ESPN Mixed Martial Arts

Stream-of-consciousness-style thoughts on Jon Jones versus Alexander Gustafsson, followed by a light heavyweight edition of Pretenders and Contenders. Let’s go.

I scored the title fight in favor of Gustafsson 48-47. I gave him the first three rounds, Jones the final two.

After the fight, I posted on Twitter that Jones was being packed in a stretcher for the hospital, while Gustafsson was good enough to conduct interviews. Many followers jumped on that as an opportunity to point out Gustafsson had been robbed, since Jones was in far worse shape. I get it, but that’s not how you score a fight.

Even though I had it for Gustafsson, I’m happy Jones won -- if I’m allowed to say that. The most conclusive rounds of the bout, I thought, were the fourth and fifth for Jones, which also happen to be the “championship” rounds. Jones basically refused to lose when it really mattered.

The best moments were in the fourth round. That has to be Round of the Year. I remember seeing, literally, blood from Jones’ facial cut flying in the air when Gustafsson hit him. Midway through the round, it almost looked like Jones was about to go down. The crowd was going nuts.

Then Jones looked at the clock. And maybe I’m totally wrong on this, but I bet if you asked him about it today he might not even remember doing it. It was just built in -- the way some ninja spy might subconsciously, without knowing it, remember the exits of a building or something. Busted up, swollen, exhausted -- something inside Jones said “Look at the clock; OK, 90 seconds left in a must-win round, throw the spinning elbow, stay on him.” I don’t want to get too dramatic, but come on. That’s crazy.

I haven’t watched it a second time, but sitting here days later, I’m willing to say that was the best fight in UFC history -- surpassing Mauricio Rua versus Dan Henderson and Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard II.

I also see it as the one that solidifies Jones as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. He sort of inherited the spot (in my eyes) after Anderson Silva lost to Chris Weidman, but he really owned it here. Had Silva knocked out Weidman in the first round this year, I think I would still rank Jones ahead of him after the Gustafsson fight. He went to the brink of defeat against a very good opponent who basically forced him to fight his fight, and still left with his arms raised.

We knew about his skills, but now that we know about his heart, it’s virtually impossible to pick against him. But let’s look at the division real close and see.

Really talented fighters with no chance: Ryan Bader, Rashad Evans, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Rua. All four have long roads to even get to Jones. Three of them have already lost to him. Rua appears to me, at 31, pretty much done when it comes to winning elite-level fights. A hard realization, but a realization nevertheless. Bader has plenty of career left, but there’s really no reason to think a second fight against Jones would go any different than the first. On Evans, I know he was the only title contender to go the distance before Gustafsson did, but that grudge match was every bit as one-sided as the fights Jones has finished and Evans hasn’t looked great since.

The athlete: Phil Davis. Davis is more than just an athlete, but I call him this because it’s still his best quality -- at least in a fight against Jones. The problem is, he won’t outwrestle Jones for five rounds. It won’t happen. Jones is a good enough wrestler with good enough intelligence to not let that kind of game plan beat him. You hear this sometimes about great fighters; it’s not really a game plan that will necessarily beat them. You have to be capable of beating them in every area on that one given night. Gustafsson almost did that. Davis, even on his best night, can’t be better than Jones.

The old man and the right hand: Dan Henderson. I would not count Henderson out completely in a Jones fight for three reasons. It’s possible he could defend the takedowns, at least early. He’s crafty at getting inside. His right hand can kill a mule. But yes, I will admit it’s a long, long, looooong shot. It’s going to be very difficult for him to get to Jones and if he did, Jones could probably wear him out pretty quickly, take the right hand out of the equation, and finish him before the end of the second round.

The Olympian: Daniel Cormier. Everyone seems to be putting all eggs in the Daniel Cormier basket, completely ignoring the fact that (A) we don’t know whether he can make the weight; (B) we don’t know what he’ll look like if he can make the weight. You can also add in (C) we don’t know whether he’ll beat Roy Nelson. As much as the UFC’s “Height and Reach” marketing ploy was poked fun at heading into UFC 165, truth is, we saw that having size sure doesn’t hurt in a fight against Jones. Cormier is 5-foot-11, with a 72.5 reach. He’s the only real hope at holding Jones down, but he’s at a huge disadvantage on the feet.

The only two, but the best two: Gustafsson, Glover Teixeira. Everyone basically acted like the hardest part was over for Jones at 205 pounds. He beat all the former champs, after all. What challenge could the lesser-known Swede and Brazilian possibly pose? After the whole Silva-Weidman fiasco we really should have known better. Confident, hungry, well-rounded challengers can’t be dismissed. These two have never held the belt, like most of the other men Jones already fought. They are in their athletic primes. They are true light heavyweights. As awesome as Jones has been, he’s never really shown one-punch knockout power. These two are big and athletic enough to stay upright, take a Jones elbow and respond with effective offense. Jones really is impossible to pick against right now, but if you’re willing to do it at 205 pounds, these are your only options.

TORONTO -- Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones asked for an opponent who could push him to the limit. Jones got what he asked for Saturday night at UFC 165 in Alexander Gustafsson.

And it was exactly the type of fight Jones needed.

The Swedish contender, who very few thought had a chance against the world’s most dominant mixed martial arts champion, gave Jones all he could handle and more. Gustafsson punched Jones in the face, he kicked him in the stomach, hit him with reverse elbows and uppercuts and even tossed him to the ground. No one had done that before.

By the time they had concluded their five-round title affair, Jones looked like the character from the old Jim Croce’s song, "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." He looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing. He left the Octagon with a bloodied, swollen right eye, a swollen lip and could barely walk on his own.

Jones was so badly beaten that he could not attend the postfight news conference. He was immediately taken to a local hospital for evaluation, according to UFC president Dana White. Matter-of-factly, neither did Gustafsson -- he too was taken to a local hospital.

But despite the beating he took, Jones refused to let Gustafsson take his light heavyweight title belt. While Jones was brutally punished, he dished it out just the same. And that says more about who the champion Jones is than any of his previous title defense walkovers.

“I know there are a lot of people who don’t like Jones and boo him for whatever the reason is," White said. "Everybody has a different reason for why they are not a fan of Jones, but I don’t care if you like him or don’t like him. You’ve got to respect him, man. Even today with breaking the record [most successful light heavyweight title defense, his sixth] … he went through murderers’ row, Jon did.

“The guy’s got heart, a chin. To get busted up in those first two rounds and to come on the way he did at the end of the fight, he’s a special fighter. He’s a special fighter.”

Jones surely can dish it out, but we knew that before he faced Gustafsson. What we didn’t know is just how much Jones can or is willing to take. We now know that it will take a whole lot to lift the 205-pound belt from him.

Of course, some will say that the fight with Gustafsson proves Jones has benefited from being taller, longer and stronger than the average 205-pound fighter. And because Gustafsson is slightly taller than Jones and equally as strong, that's the reason he came so close to taking his title.

But a less biased observer is likely to conclude that a major part of Jones’ success is that he utilizes his advantages better than everyone else. The difference Saturday night between Jones and Gustafsson is that the champ refused to lose. When he realized his title was slipping away, he dug deep and willed himself to victory.

Before the fight, Gustafsson said he would win because he was hungrier than Jones. That proved not to be the case.

Jones fought for his legacy Saturday night. He also fought to maintain his quest to become the greatest mixed martial artist ever.

We all knew he was a exceptionally gifted fighter. But he taught everyone that he also possesses the will and heart of a champion.

