Jackson’s admission came in a recent interview with Fighters Only where he said, “If I had won that Jon Jones fight and if the Japan show wasn’t next, then there would have been a very good chance I would have retired already. It would have been a great time to bow out,” adding he would have ducked out after putting the gold up for grabs in Japan at UFC 144. Jackson has professed his love for the Land of the Rising Sun numerous times before, lobbying hard to fight on the show and entertain some of his most loyal fans at the historic show.

Without the title in tow, the former UFC/PRIDE champ will use the next eighteen months of his life to attempt to earn one final crack at the strap.

“I still want to retire as champion. I want to hold the belt once more,” Jackson revealed.

The next step in that process will come in two weeks when he rumbles with Ryan Bader at the very event that could have marked his last had things played out differently (UFC 144). Jackson had won back-to-back bouts entering the title-fight with Jones and holds an overall record of 32-9 including past victories over Lyoto Machida, Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Dan Henderson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Though “Rampage” had originally requested Mauricio Rua or Forrest Griffin, and Stephan Bonnar made it a point to mention a possible match-up with Jackson at the event, the 33-year old will instead face Ultimate Fighter Season 8 winner Ryan Bader inside the familiar confines of Saitama Super Arena.

News of the bout was first reported by ESPN who cited UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta as the source.

Bader is fresh off an opening round knockout of Jason Brilz from UFC 139 and holds an overall record of 13-2 including past wins over Keith Jardine and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Though an accomplished amateur wrestler, “Darth” Bader often turns to the darkside in terms of finishing opponents off with nine of his victories involving some form of stoppage.

The 32-9 Jackson wasn’t quite as fortunate in his last outing, tapping to divisional champion Jon Jones’ Rear-Naked Choke in their title-fight at UFC 135. “Rampage” made a name for himself in MMA during an earlier run in Japan as part of the PRIDE organization before transitioning to the UFC where he’s found success in bouts against Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, and Dan Henderson.

UFC 144 is headlined by Frankie Edgar putting his lightweight belt on the line against Ben Henderson with other expected pairings including Yushin Okami vs. Tim Boetsch, Anthony Pettis vs. Joe Lauzon, and Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields.

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG/UFC

“Rampage” recently offered his thoughts on the situation and made it clear he couldn’t care less what sort of shenanigans Jones may be pulling because it won’t stop his fist from running into the light heavyweight champion’s face.

“He can have a live feed on me. “Bones” can watch me brush my teeth in the morning and see what toothpaste I used, who I am training with and how hard I am working, and he can see which hand I wipe my ass with for all I care,” Jackson wrote through his Yahoo blog.

“I don’t want to talk about the whole ‘spy’ thing too much more. I am glad I found out, I’m glad I told people about it, and I think it’s not an honorable way to prepare for a fight, but if Jon Jones wants me to, I’ll have a camera installed here at the Muscle Pharm in Denver and he can watch me 24-7.”

Jackson also elaborated on why winning Jones’ gold is so important to him.

“The belt that I lost to Forrest Griffin, even though I should have got the decision after knocking his ass down in that fight? The belt Forrest lost to Rashad Evans? The one Rashad lost to Lyoto Machida? The one Machida lost when Mauricio “Shogun” Rua beat him? The one Jones took from the injured “Shogun” who couldn’t even train? That one? That belt,” Jackson asked rhetorically. “That belt is the unified PRIDE and UFC world title, and that belt exists because of me beating Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson in two straight fights to win the UFC and then PRIDE titles.”

“That’s why I want my belt back so bad. It’s my belt,” the outspoken former champion concluded.

He will get his chance in less than a week when the UFC heads to Denver for UFC 135 and the headlining bout between the two talented 205ers.

Though the pairing seemed to be foregone conclusion given Jackson’s performance against Hamill, talk of a pre-existing hand injury made worse in the bout had left the door open for Lyoto Machida to potentially slide into the top contender’s slot based on the amount of recovery time attached to the affliction. However, today’s confirmation seems to indicate “Rampage” was in better condition than he originally suspected and will be ready to go this fall in Denver.

