Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson could be the next Mixed Martial Arts star to try his hand at boxing. The popular 39-year old MMA star is uncertain where his contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship truly lies since the last time he competed under the UFC banner, the organization had different owners.
The storyline can be hard to follow, even for Jackson himself. The former 205-pound champion appeared on the MMA Hour earlier this week where he said, "It's very confusing. It’s no secret that I was in a lawsuit with Bellator after I went back with the UFC."
Jackson left the UFC in 2013 after contract disputes and disagreements with the organization's leadership.
He then went to Bellator Mma where he would compete from 2013 until mid-2014. After Jackson became disinterested in continuing the relationship with Bellator MMA, he went back to the UFC in 2015.
That is when the two top MMA promotions began to argue over who truly had contractual rights to Jackson and lawyers intervened. Jackson was ordered by a judge to return to Bellator to honor his contract. Jackson did that, participating in two more fights.
While all this was taking place, the UFC sale was finalized in July 2016 and new ownership would take over. Now fully released from Bellator MMA obligations, Jackson is uncertain if the contract he signed with the UFC in 2015 still needs to be fulfilled.
Boxing interest
One thing Jackson would like to do however is to compete in boxing. "But now that Dana White (UFC President) is letting Conor McGregor box, I've always asked Dana to let me do some s**t like that," Jackson told MMA Hour host Ariel Helwani on Monday.
"Hopefully, Uncle Dana, if you've got ties with boxing now, let me try some of that s**t."
McGregor, the UFC lightweight champion competed outside of his sport when he boxed against Floyd Mayweather Jr., in August.
The Showtime Pay-Per-View boxing event was one of the most watched and highest paying sporting events in combat sports history. This has caused several other fighters like Jackson to come forth and announce their boxing interests.
Race against father time
Rapidly approaching 40-years of age and uncertain where his next fight will land, Jackson told Helwani that he likely has at most about three fights left in him.
Where those fights will be or in which sport still remains to be seen. Jackson's professional MMA career began in 1999, nearly 18 years ago. His last fight was a unanimous decision loss in March of this year.
