UFC 130 Fight Card: What Rampage Jackson Must Do to Beat Matt Hamill

Let's face it—Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's on-again-off-again passion for the sport has been one-half of the reason why UFC 130 has remained as one of the most anticipated mainstream MMA events of the month.

On one hand, Hamill has the underdog story behind him, with many people still believing him to be a gatekeeper. There is also the possibility of a win over Rampage being written off by fans, regardless of how convincing the win is.

On the other hand, Rampage has to show that he's got that fire still lit up underneath him, and he needs to prove that he's still dedicated enough to "whoop his ass," as Rampage has said he'll do to Hamill in pre-fight interviews.

The only problem is that Hamill's will is arguably one of the toughest to break in MMA, and on top of that, he has the reputation of being a smart fighter in the sense of his ability to mix up his game with the best of every discipline and use it to beat Rampage.

In Hamill's mind, and in the minds of most fight fans, Rampage has done everything to cement his status as an elite Light Heavyweight, but he has not truly evolved as a fighter.

His game's dimensions are predictable, and Hamill has studied Rampage well enough to know that Rampage is not lying when he says he's looking for the knockout...because that's all he looks for in his fights.

If Rampage really wants that win and "his belt" back, he has to show Hamill and the world something, anything, that we never saw from him in PRIDE or in his early UFC career.

Muay Thai, Jiu-Jitsu, an F-5 from Brock Lesnar—hell, he can pull out a front face kick, or a Showtime Kick, or even a 540-Spin Kick for all I care—he has to be unpredictable and pull off something that Hamill definitely did not prepare for.

If he comes in looking for a shot to let his hands go or a shot to get a takedown, Hamill will find a way to stuff it, and he will find a way to make Rampage regret it.

It's easy to say you're going to whoop someone's ass, but it's another to do it.

If Rampage wants to do it, he'll have to resort to something other than banking on Hamill dropping his hands and leaving his face out there.

As a matter of fact, he needs to do something that none of the pros are banking on if he wants to beat Hamill so badly.

If he comes in as the same Rampage that he's looked like his whole career, Hamill will not have much trouble cementing himself as a top five/top 10 Light Heavyweight at the expense of the former champ.