Jones’ initial appearance as promotional champ will not only have him battling an apt adversary in the form of Jackson but history as well with Machida’s questionable decision over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 involving the single successful defense of the light heavyweight belt in nearly four years.

That being said, the challenge at hand isn’t likely to faze the 23-year old champion who has gone 13-1 in his career with the lone loss coming in what was almost certainly another win before Jones got carried away and delivered an illegal elbow rendering his opponent unable to continue. “Bones” has finished all four of his opponents since the defeat including his recent title-winning TKO of Rua in March and a submission of then-undefeated Ryan Bader in his previous appearance.

The September scrap fulfills a dream of Jackson’s who has hungered for another crack at the UFC belt since dropping it in a close fight with Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 less than three months after Jones made his professional debut. Jackson is coming off back-to-back wins over Hamill and Machida and owns an overall record of 32-8 with in-ring success against some of the sport’s biggest stars like Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Dan Henderson.

The pairing of Jones and Jackson is set to headline a UFC 135 card already featuring Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto vs. Damacio Page, Ben Rothwell vs. Mark Hunt, and Matt Hughes vs. Diego Sanchez.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

The plan to pair Evans and Jackson for a second time was reported by MMAWeekly. However, if Silva is indeed being forced out of the fight it appears to be news to him, as he has since been quoted by Tatame as saying his bout with Jackson is still on as far as he knows.

“Sugar” ‘Shad was originally set to take on Rua before a knee injury resulted in him being replaced by Jon Jones. However, he is expected to be ready to go again by May when UFC 130 will take place, meaning it is possible UFC could create a top contenders’ clash at the event by potentially putting him in the Octagon with Jackson.

“Rampage” spoke about the decision in an interview with MMAJunkie saying it was currently unrealistic for him to be in shape with only 4-5 weeks to get ready regardless of opponent.

“I’m just doing maintenance training right now. I just started back. I fought right before the holidays, and I went on vacation to see my family and took my kids to see their family in Japan,” the 32-year old star explained. “I’ve been living my life, so I gained a lot of weight. I’m a natural fighter. I don’t do any drugs, and I don’t know any high-performance drugs, so I have a natural body. My body gains weight when I don’t train and I don’t eat like I’m in camp.”

“I’m 250 pounds, and I would have to lose 45 pounds in, what, three or four weeks?” Jackson continued. “The first time I fought (Rua) I was injured going into that fight, and it has haunted me all the way up to now. I always believed the second time I fight ‘Shogun’ that I’m going to be close to 100 percent as possible.”

Jackson will instead look towards a May 28 date with 15-2 Thiago Silva at UFC 130 where he’ll attempt to build on a paper-thin win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 this past November. “Rampage” holds an overall record of 31-8 in his career with victories over a number of notable opponents including Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Dan Henderson.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Now it appears Silva will face yet another former divisional title-holder in the form of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (31-8), as a scrap between the two has been verbally agreed on with pen being put to contractual paper in near future. Assuming no wrenches are thrown into the plan it is expected the bout will take place on May 28 at UFC 130 in Las Vegas.

News of the potential match-up and attached event were reported by MMAJunkie.

“Rampage” is fresh off split decision success over Lyoto Machida this past November after having dropped his prior fight by way of points to Rashad Evans. He had won eight of nine bouts entering the Evans loss including victories over Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Dan Henderson.

His 28-year old opponent, Silva, is 2-2 in his last four fights with losses to Machida and Evans after opening up his career with a 13-0 record. In addition to Vera and Jardine, he holds wins over Houston Alexander and Tomasz Drwal.

If the two talented 205ers do end up together in the Octagon they will likely join former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir and TUF 10 winner Roy Nelson on the card who have also been attached to a fight with each other at the event.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Toney spoke about the situation Monday to MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour about his interest in giving the sport another shot, as well as why he has yet to see a dime of his payout from the appearance against Couture.

Though “Lights Out” is currently preparing for a defense of his IBA title on January 27, he stated he would be free after the match-up and will be eyeing offers regardless of where they come from.

“I’m honestly I don’t care if in the UFC or whoever. When James Toney fights, people will come,” he explained.

While he didn’t elaborate on specifics in terms of what sort of financial terms would be required to book his talents, it seems likely no organization will be able to match the $500,000 he was paid for the submission loss in August. However, even if they did, it appears Toney may not see payment regardless as his entire purse from UFC 118 was seized by the IRS while the government entity examined his past tax returns.

The 22-year veteran of boxing also teased the notion of fighting former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson, however unlikely it may be given his contract status, after “Rampage” mentioned an interest in standing with Toney if the two ever fought on a recent episode of MMA Live. In response to the statement, Toney clarified that Jackson didn’t want to fight him while standing but rather, “He wants to commit suicide.”

Toney is 0-1 in Mixed Martial Arts but holds a record of 72-6-3 (2 NC) in professional boxing including 44 knockouts. He has won titles in a number of weight-classes, as well as currently holds the IBA and NABO heavyweight straps.

That being said, you should never consider my rankings gospel. When two finely-tuned individuals step into a cage and let loose the difference between consciousness and looking up at the ceiling is a matter of milliseconds no matter who is ranked where. The individuality inherently involved in a subjective endeavor like ranking fighters, many of whom could easily be argued as deserving different spots based on personal criteria, is not only recognized on Five Ounces’ end but also encouraged in the form of offering your own lists in the “Comments” section below.

1. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4)

When healthy there is no better light heavyweight than Rua, though in fairness his overall durability deserves questioning based on a number of injury-related issues he’s had in his career.

2. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (31-8)

Jackson is as tough a draw as can be had at 205-pounds. He hasn’t been finished in more than five years, and both of his decision-losses in that period were extremely close results that could have gone either way. Though some may argue Machida deserved the judges’ favor at UFC 123 I felt Jackson did enough over the first two rounds in comparison to “The Dragon” to earn the win, and based on it in addition to his other past performances I think his body of work merits the “runner up” slot in these rankings.

3. Lyoto Machida (16-2)

If Machida had been able to pull out a clear-cut win over “Rampage” last weekend I think there would have been grounds for debate in terms of him potentially leap-frogging Rua. Compare their activity since 2007 and you’ll see what I mean. However, the dynamic Brazilian lost (mainly due to his slow-starting style) and went from sixteen straight wins to a two-fight slide.

4. Rashad Evans (15-1-1)

Evans’ wins may not always be as pretty as his custom-made suits, but he gets the job done with heavy hands, excellent footwork, and a rock-solid wrestling base. However, he’s been somewhat inactive over the past few years (five total fights) and nearly stumbled late in his bouts against “Rampage” and Thiago Silva after coming off a nasty knockout to Machida.

5. Jon Jones (11-1)

Jones is a downward-elbow away from being 12-0, so it’s hard to find fault in him for the DQ loss to Matt Hamill a year ago. At 23, he’s mature for his age and has yet to show any real weaknesses in his game. He is not only the future at light heavyweight, but also very much the present, and with the dominating victories he’s racked up thus far in his career it seems to be a given he’ll fight for a UFC title sooner than later.

6. Forrest Griffin (17-6)

The affable, original TUF champ has been out of action since November 2009 so he’s only holding on to his ranking by a thread. However, when he isn’t sidelined with an injury, Griffin has found a way to will himself to victory against the cream of MMA’s crop. He’s large for a LHW, has good hands and equally decent wrestling, and also possesses an underrated set of jiu-jitsu skills. While his year-long absence from the ring could be cause to remove him completely from this list it would only be a formality since he’s scheduled to fight in February 2011 against Rich Franklin.

7. Gegard Mousasi (30-3-1)

The next three athletes on this list are almost 7A, 7B, and 7C for me. However, Mousasi gets the official nod at “7” because he has ten more total bouts than Bader/Cavalcante combined. He’s beaten a number of talented opponents in various weight-classes and is 17-1 since August 2006. If he had 1-2 bigger wins at 205-pounds he’d be at “6” with Griffin sliding down a notch.

