“Rampage” Jackson Claims Bellator Contract “Wasn’t Right” and “Terminated” It
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
By FCF Staff
UFC FN 58 wasn’t the only thing that made MMA headlines last night, as the promotion also announced that it has re-signed “Rampage’ Jackson to a contract, and that the former light-heavyweight champ will make his return in 2015.
Jackson exited from the UFC last year, was extremely critical of the promotion while doing so, and ended up signing a multifight deal with Bellator. More recently, however, Jackson relayed he regretted leaving the UFC, despite the disagreements he had with the company.
Not long after Jackson’s UFC return was announced, Bellator’s President Scott Coker tweeted:
Let us be clear that Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is under an exclusive contract with #BellatorMMA. We will protect our contractual rights
— Scott Coker (@ScottCoker) December 21, 2014
Jackson, evidently, believes he was clear to resign with the UFC, as the fighter told FOX Sports the following (quote via FOX Sports press release):
“The contract with Bellator wasn’t right. My manager and I tried to fix it. Bellator didn’t want to fix it. They had 45 days, and I terminated the contract.”
It would look as though this matter could be headed to court. In a follow up report from UFC.com, Jackson had this to say about departing for Bellator, and then his decision to return:
“I went out in the world and I looked at the other side and said ‘man, the grass looks greener over there across the street.’ So I ran across the street and looked at the grass and it got ran over by the lawnmower. (Laughs) Sometimes you think the grass is greener and you’ve got to take that chance. I never would have known if I hadn’t gone out there.”
The 36 year-old also relayed that he wants to avenge some of his losses in the UFC, and would like to fight the likes of Rashad Evans, Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira.
The UFC says Jackson will make his Octagon return sometime next year, however, no specific date has been set. The signing materializes just days after the promotion was served a class action lawsuit, which accuses the UFC of breaking anti-trust laws.
