MONTREAL – Quinton Jackson’s road to UFC 186 was dramatic and unpredictable. But with his fight against Fabio Maldonado green-lit to take place on Saturday, “Rampage” said he’s genuinely excited to compete.
Jackson didn’t have such a positive attitude last time he entered the octagon, though. He left the UFC in January 2013 following his third consecutive loss. Jackson made his grievances known on the way out the door before he eventually joined rival promotion Bellator MMA.
Jackson competed three times for Bellator following his UFC exit. However, he then decided hepreferred to compete for the UFC, which began a well-documented legal battle to decide which side owned Jackson’s contractual rights.
The situation looked bleak, but the UFC ultimately won the battle to have Jackson (35-11 MMA, 7-5 UFC) compete against Maldonado (22-7 MMA, 5-4 UFC) at UFC 186, which takes place at Montreal’s Bell Centre. The light-heavyweight bout will serve as the co-main event of the pay-per-view main card following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
Although Jackson faced severe turbulence in the weeks leading up to the event, he said he’s back where he wants to be.
“I talked to (UFC President) Dana (White) on the phone the other day; I think we all grew up,” Jackson told MMAjunkie. “I had some problems with some things that I felt I wasn’t receiving and things like that. Lorenzo (Fertitta) and I talked about it. This time if I feel like I should receive some stuff that I’m not getting, I’ll talk to them about it first and see if we can fix things.
“There’s a lot worse shows out there than the UFC. People think MMA fighters have been treated bad, but there’s people out there who don’t care about us one bit. In other places, I don’t see you earning no living like you do in the UFC. I thought there was something better out there, but I had to try something. I’m a fighter. I fight every day. I was born this way and I fight everything. Not only the physical fight, but I’m the worse person to argue with, I’m the worst person to – I fight every day.”
After being announced for UFC 186, Jackson was pulled from the card roughly three weeks prior to the event. However, on Tuesday, he was cleared to compete and re-added to the card.
The on-again, off-again status of the fight was a challenge for Jackson, he said. It brought a lot of added stress into his life, but he continued to train with the expectation the situation would be resolved.
“I stayed in the gym, I stayed training because I always felt like I was going to be here,” Jackson said. “I felt like everything happens for a reason, and when I went through that stuff it didn’t bother me. I knew I was going to be here. It was very stressful, but I just kept training and stayed in the gym.
“I feel energized that so far I won. It was very stressful. But when you’re right, you feel like justice. But when people say you’re wrong, a lot of things go through your mind. It’s just hard to deal with and hard to explain.
“I just wanted to make it here for my fans. I never fought in front of the Canadian fans, and I just felt like a lot of fans was happy I was back in the UFC and they wanted to see this fight, so I kept fighting so I could make it for my fans.”
One of the original sources of Jackson’s displeasure with the UFC came through his matchups. He felt the organization’s matchmakers didn’t make the best use of his talents by booking him against grappling-based fighters. Maldonado is a heavy-hitter on the feet, though, which Jackson said is the most he can hope for.
“I was honest with everyone when I said I was upset with the UFC; I didn’t like the way they treated me,” Jackson said. “I wasn’t respected for what I bring to the table. I’m the guy who always comes to fight and I put on a show. I felt like Joe Silva kept giving me shi-ty fights. …Why not give me ‘Shogun’ in Japan when I went to Japan? Why not make those matches? Why keep giving me people like (Ryan) Bader who only want to wrestle? It’s unfortunate what happened in the past, so I left and said I could do better.
“I’m not looking for guys to stand and trade with me; that would be a perfect world, but I’m just tired of fighting guys who are cowards who are just going to take you down and lay on you. I’m a wrestler so I’m not mad people want to take me down. Jon Jones, he did a good job of taking me down, did ground and pound then went for a submission. That’s perfect. But like the fight I had with Rashad Evans, he just took me down and lay on top of me. That’s annoying and that’s where the fans lose. Fans don’t pay money to see that type of stuff. But Maldonado, he’s a standup fighter, and on paper, this is going to be a good show for the fans.”
Jackson said the circumstances leading up this fight with Maldonado were the most unusual of his 46-fight career. But now that it’s just days away, he can finally place all his attention on what matters most: performing in the octagon.
“It’s the strangest lead up to a fight I’ve had; I never went through this type of fight before,” Jackson said. “I felt like I had to fight to get here. That was a really tough fight.
“I’m going for the knockout. I heard this guy is tough to knock out, but if anyone can do it I can.”
After 'shi-ty' Matchups in First Stint, UFC 186's 'Rampage' Jackson Excited to Face Maldonado
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