Rampage: “I’ve Lost Respect for Forrest as a Man.”

[snakerattle79]

http://www.5thround.com/08272008/news/1 ... -as-a-man/

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson went into seclusion after his incident with Costa Mesa law enforcement in July, but has since re-emerged with quite a bit to say. Rampage recently spoke about who he his hoping his next opponent might be, as well as why he has lost respect for Forrest Griffin, the man that took his belt in a close decision.

Recent speculation is that Rampage will hit the Octagon cages again on the UFC’s New Year’s Eve card on December 27th against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, however it is Shogun’s former Chute Boxe teammate that Rampage is requesting, the one that holds two knockout wins over him.

“I didn’t know anything about Shogun, I was trying to get Wanderlei Silva, I was told I might be fighting him,” stated Rampage told FightersOnlyMagazine.com. “But to be honest with you, I don’t really give a damn who I fight, I just want to fight and show the world that Rampage is the best when he gets the best elements around him and the best training.”

Clearly the fallen champion is suggesting that he was not prepared mentally or physically when he lost a controversial to Griffin at UFC 86. Since suffering the loss, Rampage has parted ways with his longtime friend and coach, Juanito Ibarra, and is on a mission to prove once again that he is the best 205-pounder in the world.

“I just want my fans to know, I was at my worst and Forrest was at his best - and I still beat him,” Rampage said. “I’m not a sore loser, [expletive] happens. But I was hoping that Forrest would be a man and come out and say ‘You know what, I didn’t win that fight’, especially after he watched it.”

Initially when their fight ended, Rampage stated that Griffin had kicked his butt in the fight. Since then, he has had a complete change in heart, and is now calling Griffin out on the questionable win.

“I wasn’t really sure, right at the end of the fight… I know he hurt me and punched me in the face a couple of times but I was bobbing and weaving and making him miss, stuff like that,” explained Rampage.

Rampage was hoping that the newly crowned champion would have insisted on an immediate rematch due to the controversy that surrounded the judges’ decision. Even though Griffin stated that he was up for a rematch in his post Octagon interview, it seems as that Griffin’s lack of urgency for one is upsetting the former champion.

“I was hoping that he would come out later after he saw the fight and say ‘yeah, I saw the fight and I lost that fight,” stated Rampage. “After the fight, I said ‘I’ve got to give you a lot of respect, because you hurt my leg and you had a good game plan’
But now, I don’t respect him as a man. Because if it was me, I would have said, ‘I have to give him a rematch right away, to remove all doubt.’ “I’m a man and when you fight it’s all about honor. I’m not angry at him or anything, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve lost respect for him as a man.”

These are some very strong words that Rampage is directing at the champion. Obviously he is in pursuit of a rematch so he can stand atop the mountain again, and this may be his way of stirring up interest to push the UFC to make this fight happen. However you want to look at it, clearly the Rampage of old is back.

***I dont think you gotta pressure Griffin to say something about the Rematch , I think he should pressure his new found bestfriend Dana on making the rematch possible, But I Hope he's not ducking Shogun cause he knows Shogun is possibly 100% on dec. on fighting him that makes Shogun scarier like before***

[Keithlewis]

Sounds like he is still sick!

[broncofan]

we'll see when he comes back and faces Shogun how much he has to say!