UFC 135 Results: The 5 Fights Rampage Jackson Could Take After UFC 135

UFC 135 proved that Jon Jones is undoubtedly the very best 205-pound mixed martial arts fighter in the world when he pummeled and eventually submitted Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in the fourth round of their title fight.

The next step for Jones has already been set, as he will fight his former teammate Rashad Evans in his next title defense, but what’s next for Rampage is still to be determined.

Judging by what we’ve seen in the past from Jackson, it could be a few months before we actually see something booked. But there are still quite a few fights that are both intriguing as well as make sense business-wise. 

Here are the five fights that Rampage Jackson should consider taking following his loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135.

Gegard Mousasi

The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion suffered a one-sided loss to “King” Muhammad Lawal in April 2010, but has been on an impressive win streak in Dream ever since, winning three straight bouts for the organization.

Mousasi did fight to a draw with Keith Jardine earlier this year, but the stand-up battle that could occur between Mousasi and Rampage could be nothing short of epic.

Of course, this all hinges on Mousasi’s contract situation, but if he could somehow get out of his existing Strikeforce contracts and sign an exclusive deal with the UFC, we may see this fight happened.

He is currently set to fight Ovince St. Preux on Dec. 17, but a fight against Jackson would obviously be one that could earn him a bigger payday if he so chooses.

Rematch with Lyoto Machida

One of the fights that probably makes the most sense for Rampage right now would be a rematch with the man who he defeated at UFC 123, Lyoto Machida.

Machida and Jackson fought to a controversial split decision, which Jackson himself even admitted that he thought he lost in the post-fight interview. Jackson also added that he would give Machida a rematch if he wanted one.

Machida was briefly linked to be fighting Rashad Evans at UFC 133, but was dropped from the bout when he supposedly told Dana White that he wanted, “Anderson Silva money” to compete in that fight.

A bout against Jackson would get Machida back in the good-graces of the UFC and would be one that could put the winner right back into title contention.

Rematch with Forrest Griffin

Another rematch that could be a very interesting fight right now would be against the man who took his UFC light heavyweight championship, Forrest Griffin.

Jackson battled Griffin back at UFC 86, but lost a unanimous decision in a fight where Griffin chopped him down using repeated leg kicks throughout the fight. Jackson was unable to get his base under him to throw his big punches, and Griffin grinded out the decision to become the new champion.

Both Griffin and Rampage are in a crossroads in their career, and a win over the other could do wonders to get them back on track after a tough loss in each of their previous fights.

“King Mo” Lawal

It’s not often that there is a rivalry that goes between organizations, especially against two fighters who have never competed against one another, but that is what we have seen with Rampage Jackson and “King Mo” Lawal from Strikeforce.

Lawal and Jackson have had some back-and-forth bickering over time, but Mo made his intentions to fight Jackson very apparent when he called out the former UFC champion on Inside MMA this past May.

Loser of Shogun vs. Henderson

There are a bunch of fights that make a lot of sense right now for Rampage Jackson, but perhaps none would make more sense than having him get in the cage against the loser of the upcoming battle between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson.

Each fight would be a rematch from a previous bout, but either one has the potential of being one of the most entertaining bouts in Jackson’s career.

Shogun violently destroyed Rampage all the way back at Pride Total Elimination 2005 when each fighter was in his prime. These two light heavyweights were two of the best at the time and have broken the mold by being two of the most successful fighters to make the transition from Pride to the UFC.

Jackson defeated Dan Henderson to unify the Pride and UFC 205-pound championships at UFC 75, earning what would be the only successful UFC title defense of his career.

But even if we look past the outcomes of the previous fights between Rampage-Shogun and Rampage-Henderson, these bouts still have a lot of intrigue to them. Not only that, but a bout like this would be an absolutely outstanding semi-main event on the UFC Japan card scheduled for Feb. 26, 2012 and UFC President Dana White has already stated that he will be working to get Jackson a fight on that card.