Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson seems game for a return to the Octagon after his somewhat underwhelming Bellator run comes to a close. There’s just one major hiccup. Dude doesn’t want to follow the current dress code and that’s a pretty high priority for Rampage. (Maybe Reebok can sort out a sponsor-approved chain?)
The 38-year-old fighter is slated for another donnybrook with King Mo before his Bellator contract wraps and on The MMA Hour, Rampage indicated that he’s of the belief that he’s still under a contract to UFC with fights to fulfill. Jackson’s complicated relationship with multiple promotions can be blamed on (among other things) a messy contract situation involving all three parties a few years back. The former UFC titleholder is weighing his options on if he might return.
“If the TV stuff takes off, I’ll retire from fighting,” he told host Ariel Helwani. “If not, I’ll finish up my contract, finish up my stuff and then retire.”
The biggest hurdle for a Rampage return would be the company’s divisive approach to sponsorship. Jackson, who was sponsored by Reebok before The Great Uniformity, can’t see himself donning the mandatory Octagon ensemble.
“I don’t want to look like all the other fighters,” he explained. “I’ve been proud to not be or act or look like any other fighters. I don’t want to have to wear the same outfit that the other fighters wear. I don’t want to blend in. I’m nothing like the other fighters. I don’t really want to look like them. I don’t want to wear the ugly-ass shorts they wear.”
We suppose Rampage isn’t the sort of gentleman that picks up Sears activewear in bulk. Naturally, this is the sort of musing fighters tend to do about their futures and why they would and would not like to do Option A, Option B, etc. He also noted that he’s interested in giving Rizin a shot (“I wouldn’t mind going back to Japan and fight”), but they’d need to pay up to get his services. One way for Rampage to boost his stock during this period of transition? Exit with a decisive and .gif-friendly defeat of Muhammed Lawal at Bellator 175.
(Via MMA Fighting)
