thaFormula.com - Why do you think there has been such a lack of top black Mixed Martial Arts fighters as opposed to say boxing and other sports?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Boxing is kind of traditional you know. The inner city kids do the boxing, but it ain't too many martial arts gyms in the city you feel me? So black folks that are good athletes, most of them are already doing stuff trying to make millions like in football or basketball. Mixed Martial Arts hasn't been described as a sport that is making millions yet so black folks are trying to make their meal ticket you feel me? They ain't trying to go out there and do mixed martial arts and not make the big money.

thaFormula.com - So then why did you do it seeing that you got in at a time where there wasn't even as much money being made as there is now?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Well the weird thing about me is that I grew up fighting and one of my friends introduced me to it and I was like "whoa, you mean I can beat up white dudes and not go to jail?" I ain't racist or nothing but it was just a bunch of white folks fighting, it wasn't no black people fighting. I used to like to fight and I'm from the South you know what I'm saying, and its like "damn beating up white folks and not going to jail?" That's like unheard of where I'm from. So when my family found out what I was doing they didn't give me no problem. They was like, "you mean they don't say nothing when you're out there beating up them white folks?" I said "man they don't say nothing, they be cheering me on." I'm like "damn," it blew my mind. To be honest though, the real reason was that so I could keep up my wrestling dog, just on the real. I don't want people to think that I'm racist or something cause I really ain't. I just wanted to keep up with my wrestling.

thaFormula.com - So was it also a situation where you weren't really sure what you wanted to do with your life at the time or were you doing something else at the time?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I wasn't doing a damn thing. I had just got out of college and everything for getting in a fight. I got kicked out of college and it was just something to do. I had just turned into an athlete. I didn't start sports until I was 17 so you know, I wanted to keep it up and keep going. The wrestling had changed my life. I used to be a street punk so you know wrestling saved my life so I figured I would keep up with this athletic stuff. You know, I wasn't smoking weed no more, I wasn't smoking cigarettes no more, I wasn't drinking beer and stuff no more, I just wanted to do right. I started eating right and it was something new to me. One thing led to another and I became pretty good at what I do so I just kept it up.

thaFormula.com - Looking back at your career, is your first fight something that you'll never forget?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - You never forget your first fight. Because that's a fight you know your fitting to get into. You're preparing for it and getting nervous. My first fight I didn't have enough time to do any sparring and I didn't have enough time to prepare for it, but I still went out there and won my first amateur fight. I got punched in the face and I was actually shocked that this guy was punching me in the face. I think he gave me a bloody lip. It pissed me off more, but it shocked me. I thought that my hands were better because on the street you go out there and you punch and I remember in my street fights I used to put knots on peoples heads, but in this fight with this guy, he's punching me and everything and I'm like "whoa this wasn't supposed to happen."

thaFormula.com - So you won your first 2 fights against Marco and Mike Pyle before losing your first fight to Eastman, what was your first loss like for you and was that something that was hard to recover from?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Yeah, I remember sitting down in my apartment the next day with my head down and my legs were sore from all those kicks. I was like "man this guy done whooped my ass." I said, "I cant believe I let this guy whoop my ass" and that made me go out and train hard and I trained my butt off and I got better and didn't lose again until I got in Pride.

thaFormula.com - Right, you racked up 8 wins in a row, when exactly did Pride come calling?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Pride came calling two weeks before you saw me there, that's when they came calling.

thaFormula.com - Were you up on Sakuraba at that time and did you know what type of a fighter you were about to face?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Yeah, I had watched him fight a few times. I knew his fighting style and knew that he was kind of unorthodox.

thaFormula.com - Was it a shock for you when you went to Japan and walked into that arena for the first time in front of thousands of people like that?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Nah, I don't know what the problem was but no. I guess it was all gods plan. That stuff never even bothered me. I never even thought about all of that until after the fight. 'Cause you know I'm an entertainer. A lot of people freeze up in front of a lot of people like that but I don't know what it was but its just crazy that it didn't bother me. The big crowd didn't bother me. I was more nervous for my first UFC fight then I was for all the Pride fights put together and at the UFC it seemed like there was nobody there compared to the Pride shows I fought in. So no it didn't bother me at all.