Gustafsson gave Jones everything he could handle, plus some. And it is very likely they will meet again in the not-too-distant future. But after this close call, expect Jones to be a much better champion the next time around.

It’s going to get a lot harder to take that belt from Jones. Every light heavyweight hopeful can thank Gustafsson for that.

Long before facing Ryan Bader on Sept. 4, landing a UFC light heavyweight title shot was something Glover Teixeira was confident he would achieve.

His confidence, however, didn’t end there. Teixeira went into the Octagon in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, not only expecting to beat Bader, but his next opponent as well. That would of course be the winner between champion Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson -- those two will meet Saturday night at UFC 165 in Toronto.

But first things first: He needed to take care of Bader. And as far as Teixeira was concerned, that would be relatively easy. In Teixeira’s mind, Bader posed no threat whatsoever.

After watching countless hours of video on Bader and going through a vigorous training camp, the soon-to-be top-ranked light heavyweight contender concluded a victory was certain. Teixeira will never admit this openly, but the look on his face while walking toward the cage made it clear that he didn’t take Bader the least bit seriously.

Teixeira went into that fight overconfident, especially about the possibility of Bader standing with him. It might not seem like much, but that mindset nearly cost Teixeira the victory and a light heavyweight title shot.

“I was really confident,” Teixeira told ESPN.com. “I was a little concerned about his wrestling, but I was in no way concerned about his hands at all. In my mind, there was no way this guy was going to do anything standing up.


“But that [being hurt by Bader] gave me a wake-up call. Anybody in this game is a difficult fight, and you have to be careful.”

A Bader right hand in the first round stunned Teixeira, and for a brief moment it appeared his hopes of getting that title shot were about to end. But Teixeira quickly recovered and, during an exchange of punches, he delivered a right hook that floored Bader. Teixeira immediately jumped on his defenseless foe and finished him with strikes.

Despite overcoming that momentary scare, the direct result of being overconfident, Teixeira vows it will never happen again. It was a flaw that has since been corrected, and Teixeira is now a better overall fighter.

His confidence remains high; he just makes sure to keep it check. With overconfidence, which might have led to defeat in a title fight, out of the way, Teixeira can turn his full attention to Jones and Gustafsson.


Teixeira is eager and mentally ready to face the winner. He expects it will be Jones and believes the timing is right to dethrone him. But unlike in the days leading to his fight against Bader, Teixeira is already taking a measured approach.


The confidence is still there, and with his win streak now at 20, Teixeira has no reason to start doubting himself. But he isn’t about to take Jones or Gustafsson for granted. He’s smart enough to know that each guy poses a serious threat.

“I went into the [Bader] fight with a guy who I never thought could hurt me with his hands standing up,” Teixeira said. “But the next fight, I am going to be careful with everything. Even if Gustafsson wins this fight, I will have watched everything. I’m going to be prepared for his ground, his wrestling and for his stand-up.

“He is known for his great stand-up, but not so much for his ground. But I will be prepared for everything. This guy can give me a hard time on the ground as well.

Still, Teixeira is picking Jones to defend his title Saturday.

“But I believe that Jones is going to [beat Gustafsson],” Teixeira said. “Jones is a more complete fighter. He’s a better wrestler, has better ground, the stand-up is pretty even, but [Jones] is smart enough to take him down.

“I believe in myself against Jon Jones, but I still have to watch this fight, all of his fights and study everything. But I believe in myself.”

While already familiar with the fighting style of each UFC 165 main event participant, Teixeira isn’t satisfied with his knowledge. He will be seated at cageside Saturday night. Being in close proximity allows Teixeira to absorb the atmosphere that surrounds a UFC light heavyweight title bout; it also offers him a chance to see first-hand the tendencies of Jones and Gustafsson inside the Octagon.

“I’m going to be close; I believe I’m going to get a good seat and I’m going to be watching him from there,” Teixeira said. “And I will get the adrenaline going, fighting for the title, because I know that is the next thing I am going to be doing.

“I will feel the vibe and see how everything is going to be. I’m going to be watching those guys and probably do some interviews, so it’s going to be a good vibe, a good thing for me.”

Glover Teixeira's quest to the UFC light heavyweight championship has taken on a predatory tone.

That's why the 33-year-old Brazilian will pay a visit to Toronto the night of Sept. 21.

Since debuting in the UFC a year ago in May 2012, Teixeira has rolled through five opponents while handing down a quartet of finishes. The latest came Wednesday with an opening round stoppage of Ryan Bader in Brazil -- impressive enough indeed for UFC to confirm Teixeira gets next after Alexander Gustafsson tries Jon Jones in Canada.

As UFC ascensions go, a more threatening contender could not have been produced. Teixeira always was a brute. He’s unbeaten since 2005; including his UFC venture that’s 20 consecutive victories. Living up to that reputation has helped induce an air of intimidation when he’s around the Octagon.

To this end, Teixeira’s title-focused journey is instructive and predictive. The guy embodies dangerousness. Let there be no doubt about that. So we should expect him to do as he’s done. This is why fight watchers won't stretch their imaginations much to envision Teixeira beating, perhaps stopping, Jones or his lanky Swedish challenger.

"To tell you the truth I don't have any preference; my dream is to get the belt," Teixeira said through a translator after stopping Bader. "But I believe Jon Jones will win, that's the way I see it, and I definitely prefer him as well in a certain manner because Jon Jones has a better name, he's been a champ for a long time, so whoever goes to face him has to be very focused, very well-trained, and to look at his game to make him disappear.”

Disappear. Like Bader on the end of Teixeira’s fists, which thud with a concussive, uplifting and motivating quality.

“I believe I have it and if I hit [Jones],” Teixeira said of his power, “he's going to go down."

Like Teixeira's mentor Chuck Liddell, the emerging light heavyweight possesses trainer John Hackleman’s bravado and left hook (both were useful in starching Bader). He's gifted with being an agile powerhouse. Thick and strong, Teixeira is put together like a bruising light heavyweight. He isn’t especially fast. If there's a knock against him, there you have it. Faced with greased lightning like "Bones" Jones, Teixeira could wind up looking silly. Then again, when a masher walks into a cage willing and able to give one to get one, speed can be fleeting and overrated.

Bader was faster than Teixeira, but Teixeira didn't care because he wanted a knockout. He waited for a knockout. He waited for Bader “to punch me so I could punch him.” He did.

"That's one thing he brings to the table against Jon Jones is the ability to put him away,” Bader said of Teixeira. “Props to him. He had a great fight. Definitely feel he has a great chance of getting the title."

Despite Bader’s endorsement, Teixeira wasn't totally pleased with his effort. He thought he was hit too much (he was) while waiting to counterattack.

“I was very close to him. That's where he got me,” Teixeira said. “I remember we always have to move and we always have to be the first. I have to do my strategy, which is always to move my head around and to go forward. And to make punches connect.

"As they say in English, 'Hit and don't get hit.'"

For what it's worth, Jones must have thought enough about Teixeira's effort to comment. The champion said on Twitter that he didn't mind if people thought he’d lose, he simply wanted to hear a logical argument how. Teixeira, wrote Jones, regurgitated memories of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson "just with better grappling." That would be a quick and sloppy assessment.

When Jones or Gustafsson take a closer look at Teixeira they’ll find a heavy-handed, persistent striker, a stalker with enough accuracy and explosion to instantly change a fight. They’ll see a guy who downed Bader while standing with his feet parallel to the cage -- hardly an ideal power-producing scenario. They’ll see someone competent to initiate and defend grappling exchanges. They’ll see a man unafraid of submission attempts.

