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It's rare and difficult for me to acknowledge that any man is
truly superhuman. But when it comes to God's Street Soldier, Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson, it is with surprising ease that he so comfortably fits this
description. Spending nearly four hours in the octagon with the man taught me a
lesson about him. As I sit here this next morning penning my article my head
hurts from being slammed, my jaw is sore from being repeatedly punched, and
over-all my body feels the beating. The lesson that he taught me was that I
should value my life. Rampage sparred with me, but he also spared me. I can
tell you first hand that the enormity of his power is indescribable. Having trained
MMA for quite a few years now, I have sparred with many powerful guys over that
time. I used to think that Dan "The Beast" Severn
was without a doubt the strongest guy I ever locked up with. He was the 280lbs.
former UFC V champion, and a guy who's pure power was unmatched by anyone in his
day. Of course my opinion changed when I locked up with Rampage. At a trimmed
down 212lbs. for me and a ballooned up 235lbs. for Rampage, I knew I was
severely outweighed. But having sparred with much bigger guys that had a far
greater weight advantage was standard fair for me. Even so I had not counted on
the supernatural degree of power he had. I simply had no earthly reference
point. It was unexplainable. It was almost mystical. He exhibited the power and
strength of a muscular man of 300lbs. or more! The kicker was that, as hard as
I went, I know he was holding back big-time. Far from a UFC defense of his
title, he was toying with me in this exhibition as I fought for my life, while
all the time jawing for the cameras. Ironically no heavy free-weight training
got him there. No sledge hammers on tires. No wood chopping workouts. Nothing conventional
you can think of. Just his big heart, his mighty blessings, the street lessons
behind him, and fighting, fighting, fighting. Add to that his personality is bigger
then life. It's bigger than he is. He loves and you can feel it. He's smart as
a whip. His charisma fills the room. Add to that Rampage is a total goofball
with a remarkably disarming sense of humor. It all doesn't make intuitive sense
in the package of a natural born wrecking machine. But then there's the faith
you need to believe that it all can happen this way. It can all be created in
one beautiful superhuman package. It's the only explanation. For me, he is an
enigma, a freak of nature, and a blessed creature that I now look upon with
amazement and awe. It seems he has fought for his life and everything he has
from the day he was born. He has defied odds and risen up and out of the brutal
streets to conquer the world of mixed martial arts. His fighting skills were
honed in Japan
and his fighting prowess and personality made him a global phenomenon.
Eventually destiny took him straight into the UFC and a collision course for
the title, which he was preordained to win, and win easily. Then champion Chuck
"The Iceman" Liddell didn't stand a chance that day. Rampage had come too far.
He had bled too much and sacrificed everything in a long path of sweat and
tears. No man or God would stand in his way that day. The title was, and still
is, his. So is this interview.
DrCarlon:
First off I want to thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and give
our SuperHumanMag readers a chance to know a little more about you.
Rampage:
Yes, yes.
DrCarlon: I spent a lot of time
with you in the cage today. It was quite an experience and I appreciate you
sparing my life. But I didn't much appreciate it when you slammed me!
Rampage: [Rampage laughs his
ass off]
DrCarlon: Hey you're a baaad
dude!
Rampage: Only sometimes doc.
DrCarlon: In addition to the
moniker "Rampage", you are also known as "God's Street Soldier". Explain who
gave you the additional moniker and why.
Rampage: Well I don't know
Monica. Who's Monica? [Now I'm laughing my ass off]
DrCarlon: But seriously, the
name.
Rampage: I came from the street
and God spared me. I had so many fights as a kid. I had to fight all the time.
God did a lot for me. He protected me and that's how I made it. A lot of
friends I grew up with didn't make it. They didn't even see their 18th
birthday and the ones that did might be alive but they're barely surviving. So
they didn't really make it. One day when I'm ready and God's ready, I just want
to take back the streets. That's because I can relate to the people on the
streets where I came from. I want to let them know that if I can make it, so
can they.
DrCarlon: What do you mean when
you say take back the streets?