8. Ryan Bader (12-0)

Undefeated in twelve fights, Bader has had strong showings against ranked LHWs and rarely found himself in a compromising position at any point in his career. His overall package needs refining but has absolutely the raw skills to keep climbing the divisional ladder while ironing his weaknesses out.

9. Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (10-2)

If it wasn’t for Cavalcante’s TKO loss to Mike Kyle in June 2009 he’d likely be a few spots higher than he currently is. The Strikeforce champ has great hands for a BJJ guy, but still needs to show his skills against a higher level of adversary before sniffing a “Top 5” nod.

10. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (19-4)

“Little Nog” had won seven-straight before losing a close decision to Bader at UFC 119. With past wins over Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem, as well as his more-recent success in the ring, Nogueira is definitely still a “Top 10” LHW regardless of the defeat.

11. Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal (7-1)

In Lawal’s case I’m admittedly ranking him more on potential rather than what he’s actually accomplished in the cage. He’s extremely talented, but still fairly new to MMA and needs a bit of polishing. If he can put together a few injury-free years and keep working on his game I can see his natural ability and incredible mind for the sport taking him all the way to the top of this list.

12. Anderson Silva (27-4)

If Silva had another win or two at light heavyweight he would easily be part of my “Top 10”. However, until he makes a more-permanent jump to the division I have a hard time putting him amongst the best (though I don’t doubt he’d easily climb there with the move).

13. Thiago Silva (14-2)

Though Silva has fallen in two of his last three bouts, the losses came to #3 and #4 on this list. Beyond that he’s finished thirteen of the fourteen other foes he’s faced in his career. Unfortunately, he’s also fought injured a number of times and is only now getting close to being healthy after suffering a back injury. Perhaps it goes without saying, but without a doubt his upcoming scrap with Brandon Vera is definitely be one of the most-important fights in his career as far as determining his future in MMA.

15. Rich Franklin (28-5)

Franklin has only fought a few times at 205 but he’s looked good in nearly all of of his professional showings with the only stumbles coming against MMA’s elite (Silva, Machida, Vitor Belfort, and a controversial split-decision to Dan Henderson). Regardless of how bad his losses were to the Brazilian group on that list, I’d pick “Ace” over the majority of the sport’s 205ers based on what he’s done so far in the division and his overall offerings in the ring.

15. Matt Hamill (10-2)

This spot is a toss-up in a lot of ways for me, as there are definitely a few other LHWs who are nearly if not equally deserving of the “Top 15” distinction. Ah, subjectivity! However, Hamill stands out to me based on his heart, chin, and combination of wrestling/power. He can grind most opponents down to a pulp to procure a decision or knock them out, whether standing or in top position. His win over Tito Ortiz was impressive in the sense he out-wrestled the former light heavyweight champ and looked sharp on his feet as well. Clearly Ortiz is not be what he used to be, but “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” is still a game competitor and Hamill’s performance against him deserves to be respected.

Honorable Mentions

Dan Henderson (25-8): “Hendo” has wins over a handful of respected 205ers, including PRIDE-era Wanderlei Silva and Belfort, as well as middleweights and even heavyweights including Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira from a decade ago. The double-divisional champion’s wrestling credentials speak for themselves and he also packs enough power to have inspired a catalog of humorous, digitally altered shots of Michael Bisping’s separation from consciousness at UFC 100 (his eleventh win by way of strikes).
Renato “Babalu” Sobral (36-8): Though most of his biggest victories come more than five years ago, Sobral is an apt competitor who has solid stand-up and, with eighteen career submission wins, an obvious arsenal on the ground. He’s also one of the two men to have legitimately finished the top name on this list (a third-round Guillotine Choke of Rua coming in the second tier of a one-night tournament in 2003 after having already gone fifteen minutes against seasoned veteran Trevor Prangley).
Vladimir Matyushenko (25-5): Matyushenko, who has won twelve of his last fourteen bouts, is still seeking a career-defining win to show his decision victory over “Little Nog” eight years ago wasn’t the pinnacle of his journey in MMA. However, there’s no doubting “The Janitor” knows how to clean up in the cage from a success standpoint. He’s beaten a number of tough opponents while never having been submitted a single time in thirty total fights. The soon-to-be-40-year old also stopped rising prospect Alexandre Ferreira’s consecutive first-frame win streak at seven (with ten in his last eleven) after two minutes of action when they fought a few weeks ago at UFC 122, so clearly Matyushenko still has some gas left in his tank even after the loss he suffered to Jones last August.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Machida will have a chance to answer his critics in a little more than two weeks when he faces another former 205-pound champion, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, at UFC 123 just outside of Detroit, Michigan. “The Dragon” recently spoke to Tatame about his upcoming bout with Jackson, as well as his experience recently training at a well-known American gym and a number of other subjects relating to his future.