They’ll see him in Toronto, watching, like the predator he appears to be.

The plan is set, and the wheels are in motion. Hard-hitting light heavyweight contender Glover Teixeira will land a title shot with a victory Wednesday night at UFC Fight Night 28 at Estadio Jornalista Felipe Drummond in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

This isn’t a secret. Everyone is aware of the plan -- Teixeira and titleholder Jon Jones (who’s expected to defeat Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 165 on Sept. 21) have been briefed. UFC president Dana White has spoken publicly about the matter.

Ryan Bader also knows of the plan, but doesn’t like it one bit. He is the guy penciled in to be Teixeira’s next victim. Bader, however, does not intend to play along. He has a plan of his own -- to dash Teixeira’s hopes of landing a title fight anytime soon.

“It pisses me off that everyone is overlooking me,” Bader told ESPN.com. “He’s talking about a title shot, other people are talking about a title shot. Fans are saying I don’t have a chance and how good the fight is going to be between [Teixeira] and Jones.

“But he has a tough fight ahead of him on Sept. 4 and I’m looking to spoil all their plans. UFC is saying that he gets the next title shot with an impressive win. A lot of people are going to be upset on Sept. 4. I’m going to come out and take everything away from them.”

A lot of hype has been heaped on Teixeira from the moment he signed with UFC in February 2012. Thus far, in his brief Octagon career, he has met all expectations. He has finished three of his four UFC opponents -- only former 205-pound champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has gone the distance with him.

Despite the impressive showings, Bader isn’t fully convinced Teixeira is the fighter folks believe him to be. He’s good, even Bader concedes that much, but title shot-ready? Bader is of the opinion that’s taking things a little too far.

“He’s had his long win streak,” Bader said, referring to Teixeira’s current 19-fight victory run. “But he’s had this long win streak outside the UFC. If you look at his record, who has he fought? If you look at our past six, seven fights and put them side by side, I’ve definitely fought much tougher guys.

“

Definitely; I'm going to go out there to knock him out. No doubt. I'm going to pressure him, pressure him the whole time. I'm going to stay in his face and push him back; he's going to be walking backward the entire fight.

” -- Glover Teixeira on his fight against Ryan Bader on Wednesday.

“His hype is deserved because he has been winning, he’s undefeated in UFC and all that, but he hasn’t fought the right brand of people. If he fights the right brand of people he’s definitely going to lose, and his night [to face the right brand of opposition] is the night we’re fighting.”

Teixeira isn’t angered by or losing sleep over Bader’s comments. He’s heard these sentiments a lot since word of him being next in line for a title shot surfaced. But the comments have served to fuel his determination to put on a spectacular performance Wednesday night in his native Brazil.

When the main-event showdown is over Teixeira expects not only to be victorious, but to end questions about his legitimacy as the No. 1 light heavyweight contender. Teixeira is on a personal mission: Put Bader to sleep and leave fight fans shocked by the viciousness of the destruction.

“Definitely; I’m going to go out there to knock him out. No doubt,” Teixeira told ESPN.com. “I’m going to pressure him, pressure him the whole time. I’m going to stay in his face and push him back; he’s going to be walking backward the entire fight.

“He’s a very tough opponent. But I’m going to go out there and finish this fight before the fifth round.”

Bader, on the other hand, has a slightly different view of how the fight will play out. His approach is to feed Teixeira a heavy dose of wrestling.

“I definitely want to make this a fight he isn’t used to; he’s not used to being on his back,” Bader said. “He’s a strong aggressive striker, he hits hard, he comes out and tries to be in your face but I definitely look to put him on his back in this fight.”

That fight plan is one more reason Teixeira is confident he will beat Bader. According to Teixeira, Bader has several holes in his game -- though he didn’t offer any specifics.

But Teixeira does point to Bader’s fight plan and shakes his head in disbelief. Have Bader or his trainers closely examined Teixeira’s skill set? Teixeira thinks not, especially if they’ve concluded that wrestling is the key to defeating him.

“Ryan is a good wrestler, but I train with much better wrestlers than Ryan Bader,” Teixeira said. “I’m a good wrestler myself. I’m confident in my wrestling, but there is one thing I don’t care about and that’s being on my back. That will make it more difficult for him because I’m confident in my jiu-jitsu as well.”

Finally, for those who say he isn’t yet deserving of a title shot because there are no top-10 light heavyweights on his UFC ledger, Teixeira offered these thoughts: “I don’t mind it too much. I can’t look at it that way. Ryan is a top-10 fighter. When I fought Rampage he was ranked nine or 10; I don’t know.

“Every fighter in the UFC is dangerous. Hey, I will just keep fighting. And if they keep giving me top-10 guys I will keep fighting and winning.”

A year ago at this time, TJ Grant had just earned a yeoman’s decision over Carlo Prater, to the attention of almost nobody. He was 2-0 since moving down to the lightweight division, but there was a colony of contenders well ahead of him in what had become the UFC’s most competitive weight class.

That’s when the pride of Nova Scotia began crashing through all the obstacles in his way.

Grant, a perennial undercard name to this point, surprised many by beating the brakes off of Evan Dunham at UFC 152 for three rounds. That performance was good enough for fight of the night honors, and set him up for a confrontation with the surging Matt Wiman. This was a bout of classic matchmaking: It was two heads of momentum coming together on national television, with an unspoken understanding that top ten status was on the line. Entering the fight, Wiman had won five of six, and had just derailed Paul Sass a couple of months earlier in Nottingham.

Once again, most didn’t see Grant coming. And once again, Grant forced our eyes open with his poised no-nonsense dominance, this time finishing Wiman in the first round by letting his hands (and elbows) go. It was the first time Wiman had been finished since catching that famous flying knee from Spencer Fisher at UFC 60 in his promotional debut.

Grant, the soft-spoken redhead from the remote northeastern town of Cole Harbour, had arrived. That TKO was how he kicked off 2013.

The thing is, Grant’s encore at UFC 160 in May was better still, even if the stakes were sliding. When he battled Gray Maynard in Las Vegas, the promise was that the winner would get the next crack at Benson Henderson’s title. However, this promise was somewhat qualified, aimed more directly at Maynard, who had hovered as the No. 1 contender since defeating Clay Guida. Maynard was guaranteed a shot with a win. For the lesser-known Grant, Dana White later admitted, he needed to win and do it emphatically to get his chance at the gold.

So what did Grant do? He won. Emphatically. He came in and knocked the bluster from Maynard early, before pursuing him around the cage and delivering power shot after power shot until Maynard slipped to the floor for good. A little more than two minutes into the biggest fight of his career, Grant emerged as the No. 1 contender in a weight class that hadn’t exactly budgeted for woodwork contenders. If his approach seemed quiet, it’s because we weren’t listening. Grant pulled the trick of dawning on everybody slowly and all at once.

His impressive victories over Wiman and Maynard at the halfway point of 2013 is good enough to stick him at the top of this list. Now 5-0 since moving from welterweight to 155 pounds, Grant has earned his shot at Henderson and presents himself as a more than capable challenge.

You know what that means? He’s a win away from becoming fighter of the year.

---

No. 2: Vitor Belfort. What can you say about Belfort, who at 36 years old has become one of the game’s more divisive figures, yet keeps drawing X’s over guys' eyes? To close out 2012, he jarred Jon Jones’ arm off its moorings in an otherwise one-sided fight. That was what it was. In 2013, though, he kept Michael Bisping from getting a title shot by headkicking him senseless, and then followed that up with a spinning-heel kick KO of Luke Rockhold. With the new mohawk as his warrior’s mane, the old lion roars on.

No. 3: Josh Burkman. In some ways, the World Series of Fighting couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. Jon Fitch, who was ranked No. 8 on ESPN.com’s welterweight rankings heading into his fight with Burkman, was a unique sort of UFC castoff who was supposed to rule his new terrain. That would have only served to show the depth of the UFC, that an expendable piece could be king elsewhere. Instead, it took Burkman 41 seconds to make a case that the face of the WSOF promotion was there all along. And how impressive was that choke?

No. 4: Pat Curran. Speaking of faces of their given promotion, Pat Curran -- together with Michael Chandler -- has become exactly that for Bellator. Curran hasn’t looked back since his 2011 loss to Eddie Alvarez for the lightweight belt. As a natural featherweight, he’s gone 6-0 and now sits among the best in the world at that weight class. So far in 2013 he’s held court, too: a hard-fought victory over Patricio Freire, followed by a first-round submission of Shahbulat Shamhalaev. At 25, he’s only getting better.

No. 5: Glover Teixeira. Teixeira has won what feels like 85 fights in a row (19 to be exact), and is 4-0 in the UFC. This would have most people in his position calling for an imminent title shot. Teixeira, on the other hand, is happy to just keep knocking the guy in front of him down. Adding Quinton Jackson and James Te-Huna this year to his long casualty list is enough to inflate the imagination as to what challenges he could present Jon Jones. By the end of 2013, we might just be in the shotgun seat to find out.

Against better judgment, let’s talk about UFC 149 one last time.

The pay-per-view event took place on July 21, 2012, at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta. An interim bantamweight title bout between Renan Barao and Urijah Faber served as the main event.

It was, by most accounts, a terrible night. UFC president Dana White admitted he was “embarrassed” by the main card. It really was one awkward fight after another.

Cheick Kongo and Shawn Jordan embraced in a tired hug for 15 minutes. Brian Ebersole resorted to a series of strange karate slaps to James Head’s leg in a dull split-decision loss. Hector Lombard stood in place and ate jabs. By the time the main event started, the Calgary crowd had fallen in love with a “refund” chant.

To this day, White remains apologetic to the entire Canadian city for that event.

Well, meet the ill-fated UFC 149's brother, UFC 161. The similarities between these two events are eerie.

UFC 161 was originally headlined by an interim bantamweight title bout between Barao and Eddie Wineland, which fell through due to a Barao injury. Similarly, UFC 149 lost its main event, a featherweight title fight, when Jose Aldo was injured.

Mauricio Rua was supposed to fight at UFC 149 and 161. In both cases, he was removed when his opponent suffered an injury. Thiago Silva withdrew from the contest last year. This time it was an injury to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

Speaking of Nogueira injuries, Lil Nog may have just been following the example of his twin brother. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was originally scheduled to fight Cheick Kongo at UFC 149, but he withdrew due to injury.

In both cases, a “name” fight was added by the UFC to give the card more value. At UFC 149, it was Lombard and Tim Boetsch serving as the co-main event. This weekend, it’s Roy Nelson and Stipe Miocic serving as ... the co-main event.

Kind of weird, right? Hopefully, the similarities stop come fight night.

FIVE STORYLINES

Roy Nelson’s gamble. Nelson has long considered himself an underpaid fighter. It’s not hard to see why. During his UFC career, Nelson has typically been one of the lowest-paid athletes on PPV main cards. For instance, his purse against Frank Mir in the co-main event at UFC 130 was a paltry $15,000. To that point, Nelson reportedly turned down an extension offer by the UFC and will finish out his current contact at UFC 161. A loss would certainly affect his leverage in future contract negotiations.

Glover Teixeira’s Twitter account. It’s nice and simple -- @gloverteixeira. You might want to keep an eye on it when the main event goes off. Teixeira has read the writing on the wall and it says “Alexander Gustafsson.” Feeling one win away from a title shot, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Teixeira comment publicly on the winner of Hendo, Evans.

Alexis Davis’ party. You see this from time to time -- Brazilian fights in Brazil or an Aussie fights in Australia. They don’t just look good. They ignite the crowd and win in such a way that you don’t forget about it when the next UFC card comes around. Alexis Davis is a dark horse in the women’s division. She’s well-respected, but few fans really know her yet. That could change here. She’s fighting on home soil and has a type of charm that once cameras find her, they might stick on her.

The evolution of Stipe Miocic. Miocic has the athleticism and the intelligence to turn into a legitimate heavyweight -- the question is when will it happen? He has good instincts and he comes with a game plan, but sometimes in martial arts you have to go off script. Can he surprise a guy like Roy Nelson? Miocic has the fundamentals. Has he added that element of unpredictability?

Seriously, don’t be UFC 149. UFC 160 was three weeks ago. UFC 162 isn’t for another three weeks. If UFC 161 does end up being the second coming of UFC 149 we can’t hide from it. The smell will linger.

FIVE QUESTIONS

Q: Is Rashad Evans still Rashad Evans?

He and his team would say yes. Certain critics would say he hasn’t been the same dating way back to the knockout loss to Lyoto Machida in 2009. That might be a stretch, he did dominate Phil Davis with three cracked ribs as recently as last year, but no doubt about it, this fight will answer questions about Evans after he didn’t look like himself in February.

Q: Is Dan Henderson still Dan Henderson?

It was hard to tell in his last fight. Machida stayed on the outside and refused to really engage with him. Henderson’s too smart to just sprint after him, so we were kind of left with a points fight that Henderson came out on the short end of. One right hand is all it takes for Henderson to get right back into title talk -- an opportunity many still feel he deserves. Can he still land it against the elite 205ers?

Q: How good is Tyron Woodley?

He’s always been an eye-catching prospect. In the same way a loss to Jon Fitch might have gotten Erick Silva to turn a corner, maybe a loss to Nate Marquardt did the same for Woodley. He destroyed a tough veteran guy in Jay Hieron his first time out. If he looks half as good in his second UFC fight against a talent like Jake Shields, we might need to get this guy on the fast track.

Q: Can lightning strike twice?

The one saving grace of UFC 149 was Mr. Ryan Jimmo’s seven-second knockout over Anthony Perosh, followed by a strikingly good robot dance. Perosh was knocked out instantly, so much so that Internet users started Photoshopping his knockout face onto pop-culture images. What will Jimmo do in his Canadian encore?

Q: Is Sam Stout good or just entertaining?

It’s OK if it’s the latter, but it seems he has potential for more. He’s always good for a show. Six times he’s taken home bonus money, but he’s never set great expectations in terms of racking up wins with an overall 8-7 UFC record. That might be changing, as Stout has won four of his past six.

WHO’S ON THE HOT SEAT?

Jake Shields. The UFC’s acquisition of then-Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields was a big deal in 2010 -- but it’s failed to deliver much. Through five UFC appearances, Shields is 2-2 with a no-contest and a drug suspension last August. He can’t seem to figure out what weight class he wants to compete in, and his fighting style is such that even when he’s winning, he’s getting booed. He has little room for error here.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because even though it’s not the most stacked card in the world, it’s still Evans and it’s still Hendo ... because you don’t know Alexis Davis and you should ... because Roy Nelson is rolling the dice on behalf of disgruntled employees everywhere ... because there are sure to be live shots of Winnipeg, Manitoba -- which is quite lovely this time of year ... because Game 5 isn’t until Sunday ... because if it does turn into UFC 149 revisited, Dana White’s head will turn a bright red that should be visible regardless of what camera angle is being used ... because the H-bomb will be there.

