Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson discloses Dana White declining his Reebok sponsorship as reason for leaving the UFC: "That was my m*therf*cking deal"
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson recently opened up about his UFC tenure and disclosed that Dana White declining his Reebok sponsorship was the reason for his departure. The former light heavyweight champion ended up leaving the promotion and joined Bellator where he eventually finished his MMA career.
The MMA legend was a very popular fighter during his peak in the UFC as he received opportunities outside of fighting, including a starring role in 'The A-Team'. Despite his popularity, he was left with a sour taste for how the promotion went about handling his sponsorship with Reebok. The MMA leader and the clothing brand eventually signed a lengthy deal that resulted in them being the exclusive clothing sponsor for all competitors.
During his appearance on Pound 4 Pound, 'Rampage' told hosts Henry Cejudo and Kamaru Usman that he butted heads with the White after he declined the sponsor being on his shorts. Jackson mentioned that he brought Reebok in and left the UFC after they teamed up:
"I left the UFC cause they stole my Reebok deal. That was my m*therf*cking deal. I brought Reebok...Reebok sponsored me and I was gonna wear them on my shorts. Dana White was like, 'You can't wear Reebok. We don't got no relationship with Reebok'. I was like, 'I'm an independent contractor, you don't need no relationship with my sponsor, what the f**k you mean?'"
Check out Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson's comments below:
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson details how he got himself out of his UFC contract
The UFC's deal with Reebok clearly angered Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson as he felt slighted and decided he wanted to leave the promotion as a result.
During the aforementioned clip, Jackson brought up that it wasn't easy and mentioned that after moving to Bellator, he still had a fight remaining on his UFC deal and had to buy himself out:
"[UFC] tried to make it sound like I retired. I went to Bellator, I fought in Bellator for years. When I left them, something happened where I owed them one more fight. I had to buy myself out of the f*cking UFC contract. They didn't sue me but I did have to pay like, $1.7 million or something...to buy myself out of the UFC contract."
Check out the full episode featuring Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson below: