The MMA legend and former UFC light heavyweight champion said Monday on The MMA Hour that he is targeting late 2023 for his first bout since a 2019 loss to Fedor Emelianenko. Jackson, 45, said he’s hoping to fight for the United Fight League (UFL), an upstart promotion with which he serves as a brand ambassador alongside Frank Mir and Tito Ortiz.
“So this is what I’m thinking: I really want to promote the UFL, and so I would like to do a warm-up fight there,” Jackson said on The MMA Hour. “I’d do a warm-up fight in the UFL and see where that goes, and I still want to do a boxing match before I get too old. I’m 45 now, and I want to get that boxing match out of the way before I get too old.”
“I’m thinking I might fight around about December in UFL,” Jackson added, “because I haven’t fought in three years.”
Jackson (38-14) said his “dream opponent” for his comeback would be Darrill Schoonover, a former cast member on Jackson’s season of The Ultimate Fighter 10, with whom “Rampage” infamously feuded with on the show. Schoonover (14-8) has not fought professionally since 2014, however he told MMA Junkie in 2016 that a grudge match against Jackson would be one fight that would convince him to drop everything and come out of retirement.