Rampage: Look I'm not perfect.
I believe in God. I know God is out there. He takes care of me. I don't have to
be afraid to say I love the God that made me, and neither do those guys in the
streets. I want to give those people another choice other than the street. I'm
not the organized type but I'm pretty sure God will set it up where I can have
a place where kids can go and learn a little MMA, maybe some boxing and
jiu-jitsu. They will have a place to learn some martial arts for free and this
way I'll keep the streets from taking them. That way they'll make it out.
DrCarlon: I get the feeling
that MMA saved you from yourself.
Rampage: Yes, definitely. It's
seems kind of crazy to think about it at first. A lot of people say MMA is just
a violent sport, nothing more. But those people don't understand. MMA saved my
life. It feeds my kids and allows me to take care of my parents.
DrCarlon: You're a very
complete fighter yet in your self-described fighting style you've referred to
yourself as primarily a wrestler.
Rampage: I just say I'm mainly a wrestler because that was my
first training in martial arts. The truth is that I am a brawler. Though you're
not supposed to say that, technically that's what I really am. I'm really not
that good a wrestler, but brawling is what I do well.
DrCarlon:
On your website it says that, upon finishing high school, you had originally
intended on pursuing a career in professional wrestling! Among opponents you're
feared for your WWE-type slamming. So when you go slamming guys, beyond the
brutal effectiveness, is it also some kind of tribute to this first love?
Rampage: I never thought about it but I guess you're right. I
can attribute it to the WWE. That's where I learned those moves and started
doing them by wrestling around with my older and younger brothers. We used to slam
each other at home wrestling around on our beds. Watching the WWE is what got me started way
back before even high school wrestling. I was always strong for my age and my
size so I was able to get pretty good at slamming guys. I really liked it so
just kept doing it.
DrCarlon: As you know, coming
from Pride, Wanderlei Silva has not met with much success in the UFC in losing
his first UFC fight to Chuck Liddell-a guy who you've beaten quite convincingly
both back in your Pride days and more recently at UFC 71. Yet Wanderlei has
posed tremendous trouble for you. I mean two KO losses to him in 2003 and again
in 2004. Explain to our readers how this makes any sense.
Rampage: The first time I
fought Wanderlei I had to fight and beat Chuck right before my fight with
Wanderlei. That's how Pride fighting worked back then. Meanwhile Wanderlei had
to fight some not-so-good Japanese dude to get to me. He wasn't much. Chuck and
Wanderlei are two of the best fighters in the world. And I had to fight them
both that night! It's kind of tough to beat them both back-to-back on the same
night. In the second loss I was winning the fight but then I made a mistake. He
just caught me, grabbed my head, kneed me, and knocked me out.
DrCarlon: Is that the kind of
guy you'd want another shot at or is it all behind you and you don't care
because you are the champ?
Rampage: Yes I would like to
fight him. I'd just like to fight him when I am 100%. I want to fight him here
in the UFC where he's not protected as much. If you go back and look at some of
his fights, when he was in trouble on his back on the ground they would stand
the guys back up and save him. That's how Pride was. It wouldn't happen in the
UFC. I'm the UFC champ right now and if the UFC gave me breaks like that I'd
feel less than a champion.
DrCarlon: How happy were you
when you became UFC champ?
Rampage: So happy I slept with
my belt right next to me for two whole weeks, no lie!
DrCarlon: The MMA
game is a game of match-ups and basically anything can happen. The unexpected
is what makes it so exciting. For example, Matt "The Law" Lindland-nearly got
caught you in a rear naked choke. In terms of the skill and/or toughness of any
opponent you've ever faced, which fighter surprised you the most?
Rampage: You're right. It was Matt. He surprised me the most. He
did some stuff in that fight that really surprised me. I knew he was going to
be tough. I was surprised when he came out punching and kicking. It threw me
off. But like most wrestlers his plan went back to trying to grab me, take me
to the ground, and hold me down. He's a better wrestler than me. The guy is a
silver medalist in the Olympics! But I ended up out-wrestling him!
