THE CANADIAN PRESS
LAS VEGAS — An entertainer in and out of the cage, former light-heavyweight champion Quinton (Rampage) Jackson didn’t disappoint at the UFC 130 news conference.
Asked about his future and plan to stop fighting at 35, the 32-year-old Jackson said he would keep going if needed to provide for his family.
"I want to put some of my kids through college and I know some of my kids, I’m going to need lawyer fees for them. I know it," the father of four said Wednesday.
A room full of reporters and UFC president Dana White guffawed.
"You’re all laughing, but I’m being real. And I know this," Jackson continued. "I know what I have to do."
His immediate task comes Saturday night against Matt (The Hammer) Hamill, who stepped in to replace Thiago Silva after the big Brazilian was derailed by a positive drug test. Their fight is the main event of UFC 130 at the Grand Garden Arena.
Jackson, a native of Memphis who now calls California home, can switch emotions with the same kind of speed that he throws his sledgehammer-like right hand.
At Wednesday’s news conference, Jackson (31-8) praised the UFC for all the opportunities it had given him.
But in a chat with reporters earlier, he admitted to frustrations at some parts of the MMA world.
He acknowledged sometimes feeling "unappreciated," despite having won the UFC title and then defeating Pride champion Dan Henderson. And he shakes his head at the discrepancy in pay between top boxers and mixed martial artists.
"I see these boxers making a killing and it’s like ‘Goodness, I put my life on the line and I’m putting on way more exciting fights than these guys. How come they’re generating $30 million, $20 million and I’m not accumulating nowhere near that?’
"Honestly MMA fighters train harder than boxes. I train four times a day for my fights. And if anybody gets upset at me and says ‘Oh you’re just doing it for the money,’ that person should be slapped, because money makes the world go round. Who wouldn’t want to get paid like boxers for basically putting on a more exciting fight than they do."
Jackson also expressed frustration at negativity in the media — and elsewhere in the U.S.
He admits that abuse from fans can get to him, wondering why some who don’t like him bother to follow him on Twitter.
"A lot of MMA fans are really great but it’s like the bad apples that spoil things, make me just want to leave."
And he does not enjoy living in a fishbowl.
"Honestly it would be a better world for me if they ignored me a bit more. I love the fans but I would love to have my privacy as well. I can’t even go to a public restroom these days. If I go take a No. 2 in a public restroom, it’s on Twitter.
"Like I’m human, I do No. 2. I do it a lot."
Jackson, who made his pro debut in 1999, is such a crowd-pleaser that the UFC essentially bought the World Fighting Alliance in 2006 just to get his contract. The former Pride star went on to win the UFC title, dethroning Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell at UFC 71 in May 2007.
He lost the title a little more than a year later to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 and had a well-documented meltdown days later — that resulted in a police chase and the explanation that he had been living for days on little more than energy drinks in the wake of his loss.
He is 3-1 since that title defeat — 6-2 since joining the UFC — and is back in the good books after butting heads with White over taking time out from fighting to make "The A-Team."
The two are friends again.
"If you look back at Quinton Jackson’s career just in the UFC, there’s been a lot of great fights and a lot of exciting stuff," White said. "I don’t regret that (WFA purchase) one bit."
A win Saturday and Jackson could be next for light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones.
Rashad Evans had been due to meet Jones, but an injury to the champion means he is now fighting Phil (Mr. Wonderful) Davis. That change in schedule could open the title door up to Jackson.
Once known for his power slams, Jackson likes to stand and strike these days. While no fan of training, he likes sparring.
Jackson has ballooned in weight between some fights. But he says he has stayed disciplined this time, thanks to Canadian coach Lance Gibson and nutritionist Julia Budd.
As a younger fighter — in Japan, Pride marketed him as a homeless man who once lived in his car — Jackson ate fast food and did not look after himself.
His days of looking in the mirror and feeling "disgusted" are over, he says. He has even opened his own gym near his house.
"I’ve got better over the years and learned how to take care of himself and learned how to have great doctors around. That’s the main reason why I always wanted to retire at 35, because I didn’t think my body would last all these years. But it’s been doing really good.
"And fortunately the injuries that I have never bothered me in my fight but they bother me in training, That’s the main reason why I always hate training. And that’s why when you guys see me fight, that’s why I always try to make my opponent for all the hard training that I have to do. Because every time I train, every day, something hurts. And it hurts bad, but I work through it and I make it through camp. Most of the times I fight injured and I don’t say anything but I still fight and I do my job.
"But that must come to an end," said Jackson, turning to humour again, " because honestly I’m the biggest wuss ever. I cry over a sprained toe."
Gibson says only a few see the real Jackson.
"The real Quinton loves his kids, plays video games all day and plays with his little girl and boy in the pool. He’s just a little joker. He jokes around in here (public) but then people think ‘Oh, he’s a mean guy,’ but he’s an awesome guy. He’d give you his left hand if he had to."
Jackson has long said that when the cage door opens, Rampage takes over from Quinton.
"I enjoy the fight. That’s probably why I enjoy the sparring. But it’s not me in there fighting. Honestly it’s not me in there fighting."
