Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Too Ring Rusted to Beat Rashad Evans?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson last fought on March 7, 2009. He was victorious over Keith Jardine, but the win came by way of decision.

Being that Jackson hasn't fought since last March, how much of an affect will ring rust have on his performance in his upcoming match against Rashad Evans?

Since 1999, Jackson hasn't frequently gone more than a few months without fighting. In fact, he phenomenally fought twenty-four times from 1999 to 2004.

In considering his upcoming fight, though, such a gap in between fights will be new territory for Jackson.

One of Jackson's fights that may have been attributed to ring rust is his loss to Forrest Griffin. Jackson had beaten Dan Henderson on September 8, 2007 and waited until July 5, 2008 to fight Forrest Griffin. The match went to decision, and Forrest won it unanimously.

But Evans has fought consistently over his 19-1-1 career, and by remaining competitive in the Octagon, it might give him a significant edge over Jackson.

After Evans's match against Thiago Silva, Evans was candid about his having felt the need to get back into the Octagon for fear of ring rust after nearly an eight month layoff.

Given that Jackson wasn't able to beat Griffin after nearly ten months of not fighting, should he take Evans's candor into consideration?

Many fighters attest to ring rust being real, and the emotion behind Jackson's upcoming match may be too much for him to temper. Nobody knows the game plan of either fighter, but Rashad's wrestling is excellent, and he successfully used it to nullify the offense of the dangerous Thiago Silva in his latest fight.

Regardless of the outcome, Jackson will face a fresh, hungry Rashad Evans, which is no small challenge.

Both fighters have consistently faced tough opponents, but Jackson may prove to be less prepared than he thinks. After retiring from MMA and pursuing an acting career, who knows how much Jackson trained.

The point is that Jackson has been away from competition for over a year now, and he has a big fight ahead of him.

The old "Rampage" seemed unstoppable in the majority of his matches. He was rarely ever challenged, and this was partly due to the fact that he was constantly competing and improving his skill. He was seasoned going into the UFC, but with his recent MMA drought, nobody knows just how dominant Jackson will be in his upcoming match.

If the competitive atmosphere takes hold of Jackson, he may drain himself quickly. This is clearly an emotional fight, but one thing Jackson should take into consideration is that Evans showed a tempered, learned side when recently fighting Thiago Silva.

Silva taunted Evans to be aggressive when he knew Evans's legs were a bit wobbly after getting squarely hit, but Evans expertly restrained himself and went for the sure victory. But if Jackson finds himself in a similar position after being rocked, who knows how being out of competition for so long will affect his judgment.

It should make for an exciting fight one way or the other.