Quinton “Rampage” Jackson thinks Jon Jones takes the cake when it comes to MMA fighters who use dirty tactics.
Jackson and Jones shared the Octagon back in Sept. 2011. The UFC Light Heavyweight Title fight headlined UFC 135. Jones won the fight via fourth-round submission.
“Rampage” has long complained about Jones’ oblique kicks. He’s also taken issue with how Jones was open-handed in their fight while extending his arms. “Rampage” claims he constantly ran into eye pokes during their bout.
About 10 years have passed and Jackson’s feelings remain the same. During an appearance on the Calabasas Fight Companion, “Rampage” expressed his belief that Jones is the dirtiest MMA fighter (via Middle Easy).
“He’s the dirtiest fighter too. Honestly. They had to change the rules because of him. When I fought him, whenever I had any type of advantage, he’d put his fingers in my eye.
“It’s hard to train for this too. He poked me in the eye, and when you come in and advance, he’d kick your knee backwards. They should make it illegal… Any time I got any kind of advantage, the hand was out. He poked me in the eye once or twice in the fight, but in my training camp during my last sparring, I already had one of them red blood vessels because somebody poked me in the eye in training camp because we were trying to train for that s—t. You can’t train for it. So I was already f—ked up.”
Jones has been away from the Octagon since his Feb. 2020 victory over Dominick Reyes. He has been bulking up for a move to the heavyweight division. UFC President Dana White doesn’t expect to speak with Jones about business until 2022.
As for Jackson, he’s looking at making one last run in combat sports. He says he’s gearing up for a boxing match with former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs.
