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Rampage shows he's best in class

1K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  infamous2117 
#1 ·
pretty cool Rampage story i found courtesy foxsports.com...thought you might enjoy:


Quinton "Rampage" Jackson proved he is the premier light heavyweight in the world by outpointing Pride champion Dan Henderson at UFC 75 Saturday night. Taking place in front of a packed audience at the O2 Arena in London, the atmosphere provided for an electric night of action.


The feature bout, billed as "Champion vs. Champion," was an intense, strategic fight with both men having their moments. However, it was Jackson's superior boxing skills and underrated ground game that won the day, dropping Henderson twice and almost finishing him in the final seconds of the bout. The gritty Henderson stood his ground and fought back ferociously, applying his own improved standup and considerable wrestling skills. He made life extremely difficult for the defending champion, and was a danger in every round.

Fighting with an injured wrist had no apparent effect on Jackson, as he rained powerful right hands onto Henderson's head and rolled nimbly on the ground.

"My wrist held up OK. I hurt my left knuckle from hitting him upside the head though," he said after the fight. "It's a different type of injury.

"But damn, he got a rock-hard head!"

And it was Henderson's remarkable ability to absorb punishment that kept him in the bout, taking punches that had previously knocked out Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randleman and Marvin Eastman.

"I knew Quinton was good on his feet, hits hard and has good wrestling skills," said the Californian after the fight. "He caught me with some good shots".

Jackson seemed entirely comfortable throughout the bout, making easy transitions from standing to ground.

"A lot of people don't know that I've got jiu-jitsu", Jackson said afterward. "I wanted to tell (referee) John McCarthy, he kept standing us up, and I'm like, but I like to roll."

The fight featured some intense back-and-forth action as the two traded punches from the opening round. Jackson's punches were a little better placed, but Henderson showed some good head movement and defense to thwart some of the powerful blows coming his way. Henderson had some success on the inside with uppercuts and knees, but Jackson was setting the pace and looked the better fighter standing up.

The pace slowed after the first, but included sporadic bursts of intense action when the two exchanged in the middle of the ring, much to the delight of the crowd.

They seemed evenly matched on the floor, with Henderson going for arm locks and Jackson using his jiu-jitsu skills to out-position him on occasion. The smaller Henderson actually managed to outstrike Jackson at the end of the third, landing some thudding punches and an excellent knee from the clinch.

Jackson dumped Henderson onto the seat of his pants in the fourth, catching his opponent with a perfectly executed left hook from range. Henderson recovered well as Jackson leapt on him, almost catching the furious champion in a Kimura as he swung punches. Henderson looked the more gassed of the two, and Jackson stepped it up a level as the round closed.

The fifth saw Jackson coming out hard and fast, but Henderson, as game as always, stood his ground to slug it out as best he could. Henderson mounted a mini comeback in the middle of the round, catching Jackson with some well-placed punches that stunned the champion.

But the relentless Jackson stormed back, rocking his opponent with powerful shots and mauling him from the clinch. An overhand right caught Henderson on the top of the head, dropping him a second time as he lost his equilibrium. Jackson tried desperately to finish the fight as the round closed, smashing punches through Henderson's guard and coming close to ending it. Henderson survived, but it was clear who had won the fight.

"I think the rules may have affected me a little," said Henderson, used to fighting in the Pride Fighting organization. "There were some times when I wanted to throw knees on the floor, and it took me off my game a bit."

But he was under no doubt as to who had won.

"He fought a good fight. I let him control me more than I wanted," he said.
 
#3 ·
Cowmilker said:
Does anyone else think that Rampage is a beast and could beat anyone including Shogun in the LHW division right now??? i am definitely on this guys bandwagon right now..he has been really impressive lately.

i think he is different then when he fought in pride, and i think he can beat any LHW right now. shogun would be tough though
 
#11 ·
If page can actually stick to his game plan and wrestle Shogun and Wandy to the ground I think thats where his best chance is. I know they have great BJJ but the guy has proven hes got some skills at controlling someone when hes on top. The only problem I see is he still seems to get lost in that stand up and slug mentality. He got caught hard by Hendo in either the 4th or 5th round I think because of it when he could have easily taken him down at that point because Dan was so gassed. Either way I really cant wait to see who he fights next. LHW is pretty much guaranteed sick title fights for the next year at least.
 