thaFormula.com - Was it different fighting a Japanese fighter in Japan then all the American fighters you had fought here up until that point?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - His style of fighting was just different. I knew for a fact that I wasn't brought there to win and when you fight in Japan against someone like Sakuraba, the whole country knows who you are. I was instantly famous as soon as I got off of the airplane. I had fans who already made cards of me and photographs and stuff so I was in the hotel going "this is nuts, everybody already knows who I am." So it's kind of crazy. Also you didn't know it then but secretly you know most of the people want you to lose. Some people like you and don't care if you win or lose but most people want you to lose and that's kind of like a weird feeling that goes through you like "oh man these people want me to get my ass kicked because I'm fighting their hero."

thaFormula.com - After that loss, it seemed like it was another situation similar to the Marvin fight as far as you racking up another 8 or 9 wins after that loss to Sak(uraba). What was it like fighting Igor Vovchanchyn during that streak? Were you a little worried about that fight?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - The Igor fight was weird. It was like 3 weeks notice to fight and my trainer was out of town and so I had to train with this new trainer, a guy that had trained Ricco Rodriguez and stuff like that and he's a cool guy but he was trying to change up my style. I had to plead with this guy like "man don't change up my style 'cause I'm just gonna be with you for this one fight cause my trainer is out of town," so it was kind of nerve wrecking at first. I was like "man, this whole time this guy is trying to teach me how to kick his way" and I said "man, let's just get my cardio up and lets work on a game plan and let me do the things I do." It took like a couple of days to get that across to him then he started to understand like "I guess your right, your not gonna be my student forever, go ahead and fight your style." So he helped me put together a game plan and I was so pissed at Pride because I felt like Pride had brought me in to lose again and I felt like pride always brought me in to lose. That's why I trained so hard and that's why I went on that winning streak 'cause after my fight I went right back into the gym and started training and learning more. That's how I grew up so quick, like in my Sakuraba fight, that was my first time tapping out and it was just embarrassing for me to lose. So Igor Vovchanchyn had to go down. I don't care how much time they gave me to prepare, he had to go down. What Pride did to me, I had to take it out on my opponent.

thaFormula.com - So up next came Kevin Randleman, was that also a situation where you were brought in to lose?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I don't know about that one. That was more of a chance for us to prove ourselves, that's what I think. I don't know though because the winner of this fight was supposed to fight Vanderlai Siva for the belt and that's when Vanderlai chickened out. He didn't wanna fight me the next fight, he wanted to fight me in the tournament when I was already tired from fighting Chuck Lidell first and I felt I was set up to lose cause I know cause I was kicking Silva's ass on the ground and they stood me up.

thaFormula.com - One of your best fights to me was your fight against Bustamante mainly because I thought he actually had you for a second with that choke and how you guys went back & forth.  Did you underestimate Bustamante going into that fight because he was a smaller fighter then you?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I didn't even know I was fighting Bustamante until I got to Japan. I'm trying to tell you, the behind the scenes stuff about Pride and the reason why I left them and the reason why I would never go back no matter what is because Pride treated me like crap. A lot of fans don't know the behind the scenes stuff. I was supposed to fight Ricardo Arona and that's the grand prix, that's for all the marbles and that was the first round and Bustamante is a champion no matter how small he is. I hate fighting small dudes, I would rather fight a bigger guy because smaller people are normally quicker then you. I didn't even know I was fighting him so I had to invent my game plan right there in the fight. I didn't have a strategy because I didn't know I was fighting him until I got to Japan. If your opponent gets hurt or backs out, they are supposed to give you a lesser opponent at the last minute, they are not supposed to give you somebody tougher. Busta was a champion and in my opinion I think he beat Chuck Lidell back in the day. That fight could have went either way with Chuck Lidell.

thaFormula.com - So you beat Busta and Chuck Lidell was next, did you have enough time to prepare for the Chuck fight?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Yeah I had a couple of months to prepare for it. I fought Chuck Lidell and Vanderlai Silva in the same day, now that was hard.

thaFormula.com - Was your fight with Chuck a tough fight for you and was he better then you thought he was?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - It was just another day at the office for me, but Chuck proved to be very tough, but it went according to the game plan. I wanted to knock him out or destroy him, but I wanted to knock him out in the first round but I ended up getting him in the second round. That was my game plan to get Chuck out of the way to destroy him and then beat Vanderlai by decision. That was my game plan for the two fights in one night.

