"No idea PRIDE was going to fall like that" - Rampage Jackson believed PRIDE FC would be as big as the UFC today
Rampage Jackson was amongst a herd of big American names competing in the Japanese promotion PRIDE FC during its heyday. However, Rampage didn't see PRIDE FC's fall coming while he was fighting there.
According to Jackson, he had expected PRIDE to grow into a mammoth like the UFC. Jackson was taken aback by the promotion's sudden fall from grace.
Rampage Jackson recently said on the Yamatodashii podcast:
"I thought it would be as big as the UFC is now. I had no idea that PRIDE was gonna fall like that."
Watch Rampage Jackson's appearance on the Yamatodashii podcast below:
Quinton Jackson made his PRIDE FC debut in 2001 and continued fighting in the promotion till it dissolved in 2006. Jackson ammassed a 12-5 record in his seventeen PRIDE outings, which included opponents like Chuck Liddell and Wanderlei Silva.
Rampage Jackson had a close shave at PRIDE FC
Rampage Jackson did not drop his usual antics while fighting in Japan. Jackson almost landed himself in trouble when he planned to snatch the hat of PRIDE producer, Hiromichi Momose.
Known as the 'Phantom of PRIDE', Momose had alleged ties with the Yakuza, the Japanese mafia. For some folks, Momose was popular as the funny guy who sat ringside wearing his 'Forever Young at Heart' baseball cap. Rampage Jackson was stopped by PRIDE commentator Stephen Quadros when he planned to snatch the cap off Momose's head.
Narrating the incident, Quadros told Bleacher Report:
"He came to all the events with that baseball hat on. And Quinton [Jackson] wanted to go up and steal his hat. Quinton was an impish guy and always doing things like that. I said, 'Quinton, look at me. Look at me! You don't know who that guy is. Don't do that.' And thank God he didn't."
It was PRIDE's ties with the Yakuza which eventually led to the fall of the promotion. According to reports, there was even an internal war between two factions over their involvement in the promotion.
There was nothing quite like the spectacle of Pride Fighting Championship. https://t.co/QuafNopJe9
The final blow for PRIDE came when they lost their television deal with Fuji TV due to their alleged criminal ties. PRIDE went out of business within a year and was acquired by the UFC in 2007.