viacom promised him the world, only to fail to deliver much of anything on that end. There were a lot of things he expected to happen that just didn't come to pass, and so it seems he definitely has a clear case to be let go from his deal with Viacom. Now, even he admits he's happy with his deal for now, and given his recent history it's entirely possible that this second honeymoon period upon his return doesn't last very long, but none of this is all that surprising. Rampage is like a lot of stars, in that there's a certain need for validation and concessions from those working with them. He got unhappy when that stopped, even if the UFC was right in doing so, and to be honest, that's fine as a reaction. He has a level he feels is worth, and he wants to be with whomever will treat him as such. That's his prerogative, and this time around, the UFC is probably willing to make a few more concessions than they were early last year.