The word “popularity” trumps a word like “retread” six days of the week. It did in the case of Quinton Jackson -- the popular, yet polarizing, former UFC champion who just became Bellator’s latest acquisition, according to a Spike TV press release. “Rampage” is presumably headed to the so-called “toughest tournament in sports.”

And with him comes an ounce of that hard-to-find intrigue.

Bellator will hold a news conference Wednesday in Los Angeles to make the announcement. If a 34-year-old on a three-fight losing streak and with strong associations to a rival league seems like an odd choice for a multiyear contract with Bellator, that’s because it is. Traditionally, Bellator has steered clear of picking up the UFC’s sloppy seconds, with a few exceptions. Just last week, Bellator inked prospect Bubba Jenkins, a collegiate wrestling champion from Arizona State who is 3-0 in MMA. That’s a signing that falls more in line with the Bellator ideology of unearthing talent. Landing Jenkins was a major boon.

But Jackson isn’t exactly a cast-off either. He was a disgruntled UFC employee who openly battled with Dana White and the UFC over pay, treatment, integrity, the reinvention of B.A. Baracus, fighting boring wrestlers and a descending scale of pettier issues over the past few years. He’s not known as an “entertainer” for fighting alone. That’s why he fits with Spike, where he can roam into pro wrestling waters under the TNA platform (an idea he’s flirted with before) and play a role in the network’s reality programming. With “Rampage” comes drama, and in his case, that’s interchangeable with “baggage.”

You know what else he brings? Star power and accessible validity.

After all, as of UFC 135, Jackson was name enough to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC’s light heavyweight belt. He didn’t make good, but the UFC sold more than 500,000 pay-per-views, which was the most since UFC 129 when Georges St-Pierre fought Jake Shields. It was the most pay-per-views sold for all of the UFC 130s. When he fought Dan Henderson on Spike, there were 6 million viewers.

Even in a sport where yesterday is a distant memory, that wasn’t so long ago. Yes, the Japan homecoming at UFC 144 against Ryan Bader was a disaster, with the missed weight and the swirling chaos of his TRT/groveling over how the UFC had handled him poorly. And yes, his sayonara bout with Glover Teixeira wasn’t exactly the barn burner he (or we) imagined. Just like Rashad Evans, Henderson and anyone who’s been in the fight game long enough, he’s capable of duds. Ennui is a hard thing to shake.

Yet even with all of that, what’s not to like about this signing? It was Josh Koscheck who said that fans can love him or hate him, it doesn’t matter, so long as they care. Signing “Rampage” will get people to care. And realistically, Bellator could use some love and caring, especially for its tournament structure that stubbornly makes a star of attrition. That concept’s not a fit for everyone. Maybe not even for Jackson, who has had trouble with motivation and weight in the past. It's tough to maintain health, weight and mindset through three fights in three months for anybody. But for a millionaire who doesn't particularly need to?

Then again, remember that he made a name in those Pride Grand Prix’s back in the early days fighting the likes of Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell and Mauricio Rua. Those yesteryear names now become Attila Vegh and his longtime off-limits rival Muhammed Lawal -- not to mention Emanuel Newton, who knocked “King Mo” out in February with a spinning backfist. There’s something about those Memphis “bungalows” that tuned people in, even if they’re being flung at the more curious retread cases of Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Vladimir Matyushenko.
There are always exceptions to the exceptions.

The thing is, Bellator hasn’t strictly adhered to anything other than its own bracketology. Hard to imagine it giving Jackson special treatment and holding him out of the 205-pound tournament. And the promotion has loosely gone about its business of bringing up the next best names over the past couple of years. It's scored with Michael Chandler, Ben Askren, Pat Curran, Eduardo Dantas and Eddie Alvarez (now the subject of a fierce tug-of-war). This is its traditional model, insomuch as tradition exists.

Yet while Jon Fitch didn’t raise the Bellator eyebrow when the UFC released him with a 14-3-1 record under Zuffa, Jackson -- 7-5 in the UFC -- did. Why is that? Fitch will never be confused with entertainment, that’s why. He was never a champion. He doesn’t use words like “bungalows,” much less throw them. Eyeballs aren’t as likely to follow his every move.

Jackson, on the other hand, doesn’t feel too much like the UFC’s leftovers. Kudos to Bellator for thinking inside the box enough to see it.

Heavyweights are now a staple of Memorial Day weekend. Last year, UFC 146 was to be a heavyweight extravaganza like none we'd ever seen. The whole main card was heavyweights, so the word "unprecedented" was being thrown around pretty dramatically. And why not? The Octagon was going to be littered with dinosaur bones at the end of the night.

You remember the fallout before the fallout, though.

Junior dos Santos was scheduled to face Alistair Overeem -- the one man who could turn that gentle giant's smile into a look of constipation -- for the belt. Then the first domino fell: Overeem's test from his previous fight with Brock Lesnar came back with -- to put it gently -- spiked testosterone levels, which meant dos Santos was re-saddled with Frank Mir.

Cain Velasquez, who was supposed to fight Mir that night, was then given Antonio Silva. That meant Roy Nelson, who was supposed to take on "Bigfoot," ended up fighting Dave Herman. Mark Hunt, still for the most part a journeyman at this point, was supposed to fight Stefan Struve, yet didn't end up fighting at all because he got injured. So Struve fought Lavar Johnson -- if we're being generous enough to call what happened that night a "fight."

The players are (basically) the same a year later for UFC 160, yet perceptions are slightly different. Overeem again was supposed to appear on the heavyweight showcase, yet again against dos Santos. And once again, he was scotched from the card, this time due to an injury. That means Hunt, and his visa issues, rides an unlikely four-fight winning streak into a confrontation with dos Santos. The winner (likely) will get a shot at the heavyweight belt next.

As for the belt, it's back in the possession of Velasquez, who defends his title on Saturday night against a familiar name: Silva. The stakes are different this go-round, but the memory of Silva's blood covering the canvas floor at UFC 146 is still fresh. One might say too fresh.

And that's your mystery heading into UFC 160: Will history repeat itself? Which, when you think about it, opens up the broader query: Why is history repeating itself?

(Answers: Probably; and because history has a wicked sense of humor.)

FIVE STORYLINES

Woodwork contenders

What was a bottleneck situation at the top of the lightweight division is now a mile of open highway. The winner of Gray Maynard and TJ Grant will get the next shot at Benson Henderson's belt. We've seen Maynard in that penultimate spot before. But Grant? Talk about a quiet approach.

Hunt as Cinderella

Because you've heard about Hunt's improbable rise from the ashes a million times doesn't make it less amazing. To sum things up: He was inherited in the PRIDE deal, lost to Sean McCorkle in his UFC debut, was left for the scrap heap at 5-7 in MMA, and now is a fight away from a title shot. Hollywood couldn't dream up something this unrealistic.

Woodwork contenders II

With a relative dearth of 205-pound contenders to challenge Jon Jones, Glover Teixeira's name could go from being whispered in polite company to shouted from the mountaintops with an emphatic win over James Te-Huna. But let's take it a step further: Can you imagine if Te-Huna wins? Suddenly a second New Zealander is on your radar from UFC 160.

