(Photo by Claire Greenway/Getty Images)
Yesterday, Rampage Jackson let the world know he was hanging up the gloves. He had a thing or two to say about Dana White and the UFC and we all know that White would have to respond.
Today, DW let everyone know his side of the story:
“Because I got so pissed off at him pulling out of the fight with Rashad, I’m speaking my mind—he thinks I’m trying to ruin his movie career. It’s crazy. Listen, I have nothing bad to say about Rampage, he’s a grown man. If he decides he wants to walk away from guaranteed good money right now, he’s a grown man, he can do whatever he wants to do.
What did I do to Rampage? I talked to him as a friend and tried to talk him out of making a bad decision. He doesn’t think it is, he thinks he’s gonna have a movie career but there’s so many fighters I’ve met over the years who thought they were gonna have movie careers.
It’s not like he was going after Machida because he wanted the belt—he didn’t want the belt! He said the belt causes too many problems and he just wanted to fight and make money and feed his family—that’s exactly what he told me.
All he’s been telling me since he got into the UFC is that he wants to fight in Memphis in front of his hometown. We make the fight in Memphis and then he pulls out of the fight because he wants to go make this movie because it has so much sentimental value to him. He’s a fighter, that’s what he does for a living. Now I’m going through all this crap where I got another fighter saying ‘You know what, this isn’t what I wanna do for the rest of my life, I wanna make movies, I wanna be a movie star, this is just a second career for me.’ Like I haven’t seen this one before.
Rampage is a grown man. He’s acting like a baby right now but he’s a grown man. He wants to be in the movie business? Rampage, good luck to you man. I hope you make it big—and I’m not being sarcastic because Rampage Jackson is a guy that I do like. But Rampage Jackson is a guy that doesn’t always make the best decisions.”
Even Rashad Evans released a statement about Rampage:
“Rampage is a very emotional fighter, a very emotional person, and he just let his emotions take over his rational thinking. I think that him and Dana White just probably need to talk it out, and get past it. I think it’s just a breakdown in communication.
Dana’s the kind of guy who is going to say what is on his mind, maybe without thinking it through all the way, before he said. Rampage is a hothead, as well. You get two tempers like that, go at each other like that, it makes the situation hard to work through.
I’d be disappointed not to fight him. It would be a good fight, a fun fight, but mostly because he talked trash. He got me really angry, and I want to fight him just because of that alone. It’s a fight that people want to see. You get your mind wrapped up, and you get your mind so psyched up about fighting a fighter, and then it doesn’t happen, it’s disappointing.
That’s why I hate making a fight personal. At the end of the day, we’re professional athletes, and we get paid to do a job. But when you get to fight someone you really want to fight, that’s like a bonus. You’d almost do it for free…. I would have loved to punch him in the face for free.”
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