DrCarlon: Have you ever been afraid?
Rampage:
I'm afraid of ghosts. I'm afraid of guns. I'm afraid of the police. I'm
sometimes afraid of to fly. I'm afraid to try new foods. And oh yes, I'm very
afraid of fat girls!
DrCarlon:
Why are you afraid of fat girls? I mean are you serious?
Rampage:
Yes I'm serious! [both of us laughing]
DrCarlon:
Okay so why do fat girls scare you?
Rampage:
They try and get you get you drunk. They're like lions in the jungle that prey
on the weak!
DrCarlon:
How about before a fight? Do you get scared then?
Rampage:
No, just nervous.
DrCarlon:
How do you prepare your mind for a fight?
Rampage:
I don't. I am two different people. This is Quinton Jackson you're talking to
right now, not Rampage.
DrCarlon: As a fighter, what is
your greatest strength?
Rampage: My greatest strength
is my physical strength. That's because I'm strong as hell. In particular my
lower back is strongest. Guys that try and get me in a triangle choke pay for
it. They don't expect to get slammed from that position.
DrCarlon: And what about your
greatest weakness?
Rampage: I would never put that
information out there.
DrCarlon: Yes, but I would!
Rampage: I know! [Rampage
laughing]
DrCarlon: What about your
greatest strength as a person?
Rampage: I love everybody and I
care about everybody. I care about the world. Everybody deserves a chance. Even
a bum on the street deserves a chance. I don't pre-judge people.
DrCarlon: And what about your
greatest weakness as a person?
Rampage: Same thing as my
greatest strength. I love everybody. It's my strength and my weakness. That's
how I see it.
DrCarlon: What the most
important physical attribute you need in a fight?
Rampage: Endurance. I do a lot
of running. I run six days per week. A lot of road work. I don't use any cardio
equipment though. All the rest of my cardio training is done in the octagon or
ring. I work stuff like muay tai, kickboxing, boxing, jiu-jitsu.
DrCarlon: How important is flexibility and
how much do you work on it?
Rampage: Very important I guess. But I don't
work on it. I'm just bad at it. I can't even touch my toes without bending my
knees.
DrCarlon: When a fight is first scheduled and
you know who you will be fighting, do you take any particular additional
measures like analyzing their fight style and preparing in that way?
Rampage: No. I never do that. I don't get
caught up in what he's going to do. I don't give a damn, really.
DrCarlon: Describe how your regular training
routine breaks down?
Rampage: I wake up at 6:30am and then run
three miles alternating with sprints and hill work. Then at 10am I work on my
stand-up skills-kickboxing and muay-tai. I do this for about two hours. I go
home for a while, eat. Then I come back at night and work on my wrestling and
jiu-jitsu for another two hours.
DrCarlon: So it doesn't sound like you're
using free weights, Olympic-style lifts (snatch and/or clean and jerk), machine
weights, kettlebells, medicine ball tosses, or much of anything else other than
what you mentioned.
Rampage: Well sometimes we mess around with a
medicine ball but that's about the only non-fighting equipment I use.
DrCarlon: You have a legendary trainer in
Juanito Ibarra. He's trained 13 world champions. I would assume he is a big
part of your current success.
Rampage: Most definitely.
DrCarlon: But between yourself, your great
trainer, sparring partners, and anyone else, who really gets most of the credit
for your success?
Rampage: God, definitely God. He made me able
to do this. A lot of Christian people might say Jesus would not want anyone
fight for money. But I personally don't think those people know what they're
talking about. I read in the good book that if God gives you a talent then he
smiles when you use it. Like an artist. If God gives you a talent to paint,
draw, or play music, when you do those things God smiles. So he means for you
to do those things. He gives you whatever skills you have. I was made to
fight.
DrColker: That's a strange thought. I mean do
you really think God was smiling down at you a couple of hours ago when you
exercised your art by slamming me on my head in the middle of the octagon?!
Rampage: Yes doc, that's exactly what I'm
saying.
DrColker: Hmmm...Come to think of it, Rampage,
maybe you're right!
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