After taking his cause public and continuing to push things behind the scenes the UFC finally relented on their stance and booked him to face Ryan Bader on February 26 at the company’s upcoming return to the Land of the Rising Sun.

The news came as a great relief to Jackson who spoke some about the differences between fighting in Japan when compared to the United States at a recent press conference promoting the event.

“Back when I was fighting here, I had so much energy. I just wanted to put on a good show for the fans because all the energy they give,” Jackson explained. “In America, you’re under so much pressure to win at all costs because the fans talk sh*t to you if you lose even if it’s a good, exciting fight. In Japan, it’s just a different energy. Who knows? Maybe I’ll take more chances and not care because it’s all about the crowd. I react to the crowd. I don’t care about the people watching on TV.”

Jackson continued on to say the change in environment actually had a negative effect on his in-ring style, stating, “Actually my standup has evolved a lot since I last fought here, but at the same time that’s what’s gotten me in trouble a lot lately. Everyone sees me boxing a lot more, so they’re creating great game plans to counter my boxing. In Japan, I used to slam a lot and put on more of a show because the energy from the fans gave me power and I don’t feel the same energy in the US. So, I can’t honestly say I improved or evolved in a good way since leaving Japan.”

Though the actual impact the surroundings will have on the former UFC light heavyweight champ remains to be seen, Jackson made it clear he  hopes Bader shares his enthusiasm for attempting to wow those in attendance.

“The only thing that matters when he steps in the cage in Japan is that he comes in to put on an exciting show. I’m all about putting on an exciting fight in Japan. One thing I love about Japanese fans and why I love them the most is that they don’t care if you win or lose. All they care is if you have samurai spirit, that you put on a good fight. That’s why Japanese fans are my favorite. And American fans are jealous that I say that all the time.”

UFC 144 will mark the first fight in Japan for “Rampage” in six years after making a name for himself in PRIDE from 2001-2006. His many memorable performances in Japan include those coming in match-ups with Chuck Liddell, Kevin Randleman, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, and Ricardo Arona.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC/FEG

Now, not only does it appear Jackson is definitely the object of the 30 year old’s in-ring desire, but he’s even willing to spend the fight striking with him if need be to facilitate the match-up

Lawal’s statements came in a recent conversation with Full Contact Fighter where he also offered up a bit of trash-talk on top of the proposed challenge.

Though Lawal is currently a member of Strikeforce, that doesn’t seem to be a huge issue as UFC President Dana White has been gobbling up talent from the promotion for major bouts in his company.

“Enough of the talk, let’s do the action. Let’s bang then, dawg. You’re talkin’ about you wanna box, you can box me! I won’t take you down, you know what I’m sayin’,” Lawal animatedly explained in the interview. “Or you can holla at my boy James Toney and be a sparring partner for him. Pick your poison. You can getcha ass whipped in boxing by James Toney, or you can getcha ass whipped by me in MMA. I’ll stand and box with you.”

Lawal and Jackson have made quite the verbal warfare, tossing jabs at one another for over 15 years, according to “King Mo.” Jackson has said a number of times in the past he is looking for a fight at the UFC’s show in Japan this upcoming February, and Lawal has said he would be fine with taking on “Rampage” in the Land of the Rising Sun if need be.

Lawal, a college wrestling standout, rebounded from his first professional loss and an extended layoff from injury to come back and defeat previously undefeated grappler Roger Gracie earlier this year via knockout. Jackson, a former 205-pound champ, was defeated by Jon Jones in a bout for the light heavyweight belt last month at UFC 135.

PHOTO CREDIT – STRIKEFORCE/UFC

Jackson opened up about his desire to fight on February 26 when the UFC returns to Japan after ten years away from the Land of the Rising Sun during recent conversation with MMAWeekly.

“I love Japanese fans, they know how to respect a fighter and they know what’s up. Win or lose this fight I would like to be on the Japan show,” the 33-year old explained. “I love Japan (and) I miss the Japanese fans. I would love to go and put a show on in front of them.”

