Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson reveals why he staged warm-up fights in training: "Fighting is not only physical, it's mental"
Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson recently revealed why he decided to stage warm-up fights in training ahead of some of his bouts. The MMA legend noted that they were helpful and what the circumstances were when he staged them.
'Rampage' had a very successful career that included tenures in Pride, UFC, and, most recently, Bellator. He was known for being a feared striker capable of vicious knockouts. Despite his success, the former light heavyweight champion had his fair share of injuries and performances that weren't up to his high standards.
During a recent episode of his JAXXON PODCAST with guest Paulo Costa, 'Rampage' revealed that he would usually stage warm-up fights in his training camp because it would help when either coming off an injury or a bad performance. Jackson mentioned that the UFC's matchmaking doesn't allow for a tune-up fight like those in Pride and suggested that fighters use their training camp to stage one.
"You should have a warm-up fight cause fighting is not only physical, it's mental. And you just had surgery or something like that, your next fight back should be kinda like a warm up fight... Since the UFC don't do that, what I used to do was I would ask my coaches [to] let me just fight in the gym with nobody knowing about it. Pay somebody, bring him in and that's my warmup fight. No headgear, no shin guards."
Check out Quinton Jackson's comments below:
Paulo Costa tells Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson that he's open to fighting Gregory Rodrigues
Paulo Costa opened up about potential opponents for his next bout and told Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson that he'd be open to fighting Gregory Rodrigues.
During the aforementioned episode, Costa shared his reaction to Rodrigues calling him out and expressed interest in making that fight happen. The former UFC title challenger mentioned that although 'Robocop' is strong, he doesn't believe he is that great compared to others in the division.
"Honestly, I think we have other guys [in the division], but I can fight him no problem. He's just a strong guy but I think everybody on this position. To be honest, I don't think [Rodrigues is] so special. But I'm a fighter, the mentality to fight anybody and on very aggressive way, is about this as well."
Check out Paulo Costa's comments below: