Getty Joe Rogan
Joe Rogan continues to lead the pack with the biggest podcast in the world, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson revealed why he hasn’t been on it.
Rampage was featured on the newest episode of the “No Jumper” podcast. And at the start of his interview with host Adam22, Jackson was asked why he hadn’t made an appearance on the UFC color commentator’s show.
In short, Jackson admitted that he and Rogan had a sour conversation back when he was competing as a UFC athlete, and presumably that led to a falling out between the two.
“We had one thing,” Rampage said. “Joe and I, we’ve always been cool, right? But then, after a couple of fights in the UFC, he noticed that I wasn’t checking leg kicks and that I wasn’t throwing a lot of leg kicks. He got real forceful about it and with social media, I had a lot of MMA fans talking about ‘Man, you don’t know how to kick, you don’t know how to check leg kicks.’ And I was like, man, it just got annoying, right?
Rampage said that he wasn’t checking kicks because his opponents weren’t “kicking hard” in the UFC. “I’d rather take a kick and then try to punch them,” Jackson continued. He also said that he was reluctant to throw a kick because he didn’t want to get taken down to the canvas.
“So I stepped to Joe,” Jackson said. “Like, ‘Joe, man, why are you saying all this s*** about me not knowing how to kick and not checking leg kicks?’
“We had like a few words and stuff and I did say something kind of bad,” Jackson continued. “I got tired of people constantly talking s*** about me.”
Quinton Jackson Tells Fight Fans to Enjoy the UFC Without Commentary Playing in the Background
Jackson said that he now tells people to watch UFC fights without the volume turned on so they aren’t influenced by the commentary. “So, I tell them, “Watch the UFC turning the volume down,'” Jackson said.
“It’ll be a different fight because of color commentators. You know how that started off? With radio. They would paint the picture of the fight for you. So Joe can, he can be kind of biased sometimes, you know, against like jiu-jitsu, guys. He loves jiu-jitsu guys and sometimes I watched the fight and I turn it down a little bit then I get a different view of the fight.”
Quinton Jackson Hasn’t Fought Since 2019 but Has Kept the Door Open for a Return
It’s been over three years since Rampage has fought. He last competed in December 2019 when he took on Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 237. Things didn’t go Jackson’s way; however, as his fellow MMA legend finished him via TKO in the first round.
Rampage said in an interview with TMZ in April 2022 that he wasn’t done fighting, and that he wanted to make up for his last performance. Jackson has a professional mixed martial arts record of 38-14, which includes 20 wins via KO/TKO.