“Rampage” rose to stardom in large part due a number of exciting past performances under the PRIDE banner including wins over Kevin Randleman and Chuck Liddell, as well as a bout against Ricardo Arona featuring one of MMA’s all-time highlights when Jackson put the Brazilian away with a Powerbomb Slam. His run in famed Japanese organization also introduced fans to Jackson’s colorful personality and antics.

The former 205-pound title-holder is one of a number of UFC fighters who have openly expressed their hopes of scrapping in Saitama including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Yoshihiro Akiyama.

PHOTO CREDIT – PRIDE

A lot of people ask me everyday how I feel about Rampage (returning to) the UFC and I never answer. But I don’t answer because I have another opponent and Rampage is not on my mind! I fight Thiago Silva January 2nd and I have my hands full enough with him, so I don’t have time to worry about Rampage. When and if the fight happens it’s gonna be a great fight! But until we sign the fight contract I’m not gonna think about him or the fight!

As alluded to in the comment, “Sugar” ‘Shad is currently set to face American Top Team’s Silva at UFC 108 in Las Vegas. The well-rounded Brazilian knocked out Evans’ teammate and close friend Keith Jardine in his last bout this past August at UFC 102. Both men are considered top contenders at 205-pounds and have singular defeats in their careers, coincidentally enough against the same individual – current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida.

Many of you will remember the announcement of Jackson’s retirement just a little over two months ago when the former champion threw a verbal temper tantrum in the direction of the UFC due to their being disappointed with his decision to turn his back on a highly anticipated showdown with Rashad Evans following the recent completion of The Ultimate Fighter 10 due to the filming of the A-Team remake. You know, the blog where Quinton goes on and on about how much he had done for the UFC, and how ungrateful the promotion had been to him.

Well the most recent revelation in this ongoing soap opera has Rampage promising to make his long awaited return to the sport according to a recent blog on his official website, for a little while at least.

I wanted to let my fans know that I’m going to come back to the UFC [to] finish my contract – not because the haters are talking [expletive] about me being scared of Rashad … or anybody else. I’m coming back for my fans and to shut Rashad’s mouth up and shut Dana’s mouth up. Then after that I’m going back to doing movies, and I might do a boxing match once a year just to stay in shape.

No news is currently available as to a possible return date for Jackson but stay tuned to 5 Oz. as we promise to keep you up to date on any news of the return of the Rampage.

From his withdrawal from his highly anticipated grudge match with Rashad Evans at UFC 107 to take part in the upcoming A-Team feature film, to his shockingly selfish behavior as a “coach” on the tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter, to recently bad mouthing the UFC with every opportunity; It seems like Jackson is truly climbing up the walls as of late.

Quite frankly, the “everyone else is fake and nobody understands me” shtick is getting as old as Quinton’s horrendously repetitive “stank breath” jokes.

What happened to the Rampage us “hardcores” came to know and love back in the days. That quirky, chain wearing, werewolf howling and fun loving brawler that seemed like he was just one of us. The guy that appeared to be one of the coolest and down to earth fighters you would have ever come across?

Did the beatings Rampage took at the hands of Wanderlei Silva during the PRIDE days have had that significant of an impact on the wiring of his brain that something could have, perhaps…. been knocked loose?

Lets not forget that Rampage’s spiritual rebirth followed immediately after his first brutal dismantlement at the hands of “The Axe Murderer”.

In Jackson’s most recent blog post on his official website the former champion had this to say:

I was watching the fight this weekend with the director of the A Team movie, the movie crew & a couple of actors & I never been ashamed to be a part of MMA till now… The UFC looked like assholes this weekend. The main event was boring. I anticipated that because let’s be real. Machida is a boring fighter. But Shogun getting robbed like that was pretty cut throat. Then you hear Joe Rogan say you “you have to beat the champ to be a champ.” & that made me think the UFC are full of shit! Not to be whiny here but I still don’t feel like I’ve been beat in the UFC.. but I’m not champ anymore. If the UFC gives Shogun an immediate rematch because of the controversial loss then that would validate everything I have said about the UFC in my recent posts & why I’m pissed at the UFC. But yet he deserves one & so have I deserved one against Forrest.

