Dana White says Rampage Jackson had all the tools, but could have been so much better
The career of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has seemed to have taken a downward turn as of late, and with it comes some criticism from UFC President Dana White. Although White acknowledges the high-level skills of Jackson, he still thinks that perhaps Rampage could have had an even more productive, illustrious career. Dana White expressed the following via mmafighting.com:
“”Tell me Rampage Jackson wasn’t born to fight. Not only in his power, but his attributes, his wrestling, his chin, the list goes on and on. I think he could have been so much better if he applied himself. He had all the tools. Incredible chin, knockout power in both hands, incredible charisma and personality.”
Perhaps Jackson’s poor showing against Ryan Bader at UFC 144 fuels this criticism, as he showed up overweight and failed to mount much of an offense. However this just was the next in a series of eccentric behavior from Jackson, such as his infamous car chase and frequent Twitter outbursts. White may have become weary of them by now.
Jackson was considered one of the best in Pride, always fighting top competition and wowing the crowd with his trademark slams. When he finally made it to the UFC, he made huge waves by beating the great champion Chuck Liddell and unifying the UFC and Pride belts by besting the always-tough Dan Henderson. He lost a closely contested battle with Forrest Griffin, and has not regained the belt. Jackson also took some time off fighting to appear in “The A-Team.”
Having fought but fallen to top competition such as Jon Jones, Rashad Evans, and Bader in the last few years, how will Jackson’s legacy go down in the history books? Will he go down as the unstoppable Rampage, or as a fighter that could have spent far more time at the top?
