Rampage Jackson’s Unfinished Business

In recent interviews, UFC president Dana White has insisted that Rampage Jackson has not really left the UFC, and that he’ll be back sometime after he’s done filming the “A Team” movie. Dana has good reason for thinking this. Putting aside all the money issues and pressure from fans, Rampage Jackson has perhaps more unfinished business left in the Octagon than any other MMA fighter.

Let’s be realistic here: Rampage will be back. A fighter’s retirement is about as convincing as Bill Gates insistence that the next version of Windows will be the best one yet. Just ask Floyd Mayweather Jr. His retirement after his fight with De La Hoya had hardly begun before he announced his return to fight Ricky Hatton. The media wisely paid little heed to Mayweather’s second retirement, as it was inevitable that he would be back.

Without even considering any new grudges or interesting matches that the UFC could possibly put together, there are four possible match-ups that need to be made before Rampage hangs up the mitts for good. Here are the top four.

Rashad Evans

After this latest season of The Ultimate Fighter, demand for a fight between Rampage and Rashad should be at an all-time-high. But besides the money that could be made, it seems like there is a legitimate grudge between Rashad and Rampage. Even after Rampage’s retirement the two fighters have battled back and forth across the internet. Rashad was on record as saying that he would have wanted to fight Rampage for free once he heard that Rampage had retired. Rampage has since fired back by saying that Rashad is all talk, and that he’s barking up the wrong tree.

The animosity has remained to the point that some people believe that the whole retirement thing is all just a ploy to draw in more media attention. But if you don’t buy that theory, then you’ll at least be happy to hear that the two fighters legitimately don’t like each other, and that at least that aspect of the reality show has been real.

Forrest Griffin

There isn’t the same kind of animosity between Rampage and his other opposing TUF coach, Forrest Griffin. The two might not be the best of friends, but they never really seemed like fierce rivals. Despite all that, there are a lot of reasons these two need to fight again.

After the fight, Rampage has stated many times that he was not physically or mentally prepared for his fight with Forrest. He said that the long layoff, along with injuries and depression resulted in his defeat. Despite admitting those problems, Rampage still believes that he should have won the decision against Forrest. He even asked for a rematch following the fight.

The fight between Rampage and Forrest was one of the best fights of the year. It was a close back-and-forth battle, and a clash of styles. An argument can be made for Rampage winning the first, third, and fourth rounds. A 10-8 second round in favor of Forrest was a large factor in the decision. The fifth round was close, but scoring the round for Forrest could have resulted in a draw.

Jackson’s driving rampage on the freeway probably ended the possibility of a quick rematch, but surely Rampage still wishes to put that fight behind him by getting a win over Forrest.

Forrest himself is probably also in search of a little validation. His embarrassing loss to Anderson Silva has left some critics saying that he has been overrated and that his victory over Rampage was a fluke. Getting a chance to earn a second win over Rampage might be exactly what Forrest needs right now.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Rampage was absolutely decimated by Shogun back in 2005. Since then, Rua and Rampage have both been on the roller-coaster ride of fortune. This fight is certainly another one that Rampage wishes he could have back.

Rampage says that he has improved his boxing skills tremendously since his PrideFC days to the point where he believes that he would now be able to beat Shogun. Shogun, on the other hand, has not looked nearly as good since leaving PrideFC for the UFC. Some part of his lack of success is due to his many knee injuries, but he would surely love a chance to add a big UFC win to his resume, especially if he is not victorious against Machida.

Lyoto Machida

Rampage was called out by many of his fans after taking the fight against Rashad instead of fighting Lyoto for the title. Rampage has been angered by those comments and insisted that he “Ain’t afraid of no Karate fighter.” He’d get a chance to prove it by taking on Machida.

Aside from these matches, there are certainly lots of other possibilities for Rampage. Jon Jones might be an enticing prospect for Jackson in the future as well. But without even considering other prospects or conflicts, it is clear that Rampage Jackson still has a lot of unfinished business.

By Darren Wong for FightMania.com

Tags: Anderson Silva, Dana White, Forrest Griffin, Jon Jones, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, UFC