UFC 86

Former UFC light heavyweight champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson must really be feeling better. Apparently not content to have his name in the news just for felony charges and rumors of his November return to the Octagon, now he's revisiting the topic of his loss to Forrest Griffin. Maybe he felt that his clash with "delirium" after the fight robbed him of the opportunity to talk about it, but he's making up for lost time with this visit from the Ghost of Shit-Talking Past in a recent interview with the UK's Fighter's Only Magazine:

“I just want my fans to know, I was at my worst and Forrest was at his best - and I still beat him. ...A man is not a man if he can’t ‘fess up to when he gets his ass kicked. See me, if I get my ass kicked I am like ‘yeah, I got my ass kicked’.

However, Jackson says that when he said those exact words at the end of the fight in July, “I was being sarcastic, because I really could not believe that it went the way it did”.

“I’m not a sore loser, shit happens. But I was hoping that Forrest would be a man and come out and say ‘You know what, I didn’t win that fight’, especially after he watched it.

“I wasn’t really sure, right at the end of the fight... I know he hurt me and punched me in the face a couple of times but I was bobbing and weaving and making him miss, stuff like that. I was hoping that he would come out later after he saw the fight and say ‘yeah, I saw the fight and I lost that fight.”

Daaaaaamn! First of all, Rampage really expected Griffin to come out after the fight and voluntarily say that he did not deserve to win the title? Has Rampage ever met any pro fighters? That's just not their style. Especially with a fight that close, it's standard operating procedure for both guys to claim they won and for both to go to their graves truly believing it. So basically Rampage wants Griffin to do what no other fighter, including him, would do in this situation.

(Does Phil Baroni even have control over what comes out of his mouth?)

Following UFC 86 Sherdog ran a story featuring comments from notable MMA fighters regarding their thoughts on the Forrest Griffin-Quinton Jackson decision. It was a pretty standard reaction piece, with the most interesting comment coming from Mac Danzig, who seemed to disparage Rampage's overall persona.

But then Fightlinker pointed out that Phil Baroni, who had been quoted calling the decision "some bullshit", was claiming that he never actually gave a quote to Sherdog:

First off I never gave my opinion on the fight being scored wrong to anyone esp a reporter from Sherdog. I never spoke to any media about my opinion the fight. I think its bullshit that Sherdog quoted me. First off I think the fight was a great one. Second I feel the decision was a fair one. I think Forrest is an inspiration and fought his heart out. His career is an inspiration and story book. He did a great job fought like a true champion against Rampage and his entire career. He deserves to be UFC champion and I take my hat off to him.

Now, if that were any other fighter, this claim would be pretty shocking. It's not like Sherdog to just make up quotes. But since it's Baroni, there is always the possibility that he a) is just screwing with them, or b) has no idea whether he did or didn't give that quote.

Steve Cofield has information that seems to indicate it's the latter.

You can always count on a local morning radio DJ to give you hard-hitting interviews. Richmond, Virginia's "Morning Sludge" on Y101 (new rock!) has done it here with an exclusive Dana White interview the day before UFC 86. It doesn't take long before they begin talking Affliction, and White rips right into them for selling "fucking t-shirts for a living."

The radio host, however, seems more bothered by the people "in the club" who wear Affliction gear and inevitably end up "c-blocking" him. Our condolences, sir.

Other highlights of the interview include Dana White saying that the internet is "where the pussies live" and claiming that the UFC has been in business for twenty years. So, it began in 1988? I had no idea.

In other radio news, Ariel Helwani and I interviewed Jake O'Brien on MMA Rated Radio to talk about his upcoming bout against Cain Velasquez, and let's just say that the outcome was...uncomfortable. I don't know if he just didn't want to do the interview or if O'Brien is some kind of narcoleptic, but it was certainly unique. Give it a listen and bask in the awkwardness.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson did not suffer serious injury in his bout with Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, as was initially feared. Instead of waiting until January to get back in action, the former champ was cleared by a doctor to get back in the gym next week, trainer Juanito Ibarra said:

"After the fight, he had a knot the size of a cantaloupe on his shin," Jackson's trainer, Juanito Ibarra, told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I've never seen anything like it in all the years I've been in the fight game. It was ugly. The next day it went down. Today, there's no bump at all. The doctor said he's fine. It's a deep bone bruise now. He's totally fine. There's no damage. All we're waiting for now is the rematch."

[...]

"Forrest said after the fight he didn't want to do it again, but he had to, remember? He said that because he felt in his heart he didn't win that fight. Let the kids heal, and let's get it on."

This is good news for the UFC, whose options just got better with so many possible light heavyweight matches at their disposal.

As for Ibarra, he insists he is not going back on his vow to retire if Jackson lost:

Dana White has confirmed what BJ Penn has been talking about since last week — a rematch between Penn and Georges St. Pierre could happen by the end of the year:

"If St. Pierre buzzsaws through (Jon) Fitch then yes, we’ll do Penn vs. GSP," said White.

Though by no means guaranteed, GSP buzzsawing through Fitch is a likely scenario, and Penn would be granted an opportunity to avenge his UFC 58 split decision loss against St. Pierre. Which means, theoretically, Penn could become the UFC's first two-division champion well before Anderson Silva, who will be attempting the same feat. A lot of "if"s there, I know, but the possibility is compelling. Who ya got on GSP/BJ 2?

In other UFC news...

— Early speculation points to UFC 90 being held on October 25th in Chicago. This would depend on a SpikeTV deal being locked down for UFC 89: Bisping vs. Lebven, which would be held just a week earlier.

— Medical suspensions for UFC 86 have been released, and Quinton Jackson, Marcus Aurelio, Justin McCully, and Jorge Gurgel could potentially be out of commission until January.

— The UFC wants you to know that you can watch all of Anderson Silva's UFC and PRIDE fights on UFC.com for $9.99. I guess this is for people who don't have Google?