The UFC looked like “a*******”? The UFC is “full of s***”? Really? Lets not forget this is the same UFC that bailed Quinton out of jail following his recent rampage through California. The same UFC that made sure he found a safe home in the UK where he could clear his head from the drama surrounding him in the states, and more importantly to protect Jackson from himself as far as the press was concerned.

As far as complaining about deserving an immediate rematch against Griffin goes: Most people had Forrest winning that fight. That’s just the fact of the matter. In direct contrast, it seems as though the majority of fans and experts watching the Machida/Rua bout came away with Shogun as the victor.

The reason why I was ashamed of the UFC is because some people around me were saying that the UFC is becoming corrupt like boxing & asked me is that stuff real? Most of the people from the A Team movie were just watching it because I was watching it & they don’t know much about MMA & were starting to get into it but last night they didn’t have anything good to say about my sport. So I was so ashamed.

So let me get this straight: If some randoms that had obviously never seen mixed martial arts before begin to badmouth this great sport we have come to understand and love, we’re supposed to just tuck? Agree with them? Bow our heads in shame?

I beg to differ. I’ve heard it all before, that stuff is fake, it’s brutal, it’s barbaric, it’s corrupt, and on and on. This is where I, as an avid follower and supporter of the sport, take it upon myself to clarify a number of preconceived misconceptions about MMA still held by some of those we haven’t broken through to yet. The last thing I would do would be to change my position on a sport I have come to represent as a person.

After going on a little rant about how Machida’s performance somehow translated into his arch-nemesis Rashad Evans being made into an even bigger b**** than ever before, Rampage goes on to endlessly complain about how he was edited during this season of The Ultimate Fighter. Like some type of movie magic caused Rampage to be absent from the Octagon with his fighters after they had suffered defeat.

No wonder TUF is editing Rahsad to try to make him look good cause they need all their fighters to sell tickets. They never should have tried to make me look bad cause I’m the wrong person to pull that type of crap with. Cause I don’t give a fuck about the TUF show or about the UFC. There’s not another fighter on this planet that can do what I do & they know it. I don’t need them… All they did was fucken piss me off. & any fighter on my team who says they lost a fight because of my coaching can fucken kiss my ass & say that shit to my face.

I’m sorry, but say it to your face? Really Rampage? And then what? You’re going to kick their ass right? Take it to the street? Murk them?

I for one am sick and tired of bullies masquerading as professional athletes constantly falling back on the, “Say it to my face” routine.

Reality check: We live in a society with police officers, courts, lawsuits and prisons.

When is being considered a tough guy no longer that important. I’d say the point when you’re dealing with a seven figure bank roll would be as good a place as any to start.

Jackson goes on to state that this will be the final time slinging mud at the television show that surely made his B.A. Baracus candidacy a lot more logical for those involved in the casting department.

This is my last time blogging about this damn TUF show. Just because I don’t go into the cage when a fighter loses & cry all over him & hug on him makes me a bad person? I have many reasons why I don’t go into the cage cause when I’m pissed I make bad decisions.

A bad person; absolutely not. A bad coach; definitely.

With his biggest wins to date in the Octagon coming over fighters nobody is considering as title contenders, hopefully Jackson can slice himself off a hunk of that humble pie and get back to doing what he does best in the near future: Fighting, not talking.

Below is the official promo shot recently released for the film courtesy of worstpreviews.com.

