Rampage Jackson Will Be Back in the UFC

The big headline today is that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has quit the UFC. Just don't panic yet, though, as there's a lot of reason to believe that Rampage will be back in the UFC before the mainstream fans even know what happened.

Rampage's decision seems to be a combination of a number of different factors, but here's a few of the big ones:

Financial concerns: Rampage felt that some of the things the UFC wanted him to do, like fighting Keith Jardine, didn't make sense for him financially

Business aspirations: Rampage feels that the UFC and Dana White are inhibiting his ability to make money outside of the Octagon, primarily in acting.

Disrespect: Rampage feels that he has been shown a certain lack of respect from the UFC management considering what he has done for the company.

Rampage Jackson isn't the first high-profile name to leave the UFC, and he won't be the last.  But in case you've got some memory problems, here's a refresher.

On October 11, 2007, Randy Couture announced that he would be severing all ties with the UFC and its parent company, Zuffa.  Among his grievances:

Financial concerns: The UFC had not provided fair financial compensation for his services

Business aspirations: The UFC was hurting his business interests with Affliction

Disrespect: The UFC had shown him a certain amount of disrespect considering his contributions to the company.

Sound familiar?

On September 2, 2008, the UFC announced that Couture had been re-signed to a three fight contract, and that he would be fighting Brock Lesnar. This August, Couture signed a new contract for an additional six fights.

Tito Ortiz has had similar disputes with the UFC.  The feud between Dana White and Tito Ortiz is too long to document here, but suffice it to say that he had many issues with the UFC.  Tito is now back in the UFC and is preparing to fight Mark Coleman.

In the latest story on Sherdog, it has been reported that Roger Huerta now wants to once again make fighting his top priority, and is looking at a return to the UFC as well.

Here's the mystery: If the UFC is so bad to its fighters, then why do they keep coming back?

In my mind, there are two possibilities.

On the one hand, maybe these fighters, having experienced life outside the Octagon, saw that the life of a UFC fighter isn't that bad after all in comparison.

On the other hand, maybe all these fighters needed was more money from the UFC, as Couture was certainly paid handsomely for his return to the UFC.

However, I don't think the second possibility really explains the return of Ortiz. Ortiz is coming off a loss, and his stock is probably lower now than it was at the time of his last contract negotiation.

He certainly can't be making the same kind of money as Randy Couture did when he fought Lesnar, which was rumored to be over $3 million after bonuses.

Ultimately, I think that Tito eventually realized that for better or for worse, he belonged in the UFC.

I think that eventually Rampage will realize the same thing. However, if he doesn't, there's still reason to hope he'll return.

Given the amount of money the UFC has invested in Rampage and the TUF 10 season, I'm sure that Dana White and the UFC management will do everything they can to get Rampage back in the fold.

Furthermore, I think that a lot of fans will be pressuring Rampage as well.  Rampage will be affected by these fan reactions.  For proof, consider Rampage's own statements in his latest blog entry.

In the same blog that Rampage uses to retire, he expresses his frustration with fan reactions.  He says that he was deeply affected by the fans booing him when he fought Liddell, and that he was angered when fans thought he was ducking Lyoto Machida.

Well if Rampage is angered by people saying that he ducked Machida, he's going to get even madder when he hears them say that he's now ducking Rashad Evans.

The combination of Rampage's dislike for Rashad, pressure from fans, and renewed efforts from the UFC management should be enough to bring Rampage back to the UFC.

As a side note, I'd like to address the fans who have reacted to Rampage's apparent retirement by saying either that they have either way more, or way less respect for Rampage now.

It's best not to get too wrapped up in these respect issues when it concerns business disputes.  These aren't moral issues, they're just business disagreements. Not getting too wrapped up in the "respect issues" will make it easier for you when your favorite fighter inevitably changes his mind.