Given the Level of Hype Surrounding this Fight, it will B a SIGNATURE Moment for BOTH...So HOW Does it Affect their Legacies???...How SHOULD it Affect their Legacies??... Here's REED's Thoughts... Rampage Jackson Rampage is Amongst THE LAST of the Old Guard MMA Guys....A Guy that ISN'T Cross Trained All that Much, DOESN'T Have the Level of Day to Day Committment & Dedication that a CONTEMPORARY MMAist Should Possess, yet is a FIGHTER @ his Core... Rampage Will Definitely B Remembered FONDLY as an MMA Pioneer, but his INCONSISTENCY Keeps him a Good Distance AWAY from the "Best Ever" Discussions.... Rashad Evans A NEW-AGE MMAist...Though their Ages AREN'T Much Different, Rashad's APPROACH to MMA is MUCH More Current than Rampage's...They May as Well B 10 YEARS Apart Based on their Approach.... Though NOT Exciting, Rashad is CLEARLY EFFECTIVE...Rashad is a Guy U BEGRUDGINGLY Give Respect too...U Walk Away Saying,"Well, he Did BEAT _____, so U Gotta Respect That".... Rashad's BEST Years R Still IN FRONT of him, In REED's Opinion...He's Got ANOTHER 3-5 Years in the ELITE Mix, to Carve his Own Niche...Beating Rampage was a HUGE Feather in Rashad's Cap...He's Now DECISIVELY Beaten Rampage, Chuck Liddell AND Forrest Griffin....3 of THE MOST Popular Guys in UFC History... Racially, MOST Brothers Sided w/Rampage for this Fight...We Can B a FICKLE Bunch, so REED would Expect Rashad to See in INCREASE in his Urban Appeal, Based SOLELY on Beating Rampage... *sniff sniff* REED can ALREADY Smell a Jon Jones-Rashad Bout, a Year or So Away....Beating Rashad will Give Jones the "Urban MMA Title", so to Speak... REED:kidcool:
yeah that's all good and fine, but what really pisses me off is that the UFC is predominantly white...
I don't think that Rampages legacy is affected other than the usual dedication issue. The filming of the movie was clearly a distraction as Quinton was a shell of himself in that fight. Like you said Reed, Rashads style may be boring, but it is effective. As long as he is not facing a top notch striker with good TD defense, he will be a tough fight for anyone. Although Rampage was not at his best, even that version is tough as nails and could be a nightmare for most. Rashad deserves credit, he beat one of the best.
Rashad/Jackson was very poor. Rashad fought not to lose, humping Jackson's leg for the most part like a little bitch. I'm getting sick of Rashad's style. There's just no heart in his fights. Add to that, his whacky style of striking with the stupid rolling stuff he does. Was hoping Jackson would smash him. I hope Shogun crushes Evans.
I'm very disappointed in Rampage. He hasn't looked good since he beat Wanderlei. He could have gone down as a HOFer but the lackluster performances have really hurt him IMO. Great win for Rashad. I think he gets his belt back against Shogun. It seems like he learned from the loss to Machida and has rebounded nicely with this win and the Thiago Silva win.
Jackson seems to be looking outside the UFC for future employment as if he's realizing he can't keep abusing his body with the heavy training and fighting for the rest of his life now that he's into his 30s. Hollywood is his best bet. If A-Team is a moderate success, Jackson could get future roles. Everybody knows all eyes are on B.A Baracus. He was the highlight of the show in the 80s. Those were some mighty big shoes to fill for Jackson. I'd like to see the movie to see if he pulled it off.
They had a hard time cracking the Japanese and Brazilian markets due to PrideFC going great guns in the 90s and 00s, snagging up most of the best. Now the UFC is starting to get more Brazilian top fighters.