Click to enlarge

Quinton Jackson

In his most recent posting, Jackson again referred to a feeling of gross disrespect on the part of White and made it clear that, in reference to Evans’ statement about fighting for free, he would “gladly meet him at any gym and fight him just to shut his mouth up.” The following is the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion’s word-for-word take:

Make no mistake the UFC treated me a lot better than Pride. If you get hurt in training in a UFC fight then will send you to the best doctors. If you get hurt in a Pride fight most of the time they will tell me “oh you better take care of that!” The UFC will always let you know in a timely matter who you will be fighting & give you enough time to train but with Pride if I knew 4 weeks ahead I would be happy cause most times they just give you a 2 weeks notice. Pride will rip you off on your merchandising but the UFC would find someway to hook you up on merchandising deals. Pride will make fights easier for certain fighters inside the ring (like standing up fights early). With the UFC whatever happens, happens. The only thing I see the UFC needs to fix in this area is to get better judges. Ones who know about MMA & not from the boxing world.

The reason why I’m talking about all this is that I feel like this whole situation could have been avoided if UFC would have respected me more & rescheduled the fight about a month or more in my hometown, which I know fights can be rescheduled because of the Matt Hughes & Matt Serra was postponed due to injuries. Instead, Dana went on the internet and started talking bad about my decision. All we had to do was come to a certain type of agreement or understanding, which later came after a lot of trash talk from Dana. My manager flew to Vegas and talked to them and tried to work things out like a MAN. And still I keep quiet and I didn’t talk trash back on the internet. The only reason why I’m even talking now is because I feel like I owe my fans an explanation because I am a MAN…a real MAN. Yeah, I made good money with the UFC – more than Pride – but I made both shows more money than they made me. I didn’t care too much about Pride treating me like crap cause I was an American in a Japanese company. Now in my own country, I feel like I’m being disrespected. Everything is not about how much money you make. You could be the richest man in the world but if nobody respects you then it don’t mean shit. You can’t buy respect. It should be earned. And that’s what I’m all about.

Now Rashad wanna put his two cents in. Rashad remains to be a boy under me. He wins a few fights, and some of them I thought the judges fell asleep during the fight and woke up and saw him playing with his nipples and guessed he won. He knocked Chuck Liddell out when Chuck wasn’t even the same man anymore. And now he thinks he’s on my level. Yeah he talks about how he beat Forrest and I lost. But when I fought Forrest that was the worst Rampage I had ever seen. And I still know in my heart I won that fight. So now he’s Mr. All Cocky and says I got a big mouth and talk a lot of smack. If my memory serves me correctly, he’s the one that got into my face after the Jardine fight and started talking trash when he was the one that was originally supposed to fight me that night, but he told Dana on the phone he didn’t want to fight. He wanted to keep his belt longer. Now, I’m not saying whether or not I would have beaten Machida, but I wouldn’t have went out like a bitch like the way he did. So I’m the one that was looking forward to the Rashad fight the most. I have always been a fighter my whole life. As a kid my family treated me like shit which made me the person who I am today. This is why when I meet people I treat people the way I want to be treated (unless they approach me wrong or piss me off). I grew up thinking that I wasn’t even important to my family which made me not even care about myself. That’s why I can get knee-ed in the face fifteen times and come back for more. That’s why I can get my legs seriously hurt in a fight and still try to win. That’s why I can get my ribs broken in a fight &andnot tap out because my whole life I never thought I mattered to anybody or anybody cared about me. But now I have kids that love me and care about me and I’m not used to people caring about me but it feels good! I’m a very loyal person. Wolves are the most loyal animals on the planet. I was very loyal to the UFC, but now I owe all my loyalty to my kids… the ones who really care for me. The majority of my fights on the street I fought for free and they all were with emotion. I am a fighter, I will always be a fighter but my professional fights that were fought with emotion, I ended them all in devastating fashion. I am the wrong fighter that should fight pissed off professionally. I don’t even consider it fair. So Rashad says he will fight me for free. I will gladly meet him at any gym & fight him just to shut his mouth up. And I mean that for real!

In an interview with radio host Carmichael Dave this morning, White had this to say:

Rampage is a grown man. He’s acting like a baby right now, but he’s a grown man. If he wants to be in the movie business, Rampage, good luck to you, man. I hope he makes it big, and I’m not being sarcastic. … I hope the movie thing works out for him. If that’s what he truly wants to do, and that’s what he feels and that’s what he thinks his career is, I wish him all the luck in the world… [He] has been a friend of ours. We really like Rampage. I’m not going to get into the battle of who’s done what for who and all that stuff. We’ve done a lot for him and yes, he’s been there and fought. The guys who come in here, they’re fighters. That’s what they do. We give them fights and they fight. And they make money and we make money. That’s the way it works… I got so pissed off. I’m speaking my mind, he thinks I’m trying to ruin his movie career… He’s a grown man. He can do whatever he wants to do.

Although Rampage is not the first fighter to hang it up for acting, and certainly not the last, only time will tell if he ever steps into the octagon again.

Quinton Jackson

I couldn’t be happier for him.

As fight fans we (rightly) want to see the most intriguing, exciting fights. We want to see the best fight the best. When Fedor fights a Hong Man Choi the uproar you hear is from fans wanting to see the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time go against top competition. Similarly, when Rampage decided to push his impending fight with Rashad Evans back a few months many were outraged.

And for what? A stupid 1980s movie remake? Haven’t we seen enough of these already to know they’re generally a giant waste of time? Rampage is being selfish and bad for the sport, does he really think he will succeed in acting?

Maybe he will succeed, maybe he won’t, but I hope he does. It’s easy to lose perspective for a sport we’re so passionate about, particularly when someone with as much talent and charisma as Rampage decides to walk away. We can take it as a personal offense. We shouldn’t though. When you boil it down, it’s simply Jackson choosing to go down a different road. A road less dangerous to his health. A road that doesn’t include the strict gym time and training he detests. A road that offers a different challenge and form of personal satisfaction.

Rampage is unhappy with his boss and has a viable alternative option for employment. It’s a situation which most of us can relate. Rampage is in the fortunate position to have a choice where he can leave his current job and take on a new career.

Yes, this could all be a negotiation tactic to call Dana’s bluff. Rampage may very well be talked down from the proverbial ledge within the week. In fact at this early hour most MMA diehards seem to believe this will be a short lived retirement. I can’t say that I disagree with that assessment either. Still, it’s Jackson’s decision to make.

Be upset that we won’t see Rashad vs. Rampage. Be disappointed that a potential title match against Machida may never happen. Or a Forrest rematch to settle the score. That’s perfectly reasonable. Just don’t hate Quinton Jackson the person for making a decision to switch gears to better take care of himself and his family while leaving behind a work environment he is uncomfortable with.

We don’t have to be happy with the choice Jackson has made, but we should be glad that he is able to have the opportunity and freedom to make it.

The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion explained the primary motivation for his decision is a lack of respect on the part of UFC President Dana White, as well as a need to focus on providing for his family.

The following is Jackson’s word-for-word account of the situation:

The UFC has done a lot for me but I think I have done more for them. The UFC bought WFA to get my contract & they saved my life, so I felt loyal to them. They pushed me into a fight with Chuck Liddell even when I clearly stated I wasn’t ready to fight for the belt because the American fans didn’t know me but I took the fight and didn’t complain & after I won the American fans booed me for the first time which changed the way I saw them and it hurt me deeply.

Then before I can even get out of the cage they announced that I was fighting Dan Henderson without even asking me. After I beat Dan Henderson, I made history in becoming the first undisputed champion in MMA but was never even given the pride belt in the cage & I was never promoted as the undisputed champ. Later Anderson Silva was.

Then they had me coach TUF season 7 and fight Forrest and the fight was very controversial & normally when a fight is that close and controversial there is normally an instant replay. I can name a couple of instances. Instead they offered me the Wanderlei Silva fight which I gladly accepted even though I know it was a very risky fight for me to take because of all the drama that was happening to me at the time. I fought that fight with a jaw injury and then a couple weeks later Dana called me and asked me to fight Rashad. For the first time I said no, I didn’t want to fight because it was such short notice & I wouldn’t have had a long break between camps. Dana talked me into fighting Rashad anyway but Rashad refused the fight and so I had to fight Jardine as a favor to the UFC instead of getting my belt back (which wasn’t even worth it to me financially).

