UFC vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson: Who Has the Power?

The recent news that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Lyoto Machida will be fighting each other in November set off some talk about the power that the UFC has over its fighters.

Before the fight was signed, many people in the media were saying that few fighters out there were willing to fight Lyoto Machida due to the fact that Machida tends to make his opponents (other than Mauricio Rua) look like they don't know what they're doing inside the Octagon.  For example, Forrest Griffin, who was willing to fight Anderson Silva, said that he wants nothing to do with Lyoto Machida.

Rampage Jackson was reportedly one of those guys who was refusing to fight Lyoto Machida, although apparently his words were that it was because Machida is "boring".

Now that we've got word that he's agreed to fight Machida, the conclusion people are jumping to is that some arm-twisting must have been required on the part of the UFC in order to convince Jackson to accept the fight.

But does the UFC really have the power to force Jackson to fight Machida?

The UFC is the most powerful mixed martial arts promotion in the world, but even then, they can't just force a guy to fight someone against his will. It is more complicated than that.

Ultimately, what the UFC can do is fairly limited, as we saw when Jackson decided to leave TUF in order to film The A-Team (Although after that and the Tito Ortiz incident, one wonders if the UFC may consider some new clauses in contracts of TUF coaches).

So what can brass at the UFC's parent company Zuffa do to make their fighters fight?

UFC's Possible Tactics For Making A Fighter Fight

There are few effective things that the UFC can do to make a particular fight happen.

1. Offer more money.
2. Threaten job security.
3. "Freeze" a fighter.
4. ?

Out of these things, offering more money is the most straightforward tactic, while the other things are somewhat more complicated.

Threatening a fighter's job security is tricky business because it can only be done under certain situations. War Machine, formerly known as Jon Koppenhaver, is one of the fighters who comes to mind for being cut by the UFC for refusing a fight.

After Machine lost to Yoshida, he was offered a fight with Brandon Wolff and he refused. In response to his refusal, the UFC cut him.

That said, cutting a fighter for refusing a fight, while certainly not unheard of, isn't the standard procedure these days, especially when a fighter has what is deemed as a valid reason.

Also, there are circumstances when the UFC cannot simply cut a fighter. Under most circumstances, a fighter will only be cut following a loss.

Jackson is coming off a loss, but cutting him doesn't make any sense for the UFC to cut him because of his value to the company.

Jackson's fight with Rashad Evans generated about one million pay-per-view buys and one of the biggest live gates in company history. Rampage is clearly a big draw and money maker for the UFC. He is worth tens of millions to the UFC, if not more, so it would make absolutely zero sense for the UFC to cut him even if he refused to fight against three quarters of the roster.

Threatening to freeze out a fighter by keeping them on the shelves without pay indefinitely is another way the UFC could potentially make a fighter agree to a fight. But again, this isn't something that should really work against Jackson.

Being a cash cow, the UFC would prefer to milk Jackson as frequently as possible. Freezing him out and delaying his return cannot possibly be the optimum use of Jackson as an asset.

Aside from those tactics, whatever else the UFC can do to Jackson is a pretty much a mystery to me.

The UFC Doesn't Have Power Over Quinton Jackson

After thinking of possible ways the UFC could "force" Jackson to fight Machida, it seems clear to me that the UFC doesn't actually have the raw power to control Jackson.

Yes, they could simply have offered him more money, but if that's the case, then it is Jackson who is flexing his muscle, not the UFC.

There are instances where the UFC can exert its power negatively, but this isn't one of them.

My own insight on the fight is that it probably wasn't actually that difficult to get Rampage to agree to fight Machida, and it probably came down to more talk than anything else.

Although Jackson may have stated his desire not to fight Machida, he's also never been one to back down or turn away from a challenge.

When we're talking about Jackson, remember that we're talking about a guy who fought Wanderlei Silva despite having been annihilated by the guy twice before.

Also, it seems as if Jackson may be a bit sensitive to fan reactions. Fans didn't like that he walked away from a fight with Evans, and his return almost seemed as if it was done simply to silence his fan critics who said he was scared.

Last year, fans criticized Jackson for taking his spot as a TUF coach rather than getting a shot at Machida's belt.

Jackson was upset with the suggestion that he was scared of Machida, and he let his fans know about it.

Perhaps Jackson agreed to take the fight now to prove once and for all that he isn't afraid of some karate guy.

Here is a video from last year with Jackson telling his fans that he isn't afraid of Machida.