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Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Chael Sonnen, Rashad Evans, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Glover Teixeira … all MMA legends Quinton Jackson fought (some wins, some losses) — but none of these beasts qualify as the greatest fighter Rampage has faced — that honor belongs to Jon Jones.
TMZ Sports caught up with the 44-year-old (don’t say retired — more on that later) fighter last month at LAX … where we asked the former MMA champ what advice he’s given to Jones as he (fingers crossed 🤞) gets closer to his first fight in the heavyweight division.
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“Honestly, no cap,” Rampage flatly told us, adding, “Jon Jones is the best person I ever fought. I don’t think I can give him advice. He’s a better fighter than me, you know what I’m saying. I keep it 100.”
It’s high praise coming from one of the most well-known (and badass) MMA fighters to ever grace a cage.
FYI, Jon and Rampage fought in September 2011. Bones won by rear naked choke in the 4th round.
Of course, all of Jon’s incredible exploits have come in the light heavyweight division (205 lbs.) … but now he’s facing men who weigh up to 265 lbs. More weight, more power. Will that be an issue for Jones? We asked Rampage.
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“I don’t know about Jon Jones’ chin. It’s been rumors that he don’t got a strong chin. The heavyweights, man, you know they hit harder but I feel like Jones is a smart fighter. It was really hard for me to hit him, he wouldn’t let me hit him. Granted, Jones is a dirty fighter. When you get close to him, he gon’ poke you in the eye and kick ya knee backward.”
Quinton continued … “Heavyweights, they a different monster. They hit hard. They catch you slippin’ — look at Francis Ngannou. That guy hits you, it lights out. Game over.”
We also asked Rampage — who hasn’t fought since December 2019 — if he was done fighting for good.
“Nah, man. I ain’t done. I’m not happy with my performance last fight. I can’t leave the MMA fans like that.”
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Jackson’s referring to his Bellator 237 scrap with the legend, Fedor. Emelianenko defeated QJ halfway through the first round by technical knockout (TKO).
But, if there’s one more fight, Rampage says it might not be MMA … there’s a good chance it’s a boxing match against former champ Shannon Briggs.
“I’m in talks with fighting Shannon. That fight has been almost a year in the making, but I wanna do some boxing before I retire,” Quinton says.
“I might do MMA, but I wanna do boxing. I’m 44 now, man. I’m getting up there.”