“I always think for a MMA fight, despite the specialties of each fighter, you have to be prepared for anything, because we can never know what the guy is up to,” Machida responded when asked about how he is approaching the headlining affair. “A guy who doesn’t know how to kick may be kicking on the following fight – you can’t tell for sure. The need leads the frog to a jump.”

“We have many examples of people who are good on areas that aren’t their specialties,” he continued. “Georges St. Pierre has improved his wrestling a lot – people that didn’t kick are now kicking and so it goes…I don’t underestimate any fighter. I think that, just as I’m prepared for anything during the fight, so are they: the stand-up game, the takedowns and the ground game. Of course we have our game plan set…our strong point is karate and the exchanges, but if we need to use the other skills, we will do the takedowns and the ground game…”

When questioned on whether or not he anticipates to stand more than defend Jackson’s takedowns, Machida stated, “I think that Jackson always comes for the striking, independently of his opponent…He always tries to impose his game, so it’ll be up to me because he’ll try to use his boxing and I have to try to block his game and impose mine.”

However, while Machida’s immediate attention is on Jackson, he acknowledged not only his interest in eventually breaking the 1-1 tie between himself and Rua but the possibility of eventually mixing it up with relative youngsters Jon Jones and/or Ryan Bader.

“Of course,” he replied on the subject of the twenty-somethings. “I believe that this new generation is a really conditioned generation, (and) has begun to build the pillars for being a great fighter…they’re great athletes that are popular and now me, Rashad Evans, Rampage and Shogun will have to face those guys.”

On the subject of a rubber-match between himself and Rua, the 32-year old made it clear his current focus is only on “Rampage”, saying, “I think one step at a time. People talk about Shogun and I don’t keep thinking about Shogun – he’s long gone now. Now I have to think about my next challenge because sometimes we keep thinking about the future, but we can’t even make the next step, so I think I have to be prepared and I can’t underestimate anyone. Now I’ll have to face Jackson and there are many factors to consider before I have a title shot. I think it’s best for me to focus on this fight and I’ll welcome whatever comes to me in the future.”

Machida also spoke about having recently spent some time at American Kickboxing Academy – home to a number of respected UFC competitors – and how it was to work alongside UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez.

“It’s not the first time I’ve trained (at) AKA – it’s the second time I went to train there. I’ve spent three weeks training there and I think it’s really important that you train along with guys who are fighting on the same level as you…Velasquez was a nice guy to me from the start – he’s shown me his game and (when) I left there I knew he had a great chance of becoming the champion.”

Machida is 16-1 with victories in the first sixteen fights of his career including notable wins over Tito Ortiz, the afore-mentioned Evans, and Thiago Silva, as well as a somewhat controversial unanimous decision over “Shogun” at UFC 104 a little more than a year ago.

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Ariel Helwani Interviews Dana White in England After Oxford Address (MMAFighting.com)

Bobby Lashley Surprises Strikeforce Officials with Decision to Fight Outside Organization this December (MiddleEasy.com)

Frank Shamrock Cuts a Promo for EA Sports MMA on Why Retirement Sucks (Heavy.com)

Forrest Griffin vs. Rich Franklin Rumor Heats Up (Versus.com)

Bellator Middleweight Hector Lombard Wants to Fight Josh Barnett for Personal Reasons (CagePotato.com)

MMA Agent Gives Readers a Look Behind the Scenes (WatchKalibRun.com)

Strikeforce Scott Coker Waxes Poetic on “Diaz vs. Noons II” and More (FIGHT! Magazine)

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson Gets Animated! (MMAScraps.com)

Jon Jones is Tired of Wrestlers and Explains Why (MMAConvert.com)

News of the show’s location was recently confirmed to MMAFighting by UFC President Dana White.

UFC 123 will be headlined by a clash between former light heavyweight champions Lyoto Machida and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Both top 205-pounders will be looking to get back on the winning track at the event, as Machida was victim of a first-round knockout to Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in his last bout while “Rampage” was out-pointed by Rashad Evans at UFC 114 after a yearlong hiatus from MMA. The loss was the first of Machida’s career. Comparably, Jackson had won eight of nine prior to losing the decision to Evans and hasn’t been finished in the ring since April 2005.

According to The Vancouver Sun, Jackson has had to delay the fight with Evans due to scheduling conflicts between the UFC 107 card and Jackson’s role as “B.A. Baracus” in the upcoming “A-Team” movie, which is set to begin filming in Vancouver in a few weeks.

Due to the scheduling conflicts, “Rampage” will not be able to put in a full-time training camp in preparation for his bout with Evans and has apparently asked the UFC to move the fight back to early-2010. This could put the UFC’s light heavyweight division at a stand still. With UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida defending his title against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 104 on October 24, the winner of the Evans/Jackson fight was expected to be named the #1 contender. If the UFC still expects to name the winner of that fight the #1 contender, that could mean the winner of the Machida/Rua fight may face a lay off of up to more than six months.

With the Evans/Jackson fight being postponed, it is now expected that UFC 107 will be headlined by a UFC lightweight title fight featuring BJ Penn defending his title against Diego Sanchez as well as Frank Mir squaring off against Cheick Kongo in a highly anticipated heavyweight battl, although nothing has been made official at this time.

FiveOuncesOfPain.com is here to give you the exclusive lowdown on the whole ordeal, at least through the eyes of one of the participants, King……. MO!

But first allow us to bring you up to date on the recent happenings between the two charismatic and talented fighters.

A video recently surfaced on FightLaunch.com where Rampage and Mo verbally spar it out for over four minutes in the back of a moving van. On the video it appears the argument is sparked from a previous occurrence where Lawal, being a fighter himself, refused to accept a few adorning Rampage fan’s claims that Quinton was the greatest fighter alive.

It left many of the hardcore fans that viewed the video scratching their heads as to how the whole thing came about. First of all, what was King Mo and Rampage doing in the back of a van together? How did the drama really kick off? And what the hell was Bobby Lashley doing in the background?

Well the answer to two of those questions is simple enough: the trio of fighters were on their way to an autograph signing together as part of the pre-UFC 100 festivities.

To answer the remaining question Five Ounces figured it would be best to have King Mo explain his side of the story in his own words.

Of Course Jackson recently published a blog via FightHype.com where he claimed that Lawal was “all butthurt” because he didn’t recognize him as a mixed martial arts fighter, but as Mo tells it in this exclusive interview with FiveOuncesOfPain.com, the two were far from strangers before that eventful van ride in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Let me tell you something; He just put up a blog saying that he didn’t know who I was, but let me tell you a little history: I met Rampage in 2001 and he shined me, but I wasn’t anybody at the time, I was just wrestling,” began the former Division I All-American. “I knew who he was because he was a black fighter and there were only two black fighters that were really well known back then, that caught my attention. I met him, he kind of shined me, but whatever.”

According to King Mo, that was the first time the two flamboyant gladiators crossed paths, but it was far from the last.

“Then some time passes and I’m starting to fight, so I met Antonio McKee,” continues Lawal. “Antonio is my boy. So we’re at the show with Jeremiah Metcalf vs. Andre Galvao in California (JG and TKT Promotions – Fighting 4 Kidz, August 30, 2008), and Antonio said, “C’mon, let me introduce you to Rampage”. So I meet Rampage and he’s cool, he’s talking to me. All of a sudden the cameras come up and he gets up in my face. He got up in my face like he was trying to punk me, but I stood my ground.

