UFC 123: 10 Career Defining Moments For Quinton

He is one of the biggest icons in MMA history. He has made movies. He has won championships in both UFC and Pride. He has beaten some of the best in the world. He has had some of the most memorable fights in the history of MMA. Now Quinton "Rampage" Jackson goes into this weekend's UFC 123 against Lyoto Machida looking to prove that he still THAT fighter. The one that can still bring the fire and pain to his opponent. Rampage has been in MMA since 1999 and has done it all. Now we take a look back at the 10 moments that made Rampage who he is.

10. The Beginning

It was November 1999. Quinton Jackson vs. Mike Pyle in the ISCF (International Sport Combat Federation). The fight takes place in Memphis and Jackson scores a victory over Mike Pyle via decision and earns his first victory in his first fight. As they say in the movies though, that was only the beginning.

9. Pride and Power

In 2001, Jackson made his debut in PRIDE Fighting against Kazushi Sakuraba. In the fight Jackson showed a lot of what would make him great in that fight using his power and attacking style to keep up with one of the better fighters, if not the best, in PRIDE at the time. Eventually Jackson would get caught in a choke and was forced to tapout. However, he really came into his own here and showed how good he can be once he got more seasoning.

8. K-1 Demolition

Jackson would try his hand at kickboxing and would fight in K-1 a couple of times in 2002. Both times he took on Cyril Abidi. In the match, Jackson was considered to be a heavy underdog given his fighting style and the fact that his opponent was a K-1 professional and a strong fighter in that organization. Once the fight started, Jackson was dominant and scored the knockout with a vicious right early in the first round.

7. Liddell Vs. Jackson, Part 1

In 2003, Chuck Liddell went to PRIDE and entered the middleweight grand prix tournament representing UFC. Dana White was there announcing and supporting his fighter. Rampage took Chuck, who at the time was still one of the best in the world, and made him look like a ragdoll. Rampage was able to slam Liddell down and was just beating and beating and beating on him until Liddell's corner threw in the towel.

6. Jackson-Evans Fight

First, Quinton was a coach on The Ultimate Fighter and was supposed to fight the opposing coach, Rashad Evans, at UFC 107. Then, Jackson was cast in The A-Team movie so the fight had to be postponed. Jackson would then "quit" UFC because he felt he wasn't treated fairly and was being badmouthed by UFC. The fight did happen at UFC 114 and Jackson was overmatched by Evans. It was a great dynamic between the two because they legit do not like each other.

5. The Forrest Griffin Fight At UFC 86

This was more about Forrest Griffin then Rampage but man was it ever something to see. The spectacle and performance that was the main event of UFC 86 remains one of the best championship fights that I have ever seen. It was the first time that an Ultimate Fighter winner had won a championship and it happened in UFC's best division. It was a night more about Griffin but still a big moment in the career of Rampage Jackson.

4. Liddell Vs. Jackson, Part 2

UFC 71, Jackson had made his debut a few months earlier and this was his moment. This was his UFC title fight against Chuck Liddell. Rampage would go on to win the fight and capture his first, and to this point only, UFC lightweight championship. In doing research for this assignment I found that this was actually the fight that helped to turn UFC mainstream. This was the event and the fight where Sports Illustrated made a big story out of a UFC event. This fight was being covered on ESPN, SI, among others. This fight helped bring the UFC to where it is today.

3. Pride & UFC Titles Become One

In 2007, PRIDE was sold to Zuffa, the company that owns UFC, and they were going to keep the two companies separate. However, those plans fell apart and PRIDE was no more. When the promotion folded, Rampage was the PRIDE Middleweight champion and had just won the UFC Lightweight title from Chuck Liddell. This fight with Dan Henderson was going to unify the two titles. Rampage did not dominate the fight but he was able to do enough to get the decision victory and officially unify the two championships.

2. The Powerbomb

Rampage Jackson had firmly established his fighting style and made his name in PRIDE by the time his fight with Ricardo Arona happened in June 2004. Nothing could prepare anyone for the finish of this fight. In one of the best knockouts in MMA history, Rampage had Arona down and was positioned on top of him. Then, using all his strength lifts him up off the ground and just drops him down for the KO.

1. The Trilogy

One of the most heated and intense rivalries in MMA history involved Rampage and Wanderlei Silva. These two men legitimately hated each other and their were three fights between the two men with each one ending via KO or TKO. They were brutal and violent and the two men wanted to rip each other apart. The first two fights were two of the best fights that MMA has ever produced and the third one, while not quite at the level of the first two fights, did have a great knockout as Rampage hit Silva with a left that knocked him clean out. This trilogy really brought out the best in Rampage and Silva. It remains, to me at least, the defining moment(s) in the career of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.