Then I reinjured my jaw in the fight with Wanderlei & Jardine. Frank Mir gets hurt so they wanted to switch my fight from UFC 100 to the fight Frank couldn’t make it to but I couldn’t fight cause I needed jaw surgery. So they give Machida the fight against Rashad & they told me they want me to coach TUF season 10 against Rashad. That’s why I wanted Rashad to win so bad but when Rashad got knocked out I told them I wanted to fight Machida for the belt but Dana told me if I coach TUF against Rashad that I could fight Machida afterwards cause this was a different type of ultimate fighter show they were doing. After I signed the contract Dana then changes his mind & says I have to fight Rashad & even told me what to say in the press and so my fans think I was scared to fight Machida. After all that I still never complained and I did it all.

Then this movie role came about that I have been trying to get for over a year and as soon as I found out I was close to getting it, I called Dana right away and asked to push the Memphis fight back just a month or so. I told him what this movie role meant to me. I told him that I used to bond with my father watching the TV show as a kid when my parents where still married & it represents the memories I had with my father when we lived together. My dad became an alcoholic and addicted to drugs and we grew apart. But after my dad got his life back together, I was so proud of my dad and I told him I would always take care of him in the future & make him proud of me. My dad and I are still very big fans of the show & I am basically doing this for the childhood memories I had spending time in front of the TV with my dad. Dana went on the internet & mocked me because of that and I still did nothing. Dana and I finally talked and we made up and then after that he went back on the internet and said some bullshit and he was talking bad about the movie when information is not even supposed to be released and talking about payments which is not even true could really hurt my future acting career, which could very well last longer than my fighting career. I’m not like Randy Couture. My body has been getting so many different injuries that I wont be able to fight until my forties and neither do I want to fight that long. So I feel like my second career could be in jeopardy… so I’m done fighting. I’ve been getting negative reviews from the dumb ass fans that don’t pay my bills or put my kids though college. So I’m hanging it up. I’m gonna miss all my loyal fans but hopefully they’ll follow me to my new career and I will gain more loyal fans along the way. And all you hater fans out there can kiss my big black hairy ass! And anybody that don’t like what I just said can come try to kick my ass!

I still feel the UFC is a great organization and I felt like I was very loyal to them but they didn’t respect my loyalty but I wish the UFC the best. I did a lot of things for them. I wish no bad blood between us but I have kids & a family back in Memphis to provide for and that’s all that matters to me!

Dana White

He recently gave more to talk about when he did an interview with The DAM Morning Show in Las Vegas on Tuesday to comment on everything from B.A. Baracus to a rumored network deal.

On the rumored network deal White stated, “I guarantee you by Sept. 15 of next year, we will be on network television. I’ll put on probably one a quarter – one that should have been on pay-per-view except we’ll put it on network TV. I’m putting on like 13 pay-per-views per year. That’s more than one a month. I think you have to give back to the fans, and you have to give back free fights. So we do a ton of free fights on Spike TV between Fight Nights and some of the big, just out-of-the-blue fights we put on Spike. And now we get a network deal, and we’re doing four big fights a year that should have been on pay-per-view, but you get for free? That’s how I grew up. That’s how I became a big boxing fan. My uncles used to watch all the fights on ABC’s ‘Wide World of Sports,’ and I used to watch it with them, and I became a huge boxing fan. That’s my model. That’s what I’m going to build now here today.”

White has been hinting at a network deal for months now and would be a huge jump for the UFC and fans alike. His recent displeasure towards Showtime is an indication he wants a deal done sooner rather than later.