“So then, months later, I’m in Ohio when he’s fighting Keith Jardine and I meet him again! But he acts like doesn’t know me. He comes up to me and he’s like, “Hey whats up man, I’m Rampage”, and I’m like, “Whats up man, I’m Mo”. He’s acting like he doesn’t know me, so I’m like whatever, you know, I don’t care.

“Then after that he comes down to Oklahoma to check out some fights that I was down to see because I went to high school and college in Oklahoma. We had a mutual friend at the time and he told me Rampage was going to be down there so I called my homeboy up and told him that Rampage was coming down, and to make sure he was taken care of. I told him if he needed money or anything, for him just to holler at me. They needed money so I gave them some money to get him some bottles and a limo, but he didn’t know. He came up to me later that night talking to me like, “Hey Mo, are you from Oklahoma?”. I was like ‘Nah, I just went to school out here’, but I didn’t tell him that everything was on me. He was being disrespectful, kicking people out of VIP that he had no business kicking out and this and that.

“The next time I saw him was a few months later in Vegas for the Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida fight. We were hanging out, clowning and joking, it was a whole different level. He starts asking girls which of us looks better and they’re all picking me. Which is cool, it’s whatever. He tried to clown me and I clowned him back, and then we leave.”

And that brings us back to the previously discussed already famous video of the two, which has already drawn over 100,000 views on YouTube.com.

“So the next time I see him was this last UFC 100,” explains Mo. “He walks in and he starts asking people, “Who’s the baddest? Who’s tougher? Who’s better y’all, me or Mo?”. Everyone’s like, “You are Rampage”. “Who’s the greatest”, he asked everyone. Of course they were all like, “You are Rampage”. I was like, “Hold up, you’re not the greatest until you beat me”. I’m not just going to sit there and be disrespected like I’m just some bitch. Like I’m going to co-sign with the rest of the crowd and be like, “Oh yeah Rampage, you can beat me”.

“So I came back the next day and I’m calling him “Bum-page”, you know, just clowning him, and he sees it. So I’m up in my room later and I get a call that there’s an autograph signing and Rampage and everyone is down there waiting for me. I go down there to the van and sit down, and Rampage is trying to clown me by saying some of the corniest ass shit like, “Black on black crime”, and, “You’re so dark that Jesus fucked up”, and this and that. I’m like alright, whatever, “You can’t beat me though, dog”. I told him that straight up. The shitty thing is that I didn’t know it was being recorded. I had no idea, my back was turned. Afterwords he was all like, “Oh, my bad man. I didn’t know it was like that”, and he was trying to give me his number.”

Already falling under a fractional amount of criticism for his use of the “N” word during his spirited debate with the former UFC champion, Mo will be the first to tell you not to judge him until you’ve had a chance to walk a mile in his shoes.

“People are saying that I’m playing myself because I said the “N” word,” said the 28 year old native to Murfreesboro, Tennessee in reaction from some of the recent criticism he has received from a small minority fans. “Well you now what, I can say the “N” word. I talk professional around the right people, but when I’m around my people I’m going to talk how I feel like talking. Because I could talk slang like I do with my friends in the South and ordinary people would not understand me. Rampage doesn’t see it but he’s playing himself, and his race. He was talking about “black on black crime”, “Oh, you dark, you ugly”. That’s something a white supremacist would say. He’s playing himself and the whole race. He’s saying stuff that black people say amongst each other but he’s saying that shit all in the open, and the average UFC fan might think that’s something that’s cool to say. Like that black on black crime shit isn’t funny. He never clowned Dan Henderson like that, and he never clowned Wanderlei Silva like that, but when it comes to me and Rashad he wants to try to crack racial jokes. That shit isn’t funny.”

But what about the fact that Rampage went out of his way to state in his recent blog that Mo would be “half cool if he didn’t have those gay ass nipple rings & didn’t talk so much”?

Lawal would rather not address Jackson’s comments on his nipples or the rings pierced through them, but he will say this much, he’s far from the braggadocios type he’s currently being painted as.

