Background and career
Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American online streamer and former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, Jackson won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, the Bellator Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament Championship, and unified the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship with the Pride FC World Middleweight Championship belt. Due to his eccentric personality and aggressive fighting style, Jackson became a star in Japan during his tenure with Pride FC and following his move to the UFC, he helped pioneer MMA's growth into a worldwide sport.
Jackson is from Memphis, Tennessee, and had a difficult childhood. He began selling drugs from a young age and was involved in many street fights. His drug-addicted father disappeared when Jackson was only 10 years old, before returning to his life in 2003. Jackson had his first experience with combat sports as a wrestler for Raleigh-Egypt High School, enrolling at the school as a 17-year-old freshman, where his career included All-State honors in his senior year after wrestling for fifth in the state tournament at 189 pounds (86 kg). In high school, Jackson also befriended fellow Bellator light heavyweight Jacob Noe, a karate practitioner who taught Jackson striking techniques, in exchange for wrestling techniques. Originally, Jackson intended to pursue a career in professional wrestling after graduating high school, but ultimately extended his amateur wrestling career at Lassen Community College in Susanville, California, before being expelled after a fight with a teammate. After discovering mixed martial arts, Jackson trained in Las Vegas with BAMMA fighter Lewis Rumble.
Impressed by the success of other wrestlers in MMA, Jackson decided to try his own hand at the sport. Jackson built up a record of 10 wins and 1 loss fighting for a variety of smaller scale American promotions, including King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge and Dangerzone. Jackson gained a reputation for lifting his opponents and slamming them to the mat. Jackson's successful first MMA Title shot against Rocko Hammerhands Henderson proved to be the beginning of many upsets.
In 2001, Japan's Pride organization marketed Jackson as a homeless person. Jackson, still a relatively unknown fighter, first was matched at Pride 15 against fellow wrestler and Japanese superstar Kazushi Sakuraba, who was at that time considered one of Pride's most prominent domestic fighters. Jackson lost due to a rear naked choke from Sakuraba. After beating pro-wrestler Alexander Otsuka in a fight for the Battlarts promotion, Jackson was invited back for Pride 17 where he scored a knockout victory over Otsuka's training partner, Yuki Ishikawa. In his next fight, Jackson was disqualified for a low blow against Daijiro Matsui. Jackson went on to defeat Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman and Mikhail Illoukhine in successive Pride bouts. He also made forays into kickboxing with a pair of victories over kickboxer Cyril Abidi, under K-1 rules. The first kickboxing bout between Abidi and Jackson was on July 14, 2002. Jackson knocked down Abidi less than a minute into the bout. Jackson then scored a hard underhand right to the chin of Abidi, knocking him out at 1:55 in the first round. Later in the year, Abidi wanted to prove that his loss to Jackson was a fluke, and faced him on the New Year's Eve Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye card, again under K-1 rules. Jackson once again defeated Abidi. It would be Jackson's last kickboxing bout, as he returned to full-time MMA competition afterwards.
Around this time, Jackson began stating his intentions to capture the Pride Middleweight (205 lb/93 kg) title from Wanderlei Silva. In the opening round of Pride's 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix, Jackson won a split decision over Murilo Bustamante. Three months later, Jackson defeated UFC fighter Chuck Liddell in the tournament's semi-finals at Pride Final Conflict 2003 by corner stoppage, putting him in place to battle Silva in the tournament finals that night. After taking Wanderlei Silva down and bloodying him, a stand-up was called by the referee and Jackson was stopped with a series of heavy knees to the head, leading to a referee stoppage. Jackson continued his Pride career with a TKO victory over Ikuhisa Minowa at Pride Shockwave 2003. He then faced Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 with the winner to face Wanderlei Silva. Late in the first round Arona caught Jackson in a triangle choke, Jackson picked up Arona and powerbombed him into the canvas, earning the KO win. Prior to his rematch with Silva, Jackson made headlines with the public announcement of his conversion to Christianity. In the fight itself, Jackson floored Silva in the opening round and later scored a takedown which led to a series of knees and elbows at the end of the round. Jackson scored another takedown in the second round, but Silva escaped to his feet and proceeded to knock out Jackson with multiple knee strikes to the head.
Jackson's next two bouts were against Silva's Chute Boxe training camp partners. He won a split decision over Murilo "Ninja" Rua, but fell to Rua's younger brother, Shogun Rua, via TKO soccer kicks to the head Soon after his loss to Shogun, Jackson was contacted by veteran boxing and MMA trainer Juanito Ibarra, who saw potential in Jackson's natural abilities but viewed his reputation as a hindrance. After a short conversation, Jackson entrusted Ibarra, a fellow born again Christian, with the managerial and training direction of his career. Jackson then defeated Hirotaka Yokoi via TKO at Pride 30. In his final fight for Pride he won a unanimous decision over Yoon Dong-Sik at Pride 31