He also commented on the recent rescheduling of the Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. “Sugar” Rashad Evans fight, which was set to take place at UFC 107, following the finale of the highly anticipated The Ultimate Fighter 10, which debuts Wednesday. White said, “I hate it. I hate it so bad, I can’t even tell you how bad I hate it. I’m so mad at Rampage over this. Rampage is a guy that we’ve obviously taken under our wing the last few years. We really like him and have done a lot of good things for him. For him to do this to me, and pull out and do this goofy A-Team movie, I’m not happy about it at all…You’re gonna be a huge bonafide movie star with one role? They’re not paying him jack. Okay? He’s giving up literally millions of dollars to play Mr. T. If you think he’s gonna go in and say ‘I pity the fool’ and he’s gonna become a huge serious actor off that role, give me a friggin’ break…

His frustration is understandable considering the popular reality show has fans expecting a showdown between the coaches. White continued, “I’m mad at Rampage right now. Rampage is somebody that I consider a friend, and he put me in a bad position. I’m not happy about it. He hurt himself, he hurt us. Sometimes, seriously, you gotta save these guys from themselves. What he’s doing makes no sense whatsoever, so we’ll see how this whole thing plays out and what happens, but I’m mad at him, I don’t even want to talk to him right now. Lorenzo’s talking to him, not me.”

“The tenth season of The Ultimate Fighter is going to be the most highly anticipated one in years, and with two of the greatest pound for pound fighters in the world today, both of which have personalities as large as their skill-sets, it promises to deliver,” White was quoted as saying in a press release issued by Spike TV this afternoon.

The show is set to debut on Spike TV on September 16, 2009 at 10 pm. The Ultimate Fighter will continue to air on Wednesday evenings.

The show’s tenth season will be the first to feature the heavyweight class since the the second season. “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” will feature sixteen big men in an all heavyweight season.

The TUF 10 Finale has been set for December 5 in Las Vegas.

Neither Evans or Jackson are strangers to the reality hit. Evans was the heavyweight “Ultimate Fighter” on the second season and Jackson appeared as a coach opposite Forrest Griffin during the seventh season.

Evans is rebounding from his knockout loss suffered at the ands of Lyoto Machida at UFC 98 and Jackson’s last appearance in the Octagon saw him edge out Evans’ teammate Keith Jardine in a closely contested affair.

No word on whether Jackson and Evans will face off at the conclusion of the show but it would come as a surprise if they didn’t considering the pairs checkered past with one another.

Newly crowned light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida had been rumored as a coach for the tenth season before Evans was officially announced as the second coach opposite Jackson this afternoon. Many fans will be happy to know that a UFC championship will not be tied up during the taping of the show as has happened in seasons past.

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Tonight’s scheduled card from the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio is as follows (with final weigh-in results in parenthesis):

MAIN CARD -

• Quinton Jackson def. Keith Jardine via unanimous decision
• Shane Carwin def. Gabriel Gonzaga via KO (punch)~1:09~Round 1 (257.5)
• Matt Brown def. Pete Sell via TKO~1:32~Round 1
• Matt Hamill def. Mark Munoz via knockout ~3:53~Round 1
  
• Gray Maynard def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision

PRELIMINARY CARD -

• Tamdan McCrory def. Ryan Madigan via TKO ~3:35~Round 1 (170)
• Kendall Grove def. Jason Day via TKO ~1:32~Round 1
• Jason Brilz def. Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision
• Brandon Vera def. Michael Patt via TKO~ 1:27~Round 2
• # Shane Nelson def. Aaron Riley via TKO ~ :44~Round 1
  

Quinton Jackson (29-7) vs. Keith Jardine (14-4-1)

Jardine has played the spoiler well role in the past few years, spoiling potential title shots for Forrest Griffin at UFC 66 and Chuck Liddell at UFC 76.

With each victory, Jardine moved himself into title contender status but proceeded each dramatic upset victory with first round (T)KO losses.

At UFC 71, Jardine was ambushed by then-newcomer Houston Alexander, who gave him a prison-style beatdown and finished him just 48 seconds into the fight. Then, at UFC 84, Jardine was steam rolled by Wanderlei Silva and was knocked out just 36 seconds into the fight.

Jardine is a counter fighter who apparently has trouble with fighters who employ a blitzkrieg style. Jackson can be aggressive at times, but he is not reckless and isn’t going to jump on Jardine from the outset.

