Mixed martial artists fighting boxers at their own game and vice versa isn’t necessarily a smart thing, according to UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. BY GEORGE WILLIS
UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson thinks mixed martial artists and boxers, who dabble in each others sports are basically asking for trouble.
Silva, virtually unknown outside the MMA world, would draw a lot of attention from the mainstream media for fighting a boxing legend. As long as Silva is competitive in the fight, he does nothing to harm the image of MMA or his own. Deep down, Jackson wouldn’t mind seeing the fight. “I would be glad for my sport,” Jackson said. “It’s about time MMA goes mainstream. I want the sport to stick around a good long time and everyone benefits. Fighters got to eat, too.”
As for Jackson, he’ll stick with MMA. He recently completed taping Season 7 of the Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV. He’s serving as coach of Team Jackson, which takes on a team coached by Forrest Griffin, the Season 1 champion. Not only will a new Ultimate Fighter be crowned, but Jackson and Griffin will also square off in a pay-per-view event in July.
“I want to be the first unbeaten light heavyweight champion in UFC,” Jackson said. “After I’m done, I’d like to do some movies. I have to turn down movies now because I have to fight and fighting pays more than the movies. But when movies start paying me more than fighting, I’ll have to turn down the fights.”
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