“They Really F Me Over” – ‘Rampage’ Jackson Opens Up About PRIDE Pay Issues
Octagon icon Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson recently opened up about the paltry pay he received while competing in the defunct Japanese promotion PRIDE FC.
Before capturing the UFC light heavyweight championship, ‘Rampage’ made a name for himself in PRIDE, competing against a slew of fellow MMA legends like Kevin Randleman, Chuck ‘The Iceman’ Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
However, it wasn’t all sunshine and roses while working for the Tokyo-based promotion. During a recent episode of his JAXXON podcast with guest Jake Shields, ‘Rampage’ told the former Strikeforce titleholder that he only walked away with $10,000 for his scrap with UFC Hall of Famer Kazushi Sakuraba at PRIDE 15 in July 2021.
“That’s an easy answer for me. I like PRIDE better, but I like the pay in the UFC better,” Jackson said. “Yeah, because I guess the pay already—and you’re kind of at the edge when it’s starting to get paid pretty good. PRIDE’s financial issues? PRIDE f*cked me over, bro. PRIDE f*cked me over. They—man—they really, really f*cked me over.
“No, bro. They got me. They got me. Remember I [said] earlier, when I got the Sakuraba call, it was double what I was going to make for Ken [Shamrock]? So PRIDE paid me $10,000. I was going to fight Ken for $5,000, but $10,000 was a lot of money for me back then.”
After an impressive run with pRIDE, ‘Rampage’ took his talents to the UFC and Bellator
After six years in PRIDE, ‘Rampage’ made the move to the UFC in 2007 and added to his legacy with big wins over Dan Henderson, and Lyoto Machida. Along the way, he defeated Liddell via a first-round KO to claim the 205-pound title. He defended it against Henderson at UFC 75 before surrendering it 10 months later against Forrest Griffin.
Rampage’ spent the last six years of his MMA career in Bellator, going 6-3 in the process. Overall, he went 38-14 with 20 of his wins coming by way of KO/TKO.
