Rampage Jackson

Scouting report

Quinton Rampage Jackson won the UFC light heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Chuck Liddell at UFC 71 on May 26, 2007. He unified the UFC and Pride belts by beating Dan Henderson at UFC 75 in London on September 8, 2007. Forrest Griffin took the title from him on a unanimous decision at UFC 86 on July 5, 2008. Before the UFC he fought in Pride, where he slammed Ricardo Arona unconscious in 2004.

Peak ratings

Rampage Jackson: Pride star, UFC champion, and a long list of disputes

Jackson wrestled at Raleigh-Egypt High School and Lassen Community College and holds a jiu-jitsu black belt under Allan Goes. In Pride he beat Liddell in the 2003 Grand Prix semifinal on a corner stoppage and lost to Wanderlei Silva twice, in the 2003 final and a 2004 middleweight title fight. His UFC career ran from 2007 to 2015, with contract disputes along the way. In September 2009 he said he was done fighting, and in March 2010 he signed a new six-fight deal.

How Rampage rates

Boxing. 89, his highest. Liddell was knocked out with punches at 1:53 of round one at UFC 71.

Kickboxing. 78. He learned karate from a friend, Jacob Noe, and added knees and ground-and-pound to a style built around power.

Wrestling. 86. He lifted opponents and slammed them, and he used a powerbomb. The Arona slam in Pride in 2004 is the best-known example.

BJJ. 74, the soft spot. Jon Jones submitted him with a rear-naked choke in round four at UFC 135 on September 24, 2011. It was the first time he had been finished in the UFC.

Strength. 88. He knocked out Liddell in a title fight and beat Hirotaka Yokoi by TKO in Pride in 2005.

Durability. 88. Rashad Evans beat him on a unanimous decision at UFC 114 in May 2010, and Glover Teixeira did the same at UFC on Fox 6 in January 2013, but neither stopped him.

Cardio. 80. He beat Henderson on a unanimous decision at UFC 75, Muhammed Lawal on a unanimous decision in May 2014, and Fabio Maldonado on a unanimous decision at UFC 186 in April 2015.

Fight IQ. 82. A jaw ligament tear in 2009 kept him out of a planned title fight, and Lyoto Machida took the date. At UFC 144 he weighed in at 211 pounds and lost to Ryan Bader.

A boxer who can slam his way out of trouble

Boxing at 89 leads the card, and wrestling at 86 sits behind it. That pairing gave him two answers: hit the opponent, or lift them. After leaving the UFC he signed with Bellator in 2013 and won the Season 10 light heavyweight tournament in 2014, knocking out Christian M'Pumbu in the semifinal and beating Lawal in the final.

BJJ at 74 is the one hole

Jones submitted him in round four at UFC 135, and Chael Sonnen beat him in the 2018 Bellator quarterfinal. In December 2019 Fedor Emelianenko stopped him in the first round, and Bellator did not re-sign him afterward. Put him in a build that has a good submission defender, or rely on the other seven ratings to carry the pick.

Ratings shown are my own estimates, made with AI assistance and informed by how Rampage Jackson is regarded by the MMA community. They are unofficial and do not constitute an assessment of Rampage Jackson's real-world abilities. How the ratings are made. See the disclaimer below. Ratings and write-ups by Haaris A. Last reviewed 2026-09-30; spot an error? Tell us. Read our editorial standards.