“First of all, I really don’t talk that much around people that I really don’t know, unless someone approached me or something like that,” explains Mo. “I’m not that open to people. I’m not the type of person to be like, “Hey, I’m King Mo”, you know what I’m saying. You think I care if people know who I am? I don’t care. I care about getting paid. I’d rather be rich and unknown, then popular and broke.”

Jackson recently announced that he expects to face Evans in Memphis, Tennesse in December.

The statement came during a recent YouTube video blog featuring his friend Computer from MTV’s Three Six Mafia Hollyhood.

“We fightin’ in Memphis baby, in December,” exclaimed Rampage. “We fightin’ in December!”

Rampage will be coming off of his closely contested decision victory over friend and training partner to Evans, Keith Jardine, while Rashad will be looking to get back in the win column after his recent title loss to Lyoto Machida.

“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.

According to Fighter’s Only Spike TV executives are looking for him to return to a coaching role on The Ultimate Fighter season ten.

Nothing has been offered and there are other options being considered but Spike officials have let the UFC know of their admiration for Jackson.

Filming is set to begin in the next month or so and with Rampage being the number one contender to the light heavyweight title a spot on TUF opposite the winner of the Rashad Evans-Lyoto Machida could work out. With Evans and Machida scheduled for May 23 the winner would be allotted a long break before having to fight Jackson. Having either Evans or Machida on would be great exposure for either one. Machida really needs the exposure as he is quiet and it was only until recently that the UFC put any focus on him.

Evans who was the winner of season two of The Ultimate Fighter also needs help as his personality is all that captivating. The fact that he has a brewing feud going on with Rampage will only help matters. It would mark the third time that a winner of the show would go on to be a coach as Evans would follow in the footsteps of season one winner, Forrest Griffin, who coached opposite Jackson on season seven. Michael Bisping who was the light heavyweight winner on season three is coaching against Dan Henderson on the latest installment of TUF in which eight British fighters are going up against eight American fighters.

Rampage could bring out the best in either Machida or Evans as he is as playful as he is serious. When he coached against Griffin he had moments where he was extremely angry and went as far as to threaten Griffin. He also had moments where he played around with Griffin when he shot him with water guns. Evans and Jackson had a face to face meeting at the end of Jackson’s bout with Evans’ teammate Keith Jardine at UFC 96. Evans and Jackson jawed back and forth for awhile and apparently this animosity carried over into a recent photo shoot that the two were scheduled for. Jackson was furious that he and Evans were together and had to leave the room to keep his cool.

The biggest question when it comes to Machida is how his English is coming along. Based on reports he is working very hard on learning the language. A spot on The Ultimate Fighter would be great for the Brazilian as not many people who aren’t hardcore fans are familiar with him and many fans who are do not like his style. Some say he is boring and that he does not take enough chances while others say he is extremely talented and will remain unbeaten for a long time to come.

YOU CAN ENTER THE 5oz  Live EVENT Chatroom CLICK HERE!!! for full coverage.

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.

Here’s a press release that was just released by Affliction to announce a press conference this Thursday, June 5 in New York involving none other than Donald Trump:

WHAT: “Affliction Banned” Press Conference

WHO: DONALD J. TRUMP
Chairman and CEO of the Trump Organization

WHEN: Thursday, June 5 – 12 PM/ET

WHERE: Trump Tower, 25th Floor, 725 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10022

WHY: To announce a partnership between Affliction and Donald J. Trump, who will outline his involvement with Affliction and “Affliction Banned,” the star studded mixed-martial-arts show July 19th 2008 on pay-per-view television, featuring the return of Russian combat fighting icon Fedor Emelianenko at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

“Affliction Banned” will be distributed on Pay-Per-View and air live (9 PM/ET, 6 PM/PT) on cable and satellite viewing in the USA and Canada via iN DEMAND, TVN, Shaw Communications, Viewer’s Choice Canada, DirecTV, DISH Network, Bell ExpressVue and Star Choice for a suggested retail price of $39.95. The telecast will be available in both standard and high definition television.

Tickets for “Affliction Banned,” ranging between $50.00 and $1,000.00, are on sale at the Honda Center box office and also online at Ticketmaster.com.