Time has come for UFC and Rampage Jackson to part ways

(Updated with comment from UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta at 7:47:42 ET on March 13, 2012)

There is a simple solution to the Quinton "Rampage" Jackson mess that, for some reason, is apparently being overlooked.

Cut him.

The UFC ought to sever ties with its mercurial former light heavyweight champion as quickly and completely as possible.

There is no good being done for any side in this equation by forcing an unhappy Jackson to fight the final bout on his UFC contract.

It certainly won't do Jackson any good to hang around. He's apparently had it with the UFC and has complained about the opponents matchmaker Joe Silva has picked for him to fight, his pay, and the seeming lack of gratitude UFC officials have shown him for fighting while injured.

Speaking to Bas Rutten on HDNet's "Inside MMA," Jackson said he is displeased that the UFC is matching him with wrestlers who don't want to fight. Four of his last five opponents were wrestlers, but there's more to the story than just the UFC putting him in against wrestlers.

On May 29, 2010, he lost to Rashad Evans in a battle for the No. 1 contender's spot at 205. He came back at UFC 123 on Nov. 20, 2010 with a win over karate expert Lyoto Machida in a battle between former champions looking to get back into the mix.

Next up, at UFC 130, was wrestler Matt Hamill on May 28, after a series of potential other opponents fell through. Beating Hamill earned (got?) Jackson a title shot against wrestler Jon Jones at UFC 135 on Sept. 24. After being submitted by Jones, the UFC put Jackson in against wrestler Ryan Bader on Feb. 26 at UFC 144 in Japan.

Jackson missed weight by five pounds in Japan, pointing to a knee injury suffered in training. He could have pulled out, but was so desperate to fight in Japan that he remained on the card. That was his choice, but now we're supposed to shower him with thanks because he did what nearly every one of his peers do every time they compete and went out and fought hurt?

Please.

Cutting Jackson would be the wise move for all parties, because Jackson clearly doesn't want to be around, he's no longer a particularly exciting fighter and all the attention being paid to his complaints takes attention away from those who could use it.

UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta said the company would not cut Jackson and said it would like to match him in the summer with former champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He said he disagrees with Jackson's complaints, but said "he's entitled to his opinion."

"He has one more fight on his contract and our position is that he's contractually obligated to take a fight and fulfill his obligation, just as he'd expect us to fulfill our obligation," Fertitta told Cagewriter. "He is, to some extent, still a draw. An interesting fight we'd like to make, one we've talked about, would be him and Shogun. I think that would be an interesting fight. They're both coming off a loss, they have a history and they have both expressed interest in the fight in the past. That would round out things in an interesting way."

Jackson did a lot for the UFC and deserves to be recognized for that. His knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007 is one of the seminal moments in Zuffa history and won't soon been forgotten. His fight with Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 was breathtaking.

He was one of the stalwarts of the PRIDE Fighting Championship and should be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame based upon his achievements in the two organizations.

That, though, is for the future. For the present, Jackson is complaining about his lot in life, which is particularly galling considering his recent performances.

It's time UFC president Dana White ended the circus and cut Jackson.

Maybe that will make him happy.

Jackson only wants guys who will engage him in a slugfest and he wants to be hailed as a conquering hero for doing it. So maybe nothing will make him happy, because that's not life in one of the hottest divisions in MMA.

Perhaps Jackson will be energized fighting for Bellator or some other promotion. Perhaps he'll get back to being the fighter he was when he was an absolute can't miss.

It's debatable, but there is one thing that absolutely, unequivocally not:

The fight with Rua would be fascinating, but the time has come for the UFC to sever its ties with him.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/time-come-ufc-rampage-jackson-part-ways-223818298.html

Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio  Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida 

Bellator?s Joe Warren ready to move on and ?pummel Pat Curran?

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Bellator featherweight champ Joe Warren admits he does not take losses well, but he was forced to deal with it after getting knocked out by Alexis Vila in the Bellator bantamweight tournament.

Luckily, he doesn't have to relive memories of that 1:04 fight. He doesn't have any memories of the fight at all.

"After that last fight, I don't remember it. I hate to say it. I'd never been knocked out or submitted in practice to the point where I went out," Warren told Cagewriter.

He admits that he was emotional in the loss because fighting means so much to him.

"You put everything you have in one basket, when it doesn't work, it's emotional. When I lose it takes a piece of my heart away. I don't take losses well."

The last memory MMA fans have of Warren is of him laid out from Vila's punch, but he's ready to stop that losing streak in his title bout against Pat Curran on Friday night.

"The reason I'm a champion is that when I'm down, I push back up. What's done is done. I can't go back and change it. Now I have to focus on the task at hand, and that's to pummel the [expletive] out of Pat Curran," Warren said.

"The only thing I'm worried about for me is to impress myself. I've worked as hard as I can in the room. I'm still a young fighter. I haven't really had a fight yet where I've impressed myself."

Though fans may wants a spectacular knockout or submission, getting the win is most important for Warren, even if that means grinding out a decision.

"Keep my hands up, my chin down, and winning a five-round war. I'm here to win. I know you guys want knockouts and submissions. I need a win to keep my belt and take care of my family."

After Friday night, Warren will get ready for the U.S. Olympic Trials, where he will try to make his first Olympic team. Warren won a world championship as a Greco-Roman wrestler but was suspended for the Beijing Olympics. He also wants to return to Bellator's bantamweight tournament because it's a better weight class for him.

Even with all that on his plate, he isn't worried about focus.

"I'm constantly focused. I believe in myself, I believe in my training. I have a great support system, so all I have to worry about is taking a deep breath and pressing myself and putting on a show."

