According to a Spike TV release, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will replace Frankie Edgar as the featured athlete in the pre-event preview show, “In the Moment” on Spike TV.
The cameras will follow Jackson in his preparation for his now headlining bout against Matt Hamill at UFC 130.
Payout Perspective
This was a logical alternative to Frankie Edgar after he was forced to withdraw from his fight with Gray Maynard. Jackson is an interesting character and should be good for a sound byte or two. Will Jackson talk about retiring to do more movies? Will he talk about not getting paid enough?
Zuffa can’t be happy with Rampage’s recent interviews. He’s been saying he will quit fighting as soon as he can make more money acting. He’s obviously lost any passion he may have once had for the sport, and I believe it has shown in his past two fights. Still, he shouldn’t be outright admitting it to the public if he wants people to buy his fights. What I’ve heard him say lately equates to “I have no desire to be champion again, so I won’t come to fight hungry at all, so don’t bother buying my fight.” I’m seriously doubting that I will buy UFC 130 for this reason. It’s really too bad, because he’s either hanging with or beating some of the best LHWs in the world, all while likely phoning it in. If he were dedicated, he could very well recapture the UFC LHW title. Anyone else a bit disparaged by Page’s comments?
Makes it ironic that they are showcasing him with this special.
The bigger question will be how hard will it be for ‘Page to make weight.
I actually think Frank Mir or Roy Nelson would be interesting too. I just don’t believe Matt Hamill is an upper card LHW.