Jackson looked outstanding in knocking out Silva at 3:21 of round 1 this past December at UFC 92. The former UFC light heavyweight champ not only redeemed himself after two previous TKO losses to Silva, but the win came at a crucial time as he was coming off a title loss to Griffin as well as felony charges this past summer for reckless driving.

While it’s hard to say for certain after just one fight, Jackson certainly appeared to be back on track. Leaving Juanito Ibarra and his LA-based training camps for the Wolfslair Academy in the cold U.K. appears to have done wonders for his career. With his career and life moving forward again, Jackson is just one win away from a title shot against current champion Rashad Evans this July at UFC 100.

However, I question the logic of this matchup. Jackson was impressive enough at UFC 92 to warrant an immediate title shot. He would have gotten that shot had Evans been ready. As bad as the UFC needed a main event for this show, they are risking a great deal of long-term money in favor of a quick fix.

If Jackson loses, the proposed UFC 100 matchup is off and if Jardine wins, he will be caught in a holding pattern, as he will not fight his friend and training partner, Evans.

A loss for Jackson is not out of the question, as both fighters complement each other well. I expect a lot of give and take between the two with several momentum shifts. The biggest concern here has to be Jardine’s trainer, Greg Jackson, who is a master strategist. He will give Jardine a gameplan that will allow him to go out and cause problems for Jackson.

Look for Jardine to use his brutal leg kicks to exploit Jackson’s lack of diversified striking. While Jackson has tremendous power in his hands, he does not have good Muay Thai skills. When it comes to kicks, Jackson does not employ many offensively and is terrible when he comes to defending them.

If the fight goes to a decision, I believe Jardine will once again shock the world. However, I think that so long as Jackson was focused for his training camp leading up to this fight that he will eventually catch Jardine on the chin and knock him out.

Prediction: Jackson by second round knockout.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson:

Keith Jardine:

“I want to fight Forrest (Griffin) because that’s the fight that haunts me,” Jackson said. “I want the belt. I want to be champion, but I want Forrest first.”

Not only does Jackson want another fight with Griffin, he also has his sights set on a rematch with another man who defeated him earlier in his career.

“I want to get Shogun too,” Jackson said, “but I want Forrest first.”

A potential fight with Griffin would have to wait though. Griffin was hurt during the Evans match.

“Forrest went to the hospital with a broken hand,” White said.

With Griffin’s injury and Mauricio (Shogun) Rua’s scheduled fight with Mark Coleman at UFC 93, Jackson is not likely to get his first or second choice.  Instead, he will likely get his third choice – a fight with Evans for the UFC light heavyweight championship.

“To be honest with you, I’d love to see Rashad vs. Rampage,” White revealed to host Dave Carmichael during Monday’s edition of ‘The Carmichael Dave Show.’ “I think that would be a fun fight.”

Carmichael was quick to ask whether a January court case stemming from Jackson’s felony arrest last July on alleged charges of evading, hit-and-run and reckless driving could effect matchmaking plans involving a Evans vs. Jackson title fight.

“No, I don’t think there should be any problems with Rampage legally,” White responded during his guest appearance on Carmichael’s show, which can be heard Monday through Friday from 9-midnight PT on Sports 1140 AM in Sacramento. “Obviously he’s got to go to court because that thing happened. But he had delerium. He had something wrong with him. It wasn’t like he was on drugs or drinking alcohol or doing any of that stuff. He was doing the right thing and he got sick and like anyone who got sick and goes to court, I don’t think he’s going to have any issues.”

No official decisions have been made whom Evans will defend his title against first, but if it isn’t Jackson, Lyoto Machida appears to be the other leading candidate. If Machida can defeat Thiago Silva at UFC 94 on January 31, White made it clear that he would fall under consideration for a future title shot.

“Lyoto is an awesome fighter,” White said. “He’s got a great fight coming up and both guys are undefeated… If he wins this fight he’s definitely in the mix too… A lot of people think his style is too evasive and not engaging but once he starts getting comfortable in that Octagon like all of the other guys, he’s going to come into his own and he’s going be very exciting. I expect big things from him.”