UFC 186: It Would Be a Total Buzzkill If Rampage Jackson Can't Fight on the Card

With T.J. Dillashaw dropping out of the main event, it is now even more important to have Quinton "Rampage" Jackson fighting at UFC 186. The card lacks star power with Rampage off the card. If politics and legalities go through, MMA fans will be let down.

Jackson had a six-fight deal with Bellator but has decided to vacate the promotion after three fights, signing with the UFC back in December. However, Bellator is trying to hold Rampage to the agreed deal and filed an injunction to prevent him from fighting in the UFC.

Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter does a great job of explaining the terms of Rampage's contract with Bellator and why he left. He even interviewed a law expert to help get us laymen through the legal mumbo-jumbo.

Losing Rampage to the injunction would be a blow to the card because he brings two things that fans love: his persona and his desire to participate in exciting fights.

According to Fox Sports' Elias Cepeda, when Rampage fighting "in the now defunct Pride organization, Jackson even had a cell phone number he made public and dedicated to taking calls from fans."

Cepeda also notes that as Rampage's fame grew, he had less privacy and wanted "financial compensation" to balance that out:

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To be brutally honest—I love the fans but I can only take them in small doses. Man, I'm just like them. MMA fighters are so accessible to fans. I just want to be able to enjoy some private times. If not, there has to be the financial compensation to cover it.

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On top of that, Rampage is a character.

Heidi Fang of The Fight Corner reports that during a media scrum at UFC 182, "he flirted with a female reporter, said he could knock a male one out and asked another if he had any jiu-jitsu experience."

Rampage also noted a lack of personality in the fighters in the UFC during the media scrum:

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[The UFC] needs a little personality. Should I do personality classes for some of these fighters or something like that? Fighting is only half of it. You guys need some personality sometime.

Sometimes fighters are just too uptight, their egos. They want to be tough guys and stuff like that. Come on man, you're an MMA fighter. Everybody already knows you're tough.

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Fans also know that when Rampage is in the Octagon, it will be an exciting fight. He has been a part of three fights deemed "Fight of the Night," including his loss to Jon Jones. He has also been awarded two "Knockouts of the Night," including his knockout victory over Chuck Liddell.

Perhaps due to his older age and established career, he doesn't care about the outcome of fights anymore. He tells Mike Bohn of MMAJunkie.com:

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People are stuck on winning and losing, that's an American mentality. I'm over it. I don't need to think the way everyone else does. I just want to come and focus on what made me popular—giving exciting fights. The fans love me, so the UFC brought me back.

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Rampage is right: The fans do love him. Otherwise, there would be very little buzz for UFC 186. Hopefully, all of his efforts in the gym won't go to waste due to his legal issues with Bellator.

But Rampage doesn't appear to have any hard feelings, as he sent out a playful shot to Bellator president Scott Coker: