“There is a lot of pressure but I beat people up very well under pressure.”

                                                --“Rampage” Jackson

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson makes his UFC début this Saturday night.  Rampage comes to the UFC on the hunt for the light heavyweight championship, and maybe for Tito Ortiz’s unofficial best showmanship title.  In this FightBeat exclusive Rampage gives us his thoughts on the UFC, his current relationship with Chuck Liddell, responds to Rashad Evans, and much more. 

FB:  You are making your UFC début at UFC 67 against Marvin Eastman.  He put a real hurting on you the first time you fought.  Are you going to make him pay on Saturday? 

QJ:  Yeah, he did beat me the first time.  Saturday I’m going to put it down and do my thing.  He will pay for the first fight Saturday.  I like making people pay. 

FB:  Heath Herring looked horrible in his UFC début.  Is there a lot of pressure on you to perform well on Saturday? 

QJ:  What Heath does has nothing to do with me.  There is a lot of pressure but I beat people up very well under pressure. 

FB:  How many fights do you have on your contract for the UFC? 

QJ:  They bought out my WFA contract. I got two fights left. 

FB:  How many fights do you want before you get a title shot? 

QJ:  As many as I need. 

FB:  Have you and Chuck Liddell talked since your first fight? 

QJ:  Yeah, I talk to him. Chuck has always been cool.  Just like anyone else I’ve fought; I talk to Kevin Randleman; I talk to Marvin Eastman; I’ve talked to Ricardo Arona; I’ve talked to Bustamante.  I don’t hate none of my opponents. 

FB:  I heard you had a run-in with Kevin Randleman. 

QJ:  Yeah, that’s right. Me and Kevin don’t talk after that.  He was in the club, drunk, and was in front of one of his girls—you know how that can get.  I think his girl probably said something because she knows I whooped his ass. 

FB:  I heard you in Chuck got a wager going if you guys fight, that if you win he’s got to shave his Mohawk and if he wins you got to give up your chain? 

QJ:  Yeah, just for like one or two fights, though. Who wants to do it forever?  I want to see how Chuck looks without that mohawk. 

FB:  Cro Cop is also making his UFC début.  How successful do you think he will be in the UFC? 

QJ:  Cro Cop is an excellent fighter.  I think he will do well in the UFC.  Cro Cop will change the heavyweight division.  I feel sorry for whoever is in his way.  When a guy can kick you in the head and end the fight at anytime, not like a lucky kick, when he can do it over and over again, that’s a dangerous man. Are you going to the fight? 

FB:  No, I am heading home this weekend for the Super Bowl.  There’s a cool bar in Victor, NY, called the Victor Village Inn that is showing the fight. The UFC is really blowing up. Bars across the country are now showing UFC pay per views. Are you excited to be a part of the UFC at a time it’s really flourishing? 

QJ:  Yeah, I think it’s a perfect time for me to step in there.  Hopefully I can represent and make the UFC happy they brought me over.  I hope I can be the next big thing. 

FB:  Did you watch the fights last Thursday? 

QJ:  Yeah, I saw the Rashad Evans fight.  I wasn’t impressed at all until he kicked him in the head.  If a guy is tired and you kick him in the chin, he will go down like that. 

FB:   In a recent interview I did with Rashad he sounded confident that he could beat you.   

QJ:  (Cutting in) Yeah, my people told me about that, and that’s cool.  This is an entertainment sport.  I am here to entertain.  I don’t take any of that stuff personally, but it does make me train harder.  Everyone is entitled to how they feel.  When the time comes, if we fight each other, then we’ll see.  But I’m not thinking of anyone but Marvin Eastman right now. 

FB:  Give your thoughts on the New Year’s Eve fight between Tito and Chuck? 

QJ:  I was very proud of Tito.  He did a lot better job then he did the first time, but styles make fights.   

FB:  I heard a rumor that if your name is Dana it’s good to be white. 

QJ:  No, that’s a bad rumor.  Dana “it’s good to be” White; that is his name.  His middle name is “Good To Be.”  I don’t know where you hearing these rumors from?  But remember, it’s only good to be white if you ain’t black.  Yeah, it’s more fun being black.  When you are black you can wear more clothes and you can dance.  You know what I’m saying?  You can’t swim though, but at least you can dance. 

FB:  How has it been dealing with UFC management? 

QJ:  UFC management is awesome!   

FB:  What do you think about all these other MMA organizations popping up? 

QJ:  I think the UFC is going to put a lot of people out of business, and that’s real.  I think the EliteXC is going to do well.  UFC has already put the WFA out of business. We need a couple big shows in town, so one can’t have a monopoly. 

FB:  Why would a monopoly be bad? 

QJ:  Because they can just throw fighters away if they ask for decent pay.  If you’re the only show in town, whatever the hell you want to pay them you can pay them, and you can say if you don’t like it, go fight somewhere else.  Then you got to go somewhere else to fight and get your ass kick for a little money, and that’s not right. 

FB:  Is there anything you would like to say to your fans in closing? 

QJ:  Yeah, to my fans. Rampage is going to keep it real for you all.  Check the folks out at Throwdown.com and Resurrectme.com.  I love all my fans, even the ugly ones.