UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lost his title to Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision in one of the all-time great fights in UFC history tonight at UFC 86 in Las Vegas.It was a classic slugfest in which both fighters gave out and received punishment. Rampage got off to a tremendous start in the first round with a brutal uppercut, while Griffin dominated the second. On my scorecard Rampage got the better of the last three rounds and won the fight, but all three judges disagreed with me.
The key to the fight was the way Griffin hurt Rampage's knee with a big leg kick in the second round. That hindered Rampage the rest of the night.
In other UFC 86 action, Patrick Cote defeated Ricardo Almeida, Joe Stevenson beat Gleison Tibau, Josh Koscheck beat Chris Lytle, Tyson Griffin beat Marcus Aurelio, Gabriel Gonzaga beat Justin McCully, Cole Miller beat Jorge Gurgel, Melvin Guillard beat Dennis Siver and Justin Buchholz beat Corey Hill.
Latest MMA Photos
Chris Lytle is held off by the referee during his lightweight UFC bout against Josh Koscheck in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 5, 2008. Koscheck won by unanimous decision. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)
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Melvin Guillard, left, attacks Dennis Silver during their UFC lightweight bout in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)
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Cole Miller, right, lands a left to Jorge Gurgel during their lightweight UFC bout in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)
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Melvin Guillard celebrates his victory over Dennis Silver after their UFC lightweight bout in Las Vegas on Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)
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Light-heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson unleashes one of his trademark howls at a weigh-in for UFC 86 in Las Vegas on Friday, July 4, 2008. Jackson defends his title against Forrest Griffin on Saturday. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson)
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English middleweight Michael Bisping, left, punches Jason Day on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at UFC 85 in London, England. Bisping won by TKO. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, via the UFC, Josh Hedges) ** NO SALES **
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Middleweight Michael Bisping of England poses at a weigh-in on Friday June 6, 2008 in London, England. Bisping will face Jason "Dooms" Day of Lethbridge, Alberta, in a UFC 85 mixed martial arts fight Saturday. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson)
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Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes left, poses at a weigh-in, Friday June 6, 2008 in London. Hughes and Thiago Alves will face off in a UFC mixed martial arts bout Saturday, June 7. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson)
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Former welterweight champion Matt Hughes, left, poses with Thiago Alves at a weigh-in, Friday June 6, 2008 in London. Hughes and Alves will face off in a UFC mixed martial arts bout Saturday, June 7. UFC president Dana White looks on. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson)
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UFC president Dana White looks on as welterweights Paul Taylor, left, of England, and Jess Liaudin, right, of France, square off at a weigh-in, Friday June 6, 2008 in London. Taylor and Liaudin will face off in a UFC mixed martial arts bout Saturday, June 7. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Neil Davidson)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
7-06-2008 @ 12:56AM
Paul F. Villarreal said...
Forrest won 1 round, the second. That's it.
What a farce.
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7-06-2008 @ 12:58AM
Jim Wilson said...
That fight was sooooo fixed... Forrest is such a bad actor..
Why would they do that? everyone is going to watch anyway.. soo greedy!
Dana "Don King" White - so much hope for clean, uncorrupt fights.
This was just as bad as boxing!
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7-06-2008 @ 12:59AM
TXWolf said...
sweet fight forrest made him weak on the knees and kept after it, what heart that gladiator showed tonight, rampage is a great combatant but tonight wasnt his time, great night for the fans of MMA
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7-06-2008 @ 1:02AM
anias said...
nah griffin raped jackson, griffin was the better fighter
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7-06-2008 @ 1:04AM
Kim L Yearwood said...
Okay, here is my comment.... Shame, shame shame Dana White, We pay a
lot of money to watch these fights and you let us down. Not once did
you come over to Forrest and congratulate him on his win...IT BEING A
HUGE WIN FOR HIM!!! I would have thought that you would have said a
few nice words to the man who just gave you more money in your
pocket. So sorry that I feel the way that I do, but I do believe
that maybe a few words should have been said...I LOVE UFC fighting so
much that it makes my body shake while I watch it. I am so proud of
Forrest.....He is the TRUE meaning of UFC. Thanks for listening, Kim
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7-06-2008 @ 1:07AM
Kimo said...
This fight was sooo fixed. Why would they do that? too greedy!!! people are going to pay to watch they dont have to be like boxing.. so much hope for the UFC to stay clean. Wow who are they kidding.. Forrest is such a bad actor.. This is entertainment but it be nice if would stay a sport. This is the fastest growing sport in the world... one more fight like this and it will be WWE!
Dana "Don King" White you are a major major sell out!!!!
At least get the UFC fighters some acting classes to make it believable when they win decision.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:08AM
rog said...
rampage won the fight hands down. rematch anyone!!
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7-06-2008 @ 1:10AM
Kimo said...
rematch yes, but I'm not paying to watch it!
So fixed!
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7-06-2008 @ 1:11AM
IDLH said...
I think maybe we should address Dana as Dana Don King. Everyone knows you must beat the champion decisively to win and in my mind forest did not even win. The fans confirmed it so everyone looses. Way to go UFC another tarnish to the sport and another favorable decision to one of your poster boys. Wow unbelievable Dana you know as well as anyone else you must beat the champ decisively The UFC is turning into a joke and it is unfortunate for the athletes and the fans.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:11AM
Eye's Wide OPEN said...
I'm totally dis appointed with the judging of this!! Once again RACE comes to play apart in this once again!!! NO BS here just to have a white face with a AMERICAN FLAG....
Its to late for that FOLKS because it time for you to speak Chinese & Spanish because you sold your soul to 1 WORLD CURRENCY....You Bunch of fake !@#%hole
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7-06-2008 @ 1:15AM
wtf said...
You can't take the belt from a guy with a fight like that... what a joke.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:16AM
IDLH said...
Here is another example of the UFC catering to poster boys. Why is Bisping not getting paired up with better contenders. With Leben, please give me a break, let me see who is going to win this one. The ufc has become very obvious with catering to Bisping when he fights on his home turf but be careful. British fans are hard core and there is nothing to celebrate when your fighter wins an easy fight and it also becomes obvious to fans in the states what is taking place. When Bisping fought a real contender "Hamill" he lost the fight but got the decision. How about a Hamill rematch or is the ufc worried that he will loose again jeopardizing the overseas market. This time have Hamill and Bisping fight in Hamill's backyard. Now that will be something honorable which I feel the UFC is loosing some of it's honorable reputation.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:17AM
Paul said...
dude the fight coulda went either way. If Griffin hadn't tried to push the action late I think the judges would have sided with Rampage. Thats why you don't let it go to the scorecards....
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7-06-2008 @ 1:20AM
IDLH said...
Poor Forest, it must suck to have a belt he doesn't deserve.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:21AM
Amy Whitley said...
This fight was soooo fixed. I want my $$$$$ back. Rampage clearly won this fight. The only reason Forrest won was b/c Dana White sees this as an opportunity to make more money since Forrest is more popular w/ the fans. This makes me not want to ever watch another ufc fight. This fight was not even close.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:22AM
Joc said...
all the forrest doubters can eat a c@ck sandwich
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7-06-2008 @ 1:27AM
geoffizzlefoshizzle said...
Are you guys joking? This one was easy to call..especially considering that Rampage did absolutly nothing in the final round and left a terrible image for the judges. And Rampage knew he lost too, he just couldn't do anything about it. That's why he was talking about how he shouldn't have taken so much time off and excuses like that. Game over...Forrest won that match hands down. It's one thing to be a Rampage fan, but don't lose sight of who actually won that match - Forrest Griffin.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:27AM
Eye\\\'s Wide OPEN said...
This is terrible ! This was getting good press until the Bisping fight and now the Rampage fight? DANA & ZUFFA Brother's why put your old ways that had gotten you here out the window? Did buy PRIDE make you loose your's!!! This sport was about having BALL'S !!! Where is your heart at!!! I see why all these other League's are trying to step to the plate and give you a run for your $$$$...I also see that you are selling out other fighter's that GOT YOU THEIR ????
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7-06-2008 @ 1:30AM
ROB said...
WOW FOR ALL OF YOU WHO SERIOUSLY THINK THIS WAS RIGGED, YOU ARE RETARDED. DANA WHITE RUNS HIS BUSINESS BETTER THAN NEARLY ANYONE ELSE. ROUNDS 1,2,5 WERE CLEAR AND ROUNDS 3,4 WERE VERY CLOSE.
FORREST WON ROUND 2 10-8 AND ROUND 5 10-9, RAMPAGE WON ROUND 1 10-9. SINCE THE OTHER TWO ROUNDS WERE VERY CLOSE, WE CAN GIVE ONE TO EACH FIGHTER. THEREFORE FORREST WON 48-46. CLEARLY NOT RIGGED IDIOTS. RAMPAGE IS A HUMAN BEING AND HUMAN BEINGS CANNOT WIN ALL OF THEIR FIGHTS. HE IS STILL VERY GOOD AND COULD VERY WELL KNOCK OUT FORREST IN A RE-MATCH BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN FORREST DIDN'T WIN THIS FIGHT. FORREST'S WIN IS LEGITIMATE.
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7-06-2008 @ 1:40AM
brad said...
forrest won a close fight, he hurt rampage, rampage never hurt forrest, forrest defended great on the ground, dominated on the ground and almost chocked rampage out......come on quit blaming race and saying this is fixed, even rampage admitted he got his ass kivcked you idiots!!!!!!!!!!
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