Return of Brian Bowles

"Where's Brian Bowles?" became MMA's game of "Where's Waldo?" in 2012. So where was he? Finding that drive, baby. Citing apathy as the reason he took some time away from the fight game, the one-time WEC bantamweight champion returns to face all 6-foot-1 and 135 pounds of George Roop.

Woodwork contenders III

Right now Khabib Nurmagomedov has one more victory in professional MMA than he does letters in his name (19 wins, 18 letters). If he beats Abel Trujillo, he'll be a sparkling 20-0. Nurmagomedov is tomorrow's bottleneck at the top of the 155-pound division.

FIVE QUESTIONS

Can things be different for Silva this time?

The more basic question: Can Silva compete this time against the relentlessly aggressive, forward-moving wrestler Velasquez who has cardio for days and a chin made of cinder block? It feels as if we're answering our own question.

Can Hunt KO dos Santos?

Dos Santos has never been knocked out. Knocking people out is what Hunt does. In a fight where the ground is designated for slips and one-way trips, a single punch from either guy ends the co-main. Can it be Hunt on the delivering end? (Smiles and shakes head approvingly.)

Is there still wonder to "Wonderboy"?

Remember when Stephen Thompson had that hot roulette player's moment after knocking out Dan Stittgen in his UFC debut with a head kick? Matt Brown brought him down to earth in a hurry in April 2012 with a one-sided decision. This bout with Nah-Shon Burrell will tell us if it's back to "Wonderboy" or if he's a "one-hit wonder."

Is Cain the greatest heavyweight champ ever?

Take away that glancing moment in the ballyhooed first bout with dos Santos -- a bout that Velasquez should never have been fighting in the first place (knee) -- and the answer is "yup." But what are we talking about? This is the ultimate proving ground, so we'll ask him for more proof. More proof!

Does KJ Noons belong in a fight with Donald Cerrone?

The short answer is no. The correct answer is LOL. Even if you omit the Ryan Couture fight (a loss that he actually won), Noons still lost three of his previous four fights. Cerrone is coming off of that Anthony Pettis incident where his liver got rearranged. In other words: Cerrone's the proverbial hornet's nest that Noons is walking into.

WHO'S ON THE HOT SEAT?

Robert Whittaker

He did beat Brad Scott in his UFC debut, but a loss to Colton Smith, just as the UFC is tightening its belt rosterwise, makes young shakers expendable. (However, if Robert Whittaker knocks out Smith like he did Luke Newman on "TUF: The Smashes"? Then it's "Watch out for the Aussie!").

Jeremy Stephens

If the fact that he's opening the prelims portion of the card doesn't tip you off, the three-fight losing streak will. This move to 145 pounds is Stephens' "all-in" moment. Another loss and it's adios, "Lil' Heathen."

KJ Noons

It would feel a little merciless of the UFC to cut him, particularly because it'd be on the heels of a likely loss to Cerrone, but Noons needs a good showing to remind everyone of the guy who beat Nick Diaz in 2007. A fifth loss in six fights, though, is either a red flag or a white one, depending on how you squint.

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE

Because Velasquez might as well dig his hooves in the mat before he charges at Silva as if Silva were a red cape ... because "Bigfoot" has fists the size of pet carriers, yet his gloves weigh 4 ounces, just like everybody else's ... because if you put dos Santos' and Hunt's combined knockouts on a highlight reel, it'd run longer than the average romantic comedy ... because Grant versus Maynard is dog-eared for fight of the night ... because "Cowboy" Cerrone is mad, and Noons, by stepping in with him, is saying "come hither" ... because Grant fights like Ulysses S. Grant ... because Te-Huna and Teixeira will require smelling salts ... because Dennis Bermudez was already in one fight of the year candidate (against Matt Grice) and Max Holloway is a gamer ... because Mike Pyle can make it four in a row against Rick Story ... because what could be more fun than watching Hunt try to stuff his foot into a glass slipper?

CHICAGO -- Winning a UFC title is every fighter’s goal. For the few who are able to accomplish this feat, the celebration doesn’t truly begin until they make their first successful title defense.

UFC bantamweight titleholder Demetrious Johnson will attempt to solidify his position as a true champion Saturday night when he meets top contender John Dodson. The two will battle at United Center in Chicago.

In addition to defending his title, Johnson wants to put on an entertaining fight. Putting on a fan-friendly performance is something Johnson also relishes. And it’s something Johnson thought was being accomplished in September when he held off Joseph Benavidez to claim the 125-pound belt.

Johnson put on a stand-up fighting display. He demonstrated textbook footwork, head movement and striking en route to a split decision. But throughout the five-round title bout many fans in attendance at UFC 152 booed.

The booing continued when Johnson was declared the winner, and Johnson learned that being liked by fans is something he has no control over.

“You can never predict how fans will see you because there are some fans out there who just love my style: How I’m just a humble guy, but I have great technique, I have great footwork, the cardio, I have great confidence and I love video games,” Johnson told ESPN.com.

“On the other side of the board, there are guys who hate everything about me. They don’t care what I do, they hope I lose; they hate my ears, the way I look. So my job is to just go out there and perform the best I can.”

Teixeira seeks KO against Jackson

Not many fighters have entered the UFC with as much hype as Glover Teixeira. And in his first two Octagon appearances, Teixeira has not disappointed. On Saturday, he faces the stiffest test of his pro career, and fans will find out if the hype is warranted when Teixeira faces former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

Teixeira believes he will defeat Jackson, who fights in the UFC for the last time Saturday. But he also believes victory won’t be enough to prevent his stock from tumbling if he struggles. So Teixeira is determined to end Jackson’s UFC career early.

“My motivation is to be a champion, just like he was. I’m hungry,” Teixeira told ESPN.com. “I want this. This is a big fight for me, the biggest of my career.

“Rampage is a tough guy, he’s hard to put away. But that is the key. You go into a fight, that’s why people love fights, because of the knockouts and the submissions. I’m going in there to finish the fight. And it does matter to me how I win.”

Cerrone to clash with sharper, more mature Pettis

It has been nearly one year since lightweight contender Anthony Pettis has fought inside the Octagon. That’s a long layoff for any fighter, except Pettis.

The former WEC champion says when he steps in the cage Saturday night to face Donald Cerrone, he will be as sharp as ever. Cage rust is never an issue for Pettis.

“I don’t think there is ring rust when it comes to fighting,” Pettis said. “A fight’s a fight. If I have to fight somebody tomorrow, I’ve got to be ready to fight.

“This is my job. This is what I’ve been training for; this is what I’ve been doing for a long time. I’ve kind of grown up with fighting, so I don’t think ring rust is going to be a problem.”

Pettis is also better prepared to deal with any unexpected situations -- inside or outside the cage. He takes all his responsibilities much more seriously these days.

“I’ve matured a lot,” Pettis said. “I’ve got a daughter [1½-year-old Aria] now; I’ve matured a lot with decisions outside of my training -- what time I go to bed, what I’m eating, what I’m putting in my body.

“I’ve really matured in every aspect of my life. I’ve just matured as a man.”

Quick hits

• Former lightweight contender Clay Guida makes his featherweight debut with a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Despite what he says, the outcome of his June bout with Gray Maynard and the criticism that followed still sting. “My striking was pinpoint; I out-struck Gray. I out-grappled Gray,” Guida said. “Go down the list, I beat him everywhere, except in the judges’ eyes. But I’m beyond that now. And Hatsu Hioki is going to pay for it Saturday night.”