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bellator-joe-warren-ready-move-pummel-pat-curran-151615725.html

Terrance Aflague Yoshihiro Akiyama  Gilbert Aldana  José Aldo  John Alessio 

Friday night talkback thread: Bellator and two TUFs

Another Friday night means more live fights on basic cable for your enjoyment. On MTV2, Bellator 62 will feature the opening round of the lightweight tournament. Patricky "Pitbull" Freire will take on Lloyd Woodard and his awesome mustache, J.J. Ambrose will fight Brent Weedman, Olympian Rick Hawn faces off with Ricardo Tirloni and Thiago Michel will fight Rene Nazare. They are all hoping to win the tournament to get a shot at Bellator lightweight champ Michael Chandler.

On "The Ultimate Fighter," Justin Lawrence will fight Cristiano Marcello in a battle of two highly-touted fighters. Tune into FX for the live fight.

This weekend, fight fans can also tune into the debut of the Brazilian version of "The Ultimate Fighter." The show will stream online at Br.TUF.tv at midnight ET.

Use this post to talk about the weekend's MMA happenings, or go to Cagewriter's Facebook and Twitter page.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/friday-night-talkback-thread-bellator-two-tufs-232215144.html

Alex Andrade  Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe

Bellator fighter off Friday?s card, wanted by police

Eric Oria was supposed to show up at Bellator's weigh-ins on Thursday to officially weigh in for his first professional fight in Hammond, Ind. Instead, the Indiana State Police showed, looking to take Oria into custody.

The Northwest Indiana Times reported Oria missed Thursday's weigh-ins. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said Oria scratched from the card before weigh-ins because of "physical problems."

Oria had an outstanding warrant on a charge of criminal recklessness. He was scheduled to fight Lance Surma on the show's undercard. After two amateur fights in Hammond, he was set to make his pro debut in the same town as his other fights.

In an interview with the Times earlier in the week, he said the fight was "on the highlights of his life." According to MMA Recap, the fight was pulled because it was too late to find a replacement for Oria.

Oria's no-show was not the only shake-up to Friday's card. The featherweight tournament was shook up as Genair da Silva did not make weight and was replaced by Kenny Foster. Foster will now take on "PoPo" Bezerra.

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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/bellator-fighter-off-friday-card-wanted-police-045312605.html

Houston Alexander Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade 

Junior Dos Santos Interview - UFC

Heavy-handed Junior Dos Santos steps back into the Octagon? against a man considered to be an equally dangerous striker, Shane Carwin. Will Junior's speed advantage be enough to hand Carwin his first KO loss? Watch UFC 131 Live on Pay-Per-View and www.UFC.tv on Saturday, Jun 11th at 6/9PM PT/ET.

Source: http://mmalice.com/ufc/junior-dos-santos-interview-video_8d42cdb57.html

Jermaine Andrè  Yoji Anjo  Tank Abbott Hiroyuki Abe Cyril Abidi 

Pat Curran gets the belt and four new featherweight challengers at Bellator

HAMMOND, Ind. -- Bellator's season six started with a new champ, a terrible stoppage, and four featherweights getting closer to challenging for the belt.

Joe Warren started with a nasty takedown, and from the start, his wrestling controlled most of the bout. Curran's one big moment in the first round came when he knocked Warren down with a head kick, and followed it up with several strikes on the ground, but Warren survived. When Curran tried a flying knee, Warren used it for a takedown. Warren had more takedowns and control in the first round. Action slowed in the second round, as Warren was able to get takedowns, but not hold Curran down.

After Curran's corner told him he was down two rounds, he came out in the third round with full intent to end the fight. Curran's bevy of strikes put Warren against the fence. The fence was the only thing holding Warren up as he withstood several shots from Curran. The fight went on much longer than it needed to, and was finally stopped at 1:25 in the third round.

Warren went to the hospital after the bout. Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney said he was complaining of nausea and also had a hand injury. Rebney also said he was surprised the stoppage wasn't sooner.

"Watching it live and again on tape, yeah, it could have been stopped earlier," Rebney said.

Curran agreed.

"I knew I had him hurt. I could see in it in his eyes. They could have stopped it a little sooner."

Warren's last fight was a quick knockout, which caused Curran to think Warren couldn't survive many strikes. Though Curran won, he was impressed with Warren's chin.

"I was impressed with his chin and his heart. I thought he was going to have a glass jaw after that."

In earlier action in the featherweight tournament, Daniel Straus and Jeremy Spoon had a back and forth battle that went the full three rounds. Straus showed good takedown defense on his way to a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 decision win.

Hometown fighter Mike Corey stole the first round with a strong last thirty seconds, taking down Ronnie Mann and throwing several punches. Mann was saved by the bell. That turned the momentum in Corey's favor for the rest of the fight, as he used ground and pound to brutalize Mann on the way to a three-round decision win, 29-28 on all three judges' cards. Corey had taken the fight on short notice after Wagnney Fabiano was injured.

Marlon Sandro moved on n the featherweight tournament by landing punch combos and knees, then choking out Roberto Vargas at 3:35 in the first round. Afterwards, he celebrated by donning the centurion helmet and shield shown in Bellator's logo.

Alexandre "PoPo" Bezerra punched his ticket to the featherweight semifinals by making choking out Kenny Foster in the first round. After battering Foster for much of the round, Bezerra applied a rear naked choke with less than 10 seconds left in the round. Foster tapped as soon as it was applied, giving Bezerra the win at 4:57.

After the fights, Rebney announced the semifinals will pit Sandro vs. Bezerra and Straus vs. Corey.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/pat-curran-gets-belt-four-featherweight-challengers-bellator-141947060.html

Ricardo Almeida  Eddie Alvarez Thiago Alves  Andre Amade  Dean Amasinger