Posts tagged RampageJackson at FanHouse

Two of the UFC's most popular fighters, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Wanderlei Silva, are close to signing on for a fight at UFC 91, MMA Rated is reporting.

If the Jackson-Silva fight happens, it would make UFC 91, quite simply, the biggest card in the history of mixed martial arts. The main event at UFC 91, Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture, might be the most anticipated mixed martial arts fight of the year, and Jackson vs. Silva is a main event-quality fight.

Other fights slated for UFC 91 include Kenny Florian vs. Joe Stevenson (which is probably the best lightweight fight the UFC can put together as long as B.J. Penn is planning to move up to welterweight), Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Josh Hendricks, Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Catone and Jeremy Stephens vs. Rafael dos Anjos.

I was skeptical when UFC President Dana White said the Lesnar-Couture fight would generate the most pay-per-view buys in MMA history. But if Rampage-Wanderlei is added to the card, I think UFC 91 will break the record set by UFC 66 and become the biggest card the sport has ever seen.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson says that he was suffering from temporary delirium when he was arrested in a hit-and-run car crash, but what exactly does "delirium" mean? Jackson says in this interview that he thought he was a god:

"I was delirious, and I turned to the Bible, and in my mind, I thought I was a god. I thought, you know, I'm son of God, so my father's God, so I'm a god, too."

Rampage has indicated that a poor diet in the days following his loss to Forrest Griffin led to his delirium, and that he is now healthy and ready to resume his career. Although he faces two felony charges in connection with the incident, the UFC has said it stands behind him, and he could be back as soon as UFC 91 in November.

A day after news broke that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is facing two felony counts in connection with a hit-and-run crash, the UFC has indicated that those charges won't derail his fighting career.

UFC President Dana White tells Kevin Iole that Rampage is likely to fight at UFC 91 on November 15 in Portland and that the UFC completely supports its star in his legal case.

Chuck Liddell will finally get back into the Octagon for the first time in 2008 at UFC 88 on September 6, and he's already thinking about who he might fight next.

Liddell tells The Sun that he wants a third shot at the man who's beaten him twice, Rampage Jackson:

"I want to fight Rampage real badly. I actually think I match up very well against him, but I've managed to lose to him twice now.

"But the third fight will not have anything to do with the first two, it will be a fresh start. Rampage is the one fight I really want, as much as I want my title back.

"He's lost the belt now, so I can't beat him and win the title back in one fight, but I want to fight him just as bad as when he was champion."

Ultimate Fighting Championship star Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has been charged with two felonies in connection with a July incident in which he hit cars and led police on a chase, TMZ is reporting.

He was not, however, charged with causing the miscarriage of a woman whose car he hit; authorities reportedly believe her miscarriage was unrelated to the crash.

According to TMZ, the Orange County District Attorney charged Rampage with one felony count of evading while driving recklessly, one felony count of evading a peace officer, three misdemeanor counts of hit and run, and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. If convicted he could face up to three years in prison.

UFC has stood by Rampage, saying that exhaustion and a poor diet led him to become temporarily delirious, but that he is now healthy and not a danger to himself or others. Rampage is expected to step back into the Octagon late this year or early next year.

Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah and UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta both had some interesting comments for Mike Chiappetta of NBC Sports:

Fertitta's comments were particularly worth noting on two of the highest-profile fighters in the sport.

UFC is posting videos to YouTube every day this week, documenting President Dana White's preparations for UFC 87. This video is bizarre, to say the least:

At about the 3:30 mark, White and Rampage Jackson appear together, seated at a table, joking about Rampage's watch. That is the first Rampage appearance since he was arrested last month after he sideswiped a car and led a police on a chase. Shortly after that arrest he was hospitalized for a mental health evaluation, and this week it was reported that the woman whose car he hit suffered a miscarriage.

Rampage Jackson's arrest has garnered as much, if not more, coverage than any one of Jackson's fights inside the Octagon. There are plenty of people who probably barely knew Jackson's name before who now associate it with lawlessness. That's not a good thing for Jackson's image, obviously, but does it have the same effect on the sport?

MMA has been growing steadily and battling a stigma of being barbaric all the while. A high-profile arrest is sure to cement a negative opinion into some people's minds but could it go beyond that? MMAPayout.com addressed that issue earlier today.

When an MMA fighter finds himself in trouble with the law, the immediate reaction of just about everyone in the community is to ask "how badly will this hurt MMA?"

Truth be told, Rampage's incident won't. Not really.

I agree with that take. People who already disliked the sport will have more fuel for their fire but it's hard to see too many fans being turned off by one bad incident. People didn't stop watching the NFL because of Pacman Jones, after all, and his actions were a lot more malicious than anything Jackson did in Orange County.

The people that like the sport will still watch it and the people that don't will continue to rail against it. When you take a look at the ratings for UFC this weekend, I'd be surprised if there was any change because Jackson got arrested.

The hardest thing to figure out about Rampage Jackson's arrest yesterday is what caused him to make such a dreadful decision after getting into a car accident. It's always dangerous to play armchair psychiatrist, especially when you don't hold a psychiatry degree (armchair or otherwise), but we can try to parse a video from Monday for a clue to his mental state.

Throwdown.com spoke with Jackson about how he was feeling after losing to Forrest Griffin by decision on July 5th. I'll give my gut reactions below as it's a long video but well worth watching if you've got the time.

Jackson certainly seems down about the loss but that's about it. Not too different than any other fighter who suffered a loss, in fact. It would be easy to say he seems depressed, I guess, but without yesterday's antics I don't think anyone would draw that conclusion.

There's a raft of information following Rampage Jackson's arrest in Orange County yesterday, little of which sheds light on what was going on with Jackson when he decided to lead police on a car chase after being involved in an accident. He's out on bail, posted by Dana White, and, according to MMAjunkie.com, there's no indication that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the arrest.

TMZ.com is reporting that Jackson was deemed "medically unfit" for booking after the arrest, which would seem to contradict his being out on bail as that would follow his booking. Five Ounces of Pain checked with some local hospitals and found that Jackson hasn't turned up as a patient, although medical privacy laws may keep such information under wraps.

Finally, while it's too early to speculate on just how Jackson's case will be prosecuted, Bloody Elbow has done some checking into the California Penal Codes and found that none of the initial charges carry much in the way of jail time. My biggest concern, as a MMA fan, is Jackson's mental state. I was eager to see how he bounced back from a controversial loss, which is now the least of his concerns, and am now just hopeful that Jackson can navigate all of these troubles without digging a deeper hole for himself.