• Jackson talks often about no longer being happy in UFC and looks forward to leaving the promotion after Saturday night’s bout against Teixeira. But Jackson won’t be all smiles when it’s over. “I will miss a lot of things. I will miss Burt Watson backstage. He’s funny; he’s cool to hang around,” Jackson told ESPN.com. “Honestly, if you are on Dana’s good side, he’s one of the coolest guys. Lorenzo Fertitta’s always been cool with me; and Frank [Fertitta]. I will miss the good fans. When you’re walking back to the locker room, when you win, the fans are cheering you on. There are a lot of things about the UFC that I will miss.”

• Dana White would love to have Eddie Alvarez on the UFC roster. And he is willing to pay handsomely for Alvarez’s services. Now White is challenging Bellator to do the same. “This kid isn’t their world champion and his contract is up,” White told ESPN.com. “Everybody talks about Bellator like they’re some poor little company. Viacom owns Bellator! Bellator like you used to know it is over. Viacom sits on $5 billion in cash. Pay the kid! Pay the kid the exact monetary offer we made to him, and you will deserve the right to have him.”

There's a paradox going on for this weekend's Chicago card: People are talking about the flyweights not getting talked about.

In fact, the ever-coveted "casual" viewer has no way of knowing that there is such a thing as the flyweight division, because all those prominent ads leading up -- as you've seen by now -- don’t fuss over the details. As far as casuals know, it's a "world title" fight, which is of course one way of putting it. (Saying that two of the best flyweights out of a 15-man roster might play out somewhat less dramatically).

But the flyweights are actual and they are happening, whether this offends you, surprises you, or speaks to your fetishes. And if nothing else, it's novel. If the sword on Brock Lesnar's chest cut him in two, you'd get Demetrious Johnson and John Dodson -- guys with thrice the speed and half the brute power. We'll need to slow down the surveillance tape, but these guys will square off at shutter speed on Saturday night as headliners.

It's Johnson's first title defense. It’s Dodson’s chance to showcase his own rare blend of levity and levitation.

If it goes as one suspects it might, this will feel like 25 minutes of hydroplaning. What's not to love?

Of course, such a main event only works on a uniquely stacked (totally free) card like UFC of FOX 6. There's Quinton Jackson's UFC swan song and Glover Teixeira's fashionably late arrival. There's the battle of Anthony Pettis-Donald Cerrone, which is a cause for hyperbole. That looks like the greatest fight of all time. (You see?)

And then there's the featherweights. And this is where the plot thickens.

Right now the 145-pound division below challenger Frankie Edgar and current champion Jose Aldo is a free-for-all.

It's about to get some clarity.

Clay Guida will take on Hatsu Hioki in his first drop to 145 pounds, and Ricardo Lamas will fight Erik Koch. One of these will emerge as the next challenge for the Aldo-Edgar winner. At the very least, one of these four guys will get to fight Chan Sung Jung to determine who gets next crack at the Aldo-Edgar winner.

Saturday will give us a featherweight pecking order.

Koch was scheduled to fight Aldo twice in 2012, but both fell through (once because he was injured, once because Aldo was). You'd have to think that a win over Lamas would land him right back to where he was. If Lamas defends his Chicago turf, he'll have beaten 2012's brightest contender, so he'd take that spot.

Guida is making the cut to 145 pounds after he ceded his lightweight title bearings against Gray Maynard. Not only that, but he had the audacity to show up with a stick and skedaddle game plan that left a bad taste in fan's mouths. A solid performance in his featherweight debut against the former No. 1 contender Hioki would jump him into the mix pretty quick. If Hioki knocks off Guida, same thing. He'll have beaten one of the UFC's more familiar names, and the recent Lamas loss shrinks in his rearview mirror.

Come Sunday morning, there will be such a thing as the "featherweight title picture." With all the comings and goings at 145 pounds since the division was introduced two years ago, that's been a hard thing to establish.

Quinton Jackson didn't invent "Rampage" so much as grow into him.

From a rambunctious, troubled kid raised in a rough part of Memphis, Tenn., who was so wild playing video games that his cousins conjured the nickname; to wrestling his way into -- then fighting and getting arrested out of -- junior college; to bouncing through several stages of a successful, frustrating and legally challenged mixed martial arts career, which hits 14 headline-making years Saturday in Chicago, this dual person(a) is Jackson's most consistent trait.

In that sense, adolescence tore Jackson down the middle -- even if the man we know via mixed martial arts uniformly, and mostly to his benefit, embraced the alter ego throughout much of his life.

The fact a menacing-if-you-don't-know-him guy was effectively split in two speaks to a relationship of convenience that provided an engaging, controversial and complicated talent the opportunity to be many things to many people. Fighters saw a threat. Fans saw someone to love. Family saw a meal ticket. Promoters, managers, trainers and agents saw a megastar capable of making beaucoup bucks.

How Jackson managed it all while remaining, in the loosest sense of the word, sane is something those near and dear to him have wondered and worried about along the way.

Entering the Octagon at the United Center versus Glover Teixeira for what’s expected to be his final UFC bout (he says he wants out, and Zuffa appears eager to oblige), Rampage (and he’ll be Rampage at that moment) must focus on an omnipresent piece of himself.

This will be Jackson, now 34, feeling no pain. This will be Jackson feeling nothing, really, save the instinct to survive, which has long been buffed away by money and other trappings of fame.

This will be Jackson, fighting.

He fought on the streets for the whims of crack dealers. He fought to get away. He fought to make a better life. He fought to maintain. He fought and triumphed. Fought and failed. He fought battles that were worth waging and others that weren’t. He fought because it’s what he did.

Sometimes best.

Over the years I’ve been fortunate to cover many personalities, none brighter or more confounding than Rampage. Fragile, too. Jackson needs constant reassurance. From friends, trainers (there have been many), fans. Even media. After it was announced that Jackson would meet Igor Vovchanchyn on Sept. 29, 2002, at Pride 22, he called me.

His first question: “Can I win?”

I told Jackson he could before reminding him that the hammer-fisted Russian heavyweight was no joke and just as easily could be the first man to stop him in 18 pro fights. Rampage slammed Vovchanchyn around like no one had before. It was beyond impressive. As was much of what he pulled off in competition over the years. After Vovchanchyn came a fight with former UFC champion Kevin Randleman, which in my estimation was the best Jackson ever looked. Tuned up under the tutelage of Colin Oyama -- a no-frills coach out of Orange County, Calif. -- Rampage pounded a Tyson-esque uppercut-hook combination into Randleman’s head. This represented the middle of the best stretch of his career: a seven-fight streak that included victories over Murilo Bustamante and a classic performance over Chuck Liddell in the 2003 Pride Grand Prix.

Rampage didn’t take the tournament, falling in the finals to his nemesis Wanderlei Silva -- one of the great wars in MMA history. Even still, he made his mark. This was a budding 24-year-old stud with as much potential (in and out of the cage) as any fighter in the light heavyweight division.

Then things got different.

Eleven months later, prior to an anticipated rematch with Silva, religious epiphany moved the freewheeling, fun-loving, troublemaking, oft-insulting Rampage to born-again Christian status, and, oddly, inspired a fast the week before the fight. He missed women, and read an article on the Internet that suggested not eating would help fend off the Devil.

His relationship with Oyama fell apart, opening the door for trainer Juanito Ibarra. Ibarra, like Oyama, called Rampage on his nonsense. Ibarra also spoke the language of religion, and helped lift Jackson to his professional peak in 2007 when he knocked out Liddell to capture the UFC light heavyweight title, then decisioned Dan Henderson, the reigning Pride 205-pound champion, in the Octagon.

Jackson had everything in front of him. His career was exploding. The UFC was exploding. But then he imploded. He put together a horrible performance against Forrest Griffin to lose the title. Then he seemed to lose his mind in the aftermath, suffering the most embarrassing episode of his life after steamrolling over city streets in his elevated Ford pickup truck.

Was this Rampage? Or Jackson? Legally, of course, there wasn’t a difference.

The UFC stood by him and provided bail money. By the end of the year, Jackson had a chance to fight his old foe Wanderlei Silva again. Well past his prime, Silva went down hard. Rampage could still punch.

Starting with the loss to Griffin, Jackson is 4-4 since 2008. Now he wants out of a UFC he paints as tyrannical. Though, having followed him from the start, much of it rings similar to the reasons he disparaged Pride, and wanted out of his relationship with Oyama, and later Ibarra. He feels disrespected. Used. Like a piece of meat.

Jackson has rarely dealt well with taking personal responsibility, at least so far as his career goes. And that, to me, is how he’ll be remembered. As a guy who had everything in front of him, who worked only when he had to and, then, only when he was pushed to.

Such was the depth of Jackson’s potential that he ultimately won a UFC title, managed to land a major motion picture and branded himself as few fighters have in this sport. What sounds like a success isn’t, necessarily. It was as if, no matter what decisions he made, he was going to be remembered. For being himself. For being his alter ego.

For all of it.

England's Jimi Manuwa has warned Glover Teixeira that Quinton Jackson is in the mood to do serious damage when the former light heavyweight champion bids farewell to the UFC this weekend. More »

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson will step into the Octagon on Jan. 26 to face off against Glover Teixeira. It is a clash that pits two of the division’s heaviest punchers in what promises to be a barn burner of a fight and, for Jackson, an opportunity to end his contract with the UFC by beating one of the most highly touted light heavyweights since Jon Jones.

Some may see this as an opportunity for Teixeira to make his name and "retire" Jackson from MMA. But Jackson, the former Pride and UFC champion, has other ideas. He is far from retiring as a fighter and has plans that could see him becoming an even bigger draw both in the sport and the mainstream media. After Jackson made changes to his camp, specifically a new nutritionist, and spent time at the new Wolfslair facility in Wigan, England, his trainers are excited by his current form. Manager Anthony McGann was also vocal about any ideas that Quinton is merely seeing out his contract.

“Quinton is looking like the old Rampage in the gym. Believe me, he is already ahead of the curve in training and is going to be 100 percent for the fight,” said McGann.

Jackson is as focused as ever on the upcoming bout with Teixeira, leaving all the distractions of home behind to train with head Muay Thai coach Dave Jackson, Bobby Rimmer (Ricky Hatton’s former boxing trainer) and grappling coach Tom Blackledge.

“I’m with Soulmatefood now and they are planning all my nutrition really well. I was with Mike Dolce for a while but I just got tired of him experimenting on me,” Jackson says. “I used to have to cut a lot of weight with that guy. He would give me a lot of bread and Nutella sandwiches. At the time I was loving it, but then I had to pay for it when I had to cut all the weight.”

That, along with a bad knee injury, meant that Jackson's last outing was not the performance he wanted to give his Japanese fans as he dropped a defeat to Ryan Bader. “I got no respect for Bader. I don’t understand guys that just want to hold you down. It’s MMA; I got no problem with takedowns and wrestling, but just holding a guy down ain’t my style.”

That loss to Bader, and the way Jackson felt he was treated afterward, is a major reason why the fighter decided to not renew his contract with the UFC.

“There’re a lot of reasons I’m leaving the UFC, but the straw that broke the camel’s back was that they knew I was injured before the Bader fight. The card wasn’t strong enough for the fans. I didn’t feel I could pull out of the fight because it was in Japan and that’s where I came from. The UFC had all the old Pride fighters busy,” explains Rampage. “They knew they [were] going to Japan but they had Dan Henderson, Shogun [Mauricio Rua], all the guys fighting before. Then they tried not to put me on the card and go to Chicago on a Fox card, and I just couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t use the Pride guys.”

Though Rampage took the responsibility to fight with his injury, he said it was Dana White’s reaction to his loss that pushed Jackson to make his decision to leave.

“Dana said [publicly] my head wasn’t into the fight and he talked some s--- about me even though he knew I had the injury. They’d helped me with the injury. That was the last straw for me.”



While "Rampage" Jackson has clearly fallen out of love with the UFC, his MMA career is far from over.

“I’m training better than ever now my knee is fixed. I was fighting with a bum knee for 12 years and it finally gave out on me before the Bader fight. Now I’m getting better, I’m getting faster. I’ve got a good team around me and I’m more positive now so I know this is the next chapter for me. I’m training harder than I have in a long time and I know I’m gonna destroy this guy,” Jackson states calmly. “These next fights are about my legacy. I wanna go out there and destroy some people in MMA and move on and start making movies and TV shows and video games.”

Rampage, then, clearly has a focused plan beyond the UFC and is showing no signs of slowing down. “I got at least 10 more fights in me and I want those fights to be my legacy, but I want to do that in a positive organization.”

However, before any of that, he must first take on Glover Teixeira and show the fans and his detractors that Rampage remains a dangerous threat in the cage. Many are questioning Quinton, citing the fact that he has lost his last two bouts. But, one was a Fight of the Night loss to the champion Jones, while the other saw Jackson injured yet determined to give the Japanese fans a show.

“I’ll fight anybody to get this last fight out of the way. I can’t wait to leave the UFC and have nothing to do with them anymore,” reveals Jackson. “I don’t see Glover as a huge threat or that his skills are so good. He’s pretty tough. I mean, anything can happen in the cage. MMA is unpredictable. My job is to fight and I take chances all the time.”

But Rampage and his team are obviously doing their homework, looking at Glover’s skills and examining key areas. “I am sure he is going to try to take me down. He’s talked all this smack about how he is gonna stand with me, but he’s gonna do what everyone else tries to do and take me down.”

In truth, Jackson doesn’t care what Teixeira is going to try to do.

“I’m going out there to destroy him, and then I’m done with the UFC and I can move on.” In what should be an explosive last Octagon outing for Quinton Jackson -- win, lose or draw -- Rampage is eager to get the job done and look to the future.

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson has asked promotion president Dana White for a bout with highly touted Glover Teixeira.

Jackson made his request Sunday, several hours after Teixeira called him out at UFC 153 in Rio de Janeiro.

“Yo [Dana White], set up that fight with Glover please!” Jackson said on Twitter. “Let’s give him what he wants.

“Fans, I won’t let you down.”

Teixeira let his desire to fight Jackson be known minutes after defeating Fabio Maldonado by second-round TKO.

“I’d like to fight Quinton Jackson,” Teixeira said after improving to 19-2. “I never talked [smack] about him. He was my idol.

“I loved that guy coming up in Pride. But he says I was talking bad about him. I’m not talking bad about him. I’m not afraid of no man. Step in the ring with me; I’ll fight anyone.”

White was not specific about the next opponent for Teixeira -- the hard-hitting native of Brazil who now calls Danbury, Conn., home -- but it won’t be current light heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

“[Teixeira] is going to have to fight one of the top guys before we start talking about title shots,” White said.

Teixeira was scheduled to fight Jackson at UFC 153, but Jackson was forced to pull out of the bout after suffering an undisclosed injury during training. Maldonado then stepped in for Jackson.