#12 ·
Wise said:
If page can actually stick to his game plan and wrestle Shogun and Wandy to the ground I think thats where his best chance is. I know they have great BJJ but the guy has proven hes got some skills at controlling someone when hes on top. The only problem I see is he still seems to get lost in that stand up and slug mentality. He got caught hard by Hendo in either the 4th or 5th round I think because of it when he could have easily taken him down at that point because Dan was so gassed. Either way I really cant wait to see who he fights next. LHW is pretty much guaranteed sick title fights for the next year at least.
Agreed. :thumbsup:
 
#14 ·
I have been saying for a while now that Rampage is a different fighter. He is definitely a force right now, and IMO should be ranked #1 LHW because of recent performances and the fact that he is a triple belt holder(technically).
 
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#15 ·
GMW said:
I suppose he could beat Wanderlei or Shogun but I'd still bet on them over Rampage.
I'm with GMW here. I mean, I give Rampage a shot against both guys, especially Wandy (Since Wandy's chin has been taking some abuse), but I'd still pick both Wandy & Shogun over the guy. I think both guys are Rampage's kryptonite, much like Wanderlei was Sakuraba's, Ken was Bas', Fedor was Nog's, and Chuck was Tito's.

Shogun, man, he just ran through Rampage like he was nothing, and is primarily a grappler, so of course, I'd still pick him over Rampage.
 
#17 ·
I would argue and have in the past that if like some of you said Rampage took Shogun down he would be in a worse spot than anywhere else. Shogun has some of the best sweeps in MMA and his submissions are severly underrated. Rampage has a huge tendancy on the ground to rush in and get caught and he usually just powers out of the submissions but Shogun has some real strong legs and I think on the ground Shogun dominates Rampage. Rampage wins this fight boxing. Shogun takes it if it goes to the ground or to the clinch.
 
#18 ·
I've had a man-crush on Rampage ever since I saw a tape of him pick up Chuck Liddell and slam him on the mat so hard Liddell's team threw in the towel immediately. That, and that gigantic chain he wears around his neck is just straight up money. He's got a great sense of humor too.
 
#19 ·
Rampage is a much different beast now and I think a lot of the Pride guys, like Hendo, will be in for a shock when they go in and face a Rampage with a coach and a plan. That coach of his has taken Rampage and taught him so many things that are just helping to finish his game and refining his gameplan. I think Rampage will peak in 2-3 years, hold it for another year or so, and then start his downward trend. During that time I don't see anyone who can dominate him.
 
#20 ·
cdtcpl said:
Rampage is a much different beast now and I think a lot of the Pride guys, like Hendo, will be in for a shock when they go in and face a Rampage with a coach and a plan. That coach of his has taken Rampage and taught him so many things that are just helping to finish his game and refining his gameplan. I think Rampage will peak in 2-3 years, hold it for another year or so, and then start his downward trend. During that time I don't see anyone who can dominate him.
You come across as sounding like Hendo wasnt pretty much a mid/top level fighter just like Rampage was when they were both over in Pride. In all honesty I havnt seen him change much. He looks like pretty much the same fighter that Wandy and Shogun put a monkey stomp on. I do think he had oppurtunities in both Silva fights to win but like I said earlier he loses his head and decides to sit in the pocket and trade with crazy mofo's from brazil who look like if they wernt fighting they would be killing cats for a living.

I do think he looks, fresher, at least. He looks like hes the same confident Page as he was after ******* up Randleman, bustamante and Liddel. To me the jury is still out, I have alot of respect for the cat but it takes alot to dominate a group of fighters like the UFC has in the LHW division these days. If he gets past Shogun, Wandy maybe again and whoever else is up to the challenge in the next couple fights then Ill jump on the Rampage bandwagon no problem.
 
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