thaFormula.com - Now when people talk about your fight with Chuck, a lot of people say that Chuck was injured, Chuck was out of shape and that the Chuck of today is a completely different fighter then the one you fought, do you agree with that?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I don't know, but I don't make excuses that often when I win but just for the record I wasn't 100 percent either. I didn't make many excuses. I did let people know but that fight was right after the damn San Bernardino fires up here and I couldn't breathe like I really wanted too. It really messed up my cardio and my nose hasn't been the same since. It has gotten a lot better now but I wasn't 100 percent neither. I was kind of sick so I'm glad Chuck is gonna be 100 percent this time when we fight. I want to fight him at his best. I want to let the world know that I'm the best fighter in the world and I'm here to stay.

thaFormula.com - Now after you beat Chuck you faced off against Siva for the first time, how did it feel to be so close to winning it all?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I could have went down in history as the best fighter in the world that night by beating up the two toughest guys in my weight class but hey, everything happens for a reason, I don't know what the hell was the reason was that that happened for, but I know I in my heart I could have won that tournament because I was winning until they stood me up. They know on the ground it was going according to my game plan but hell, I know they wanted Vanderlai to win. I can't even blame it totally on that, I should have been able to take him right back down if I wanted to.

thaFormula.com - Now you came back after that loss and beat Minowa and Ricardo Arona and got your chance again to fight Silva. Unfortunate it ended in a K.O. loss like the first fight, do you feel it was the same situation as the first?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Nah, I just feel that he caught me in that fight. You know it's a fight and anything can happen. I look back at the tape, and you know I threw a punch and he countered it and dazed me then he kneed me and I was out. Things happen in a fight. I feel like I was winning the fight up to that point and I got caught. It's a fight, it happens.

thaFormula.com - Regardless of what happened, many people including consider that one of the greatest fights of all time and one thing that is for sure is that you always put on some of the most exciting fights…

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - That's what I feel too. You know I've never really, really seen that fight yet.

thaFormula.com - I'm sure it's a really hard fight to look at…

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Yeah it is hard to look at. I'll watch it one day.

thaFormula.com - Now after that you lost to Shogun many people feel even now after you have racked up four wins in a row to date, that Vanderlai and Shogun took your warrior spirit from you and that you are no longer the same fighter, what do you say to that?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - They saw me at my worst. They saw me fighting two champions but they didn't see how I prepared for those champions. I had like amateur teammates and I'm fighting champions. You can't do that, it don't work. That's what happens when you have some amateur people to spar with that won't even stand up with you and run out the ring and cry because you hit them too hard or something, and you're fighting two champions that are the top fighters in the world? But people don't see that, they just see what your performance is in the ring. They don't see how you prepare for it and see your training so when Team Punishment broke up I was basically training with amateur fighters.

thaFormula.com - Yeah man because when you fought Chuck you're striking, defense, stamina and head movement was really good at the time…

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - And that's exactly when I had awesome people to train with.

thaFormula.com - But even with your Eastman fight it seemed like that or was that more you being nervous then anything else?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Yeah, there was a lot of pressure and a lot of nerves, but for this fight with Chuck, I think I have a lot more sparring partners and I've sparred a lot more. I think this time you guys are gonna see something different.

thaFormula.com - So what made you finally decide to leave Pride and choose the UFC?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - Well no matter what, I wasn't gonna choose Pride ever again and the UFC is on top right now. They are doing good and getting good pay-per-view numbers so you know they are doing good. They are successful.

thaFormula.com - Now back to your upcoming fight with Chuck, are you cool with not having another warm up fight like it was originally scheduled for you to have or was that something that you decided not to do?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - It's the same thing all over again. I'm brought in to lose right? But what they don't know is that that's gonna light a fire up under my ass and I'm gonna take it out on Chuck. See they didn't understand it and they didn't get the memo from Pride. Every time Pride brought me in to lose or almost every time, I went up in there and I did my thing. But the only thing about Pride was that they try to use the referees to aid it. The UFC they don't do it like Pride do it. But you know the referee controls the fight a lot of people don't pay attention like I pay attention. The referee can stand you up at certain times or let certain things go on, or stop the fight at certain times when they want, so you've gotta always be careful with that.

thaFormula.com - When you look at the Chuck of today, do you see the same fighter you fought or do you think he has gotten better?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - I think he has gotten a little bit better but I don't know. I think he's got a little bit better but I don't give a damn! I don't care about what Chuck is gonna do or how he trains or how he eats, looks, smells, I don't give a damn.

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