How good was Quinton "Rampage" Jackson?

[sonofjay817]

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for me acjtlslt fulfilled to become a Ufc champion back in 2007 and has notable wins over Chuck Liddell, Igor Vovchanchyn, Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Bustamante.

His career was already over after his loss against Jon Jones 2011, after 2011 he was not the same fighter but with that said if he went over to heavyweight earlier and with good cardio and right team I am close to say he would be a good contender.

If he had other sparringpartners and team during his Pride career he would have beated Wanderlei by ground and pound and maybe the same with Shogun during the grand prix.

I am however impressed his achievements but do you think he could do more with right team? Let's say he represented American kickboxing acedemy and his main sparring partner was Cain and Daniel Cormier back in 2010?

Great question. I was ramping up to answer, but then it hit me. I have no idea. I think he probably had one of the best chins ever which I don't hear spoken about often. He came from a wrestling background but developed very good boxing skill by MMA standards. He was also just a brut. It was a delicate formula that worked for him for a while, and then, one day he lost his edge. It could be coincidence, but it seems like it happened along the time he parted ways with boxing coach Juanita Ibarra.

 

[Literally Bricked]

Overrated, he had good power and a chin but his wrestling was average. Without his personality he would be regarded as an average fighter

Damn, didn't realize that winning the title made you an average fighter.

 

[WalkenWouldOwn]

 

[mkt]

With proper training and motivation we could be talking about near GOAT status at LHW.

Nah, Jones would beat him pretty much any time after he (Jones) moved to Jackson's and rounded out his game. He was a terrible match-up for Rampage (and most everyone else).

 

[BFoe]

If we rank LHWs based on resume and accomplishments, he’s in the Top 3-4 imo.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Super strong with high durability (at least chin) and solid boxing with big power. The vast majority of people will tell you motivation and an extreme hatred towards training was his major downfall. Not sure if he would be as successful in today's leg kick heavy environment but in his prime he was a threat to anyone

 

[G10]

I am however impressed his achievements but do you think he could do more with right team? Let's say he represented American kickboxing acedemy and his main sparring partner was Cain and Daniel Cormier back in 2010?

I think it might have changed things around for him in some ways, but I doubt it would've made a massive impact on his career. Rampage spent a lot of his career designing his own fight camp rather than being a part of a larger team, and he did it for a reason. I think at heart he's more of a loner with a big personality, so I have a hard time picturing him training side by side with DC and Cain back then.

That said, he had a great career. He has the most impressive catalog of opponents in LHW history (seriously, count the champions he's fought), and one of the best catalogs in the history of the sport. I think only Dan Henderson and RDA can claim to have fought better opposition during their lifetimes. Rampage has beaten many champions, and he was usually competitive in his losses; the only guys I can remember who dominated him were young Jones and Pride Shogun. He had very good boxing, a legendary chin, and a high fight IQ that lead him to being competitive for a very long time against elite-level guys. If there ever was a legitimate MMA HoF instead of the joke the UFC has, Rampage would be a first round ballot pick.

 

[UWPguy]

Nah, Jones would beat him pretty much any time after he (Jones) moved to Jackson's and rounded out his game. He was a terrible match-up for Rampage (and most everyone else).

I agree that a well rounded version of Jones beats even prime Rampage 9 out of 10 times. Unfortunately we didn't get to see that due to their age difference. When they did fight Rampage was 33 and no longer had the hunger he did earlier in his career, whereas Jones started his pro fighting career about the time Rampage lost his title to Griffin.

 

[jsbx45]

Not remotely a robbery. 2 of 3 judges gave him the first and second. He outstruck Lyoto 26-16 in the first and 28-11 in the second along with 1 TD. That along with the aggression of Rampage and the timidity/evasiveness of Lyoto equates to a reasonable decision for Rampage.

Lyoto did land much more in the 3rd and had an advantage in power strikes in the first but lost the volume by a wide margin. Could have gone either way.

Ok. Even Rampage thought he had lost though.

 

[Баса́ев]

Not very

 

[Deleted member 110072]

The last time he looked close to his best form wise for me was KOing Wanderlei in 2008, he only got to fight Jones off the back of a very dodgy decision over Lyoto in which he did almost nothing besides survive. To be fair though he'd been fighting elite guys since 2001 and the 3rd Fight against Wand was his 36th match so not actually THAT rapid a decline.

Best performance was IMHO the first win over Chuck in Pride in 2003, I don't think that Rampage would have struggled with Forrest personally, he wouldnt have given him time to land lowkicks on the outside.

 

[Ancient Warrior]

Had tremendous potential but squandered his gifts as he aged.

 

[TheGreatA]

Good, but limited. He was strictly a boxer on the feet and while he was a strong wrestler, he wasn't really a threat on the ground (unless he power-bombed you to oblivion).

Punching power, durability and physical strength got him through most of his fights. Along with relatively advanced boxing technique compared to everyone else at the time.

As he got older, he started doubling down on being just a puncher, abandoning his wrestling almost entirely.

 

[ProEra]

Top 20 of all time

 

[Streeter]

When motivated and hungry he was really good and a all time LHWgreat

 

[blacknblue104]

Overrated, he had good power and a chin but his wrestling was average. Without his personality he would be regarded as an average fighter

Yeah, an average fighter who was UFC Champion and a two time Pride Championship challenger during the golden age of Light Heayvyweight.

An average fighter that beat prime Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson, KO’d Ricardo Arona and had the Fight of the Year against Wanderlei Silva in 2004.


Quit it with that nonsense.

 

[Exarch01]

Can't believe no one has mentioned is revenge wins over Wanderlei.

 

[Skarr]

Rampage at one point was without question one of the premiere fighters in the world, ofc as others have mentioned he didnt train as hard and as smart as he should have....he also had a severe weakness against Chute Box guys, had he beat Wand ((when it mattered)) and Shogun he would be considered a former Goat

 

[Deleted member 110072]

Nah, Jones would beat him pretty much any time after he (Jones) moved to Jackson's and rounded out his game. He was a terrible match-up for Rampage (and most everyone else).

Rampage's sub defence was always a bit questionable, he did I think tend to depend a bit too much on powering out of stuff so its possible even the earlier version getting subbed by Jones if he gets him down.

That said I think the latter Rampage gradually became more and more passive as a fighter, during his peak I think he'd have gotten more into Jones face and his takedown defence was good back then, he stuff Randleman for example.

 

[RollSonnenRoll]

When he switched to Juanito Ibarra he was allowed to meet his full potential. He went 6-1 with him as head trainer/manager and won the LHW belt. You can see the difference in his power, head movement and crispness of his striking for those wins. I wish he had stayed with him after he lost the belt. He always admitted that he never really had a true camp after that or trainer that told him what to do, he just sort of meandered around trying to get ready.