Hey Rampage, We All Know You're Crazy, But.............

Please understand, there is a significant difference between being crazy and being stupid. Quinton Jackson has shown elements of being somewhat crazy in the past, but he always seemed to back that up with some intelligence. That was up until now. Rampage is both certifiably insane and uncharacteristically stupid to agree to a fight with Lyoto Machida. Styles make fights, and stylistically, this is a really, really bad match-up for Quinton.

MMAth aside, nothing about this fight makes sense for Jackson. Their one common recent opponent is Rashad Evans. Lyoto completely destroyed him, while Rampage lost an ugly, boring decision, one in which he never mounted the slightest bit of offense, except for a little GnP late in the fight after Rashad slipped and ended up on his back. Speed was the determining factor in that fight and speed will be the determining factor in the fight with Machida. In case you didn't know, SPEED KILLS! Comparing Lyoto's speed to Quinton's is like comparing a Corvette to a Hummer. Lyoto whips by without you even seeing him. Rampage slowly passes you by, smilin' and wavin' in the process, eagerly hoping you notice him. Quinton will look like he's in quicksand compared to Lyoto looking like he's ice skating. Rashad is fast, Machida is faster. Again, let me remind you, SPEED KILLS!

Rampage has slowly but surely morphed from a brawler/wrestler, who used to use dynamic slams, into basically a one dimensional boxer competing in a sport he hasn't evolved with. We can blame Juanito Ibarra for some of that, but the trainers at Wolfslair have done absolutely nothing to change that reality. In fact, I think they've taken what Juanito has ingrained in Quinton and accentuated the worst aspects of it. Q used to throw combinations, now he just seems to throw 1-2's, and ocassionally a 3, hoping that something lands. That might work against "sit-in-the-pocket" type strikers like Chuck and Wanderlei, but against a fighter with the speed and footwork of Machida, its just not going to be effective. I still can't quite understand why Quinton started training with Wolfslair in the first place. They offer nothing as far as helping him become a more well rounded fighter. And its a 6000 mile trek from his home! Whatever, that's his choice of a team to train with and represent. The results are what they are, non-existant! He's the same as he ever was, just not as dynamic.

The one area of the fight game that most people would assume Rampage has an edge in is wrestling. I don't see that. Lyoto has very underrated wrestling skills as well as deceptive strength. His time spent training sumo seems to have paid huge dividends. His hip strength and understanding of leverage are off the charts. The guy is almost impossible to take down. In contrast, when he wants the fight to go to the mat, it almost always does, as evidenced by how easily he's taken down Tito, Thiago, Soko, Rashad and Shogun. If this fight goes to the mat it will be because Lyoto wanted it to, not the other way around.

One of Rampage's biggest problems as of late has been dealing with low kicks. We've all seen how well Wolfslair has addressed and fixed that problem (wink-wink)! Lyoto will work Quinton's legs early in the fight, taking away the little bit of explosiveness he entered the cage with. After that, Machida will basically use and abuse Page like an old, worn out heavy bag. Q will basically be an immobile target out there for Lyoto to tag at will with whatever the hell he wants. This could get real ugly for Quinton. Once his legs are gone, so will his already suspect cardio. The pace Machida will set from the opening bell will be way too quick for Page to hang with. If he was in "the best shape of his life" when fighting Rashad, as he said he was, he better figure out how to top that, and quickly.


Rampage is a very solid, proven MMA fighter with an impressive 30-8 record. He's fought some of the best fighters in the world, has a tough chin and the heart of a lion. He deserves serious props just for taking this very dangerous fight. Deep down, he's got to know this is a horrible match-up for him. Word on the street is he's already turned down a fight with Machida in the past. I wonder why? What has changed since then? By the way, Page is far from the only fighter to "avoid" fighting Lyoto. Most recently, Rashad did everything possible to avoid a second beatdown from the Dragon. Quinton will be getting a highly motivated Machida, who is coming off the first loss of his career. Maybe he thinks that's to his advantage. Sorry, Q, it will be just the opposite. Machida is going to be on the warpath, looking to prove himself and get back in contention for that strap that he briefly held. Interestingly, both Jackson's and Machida's contracts were acquired by Zuffa when they purchased the World Fighting Alliance. Here it is, four years later and they are finally meeting in the Octagon.

The question still remains; has the game passed Rampage by? His mix of wrestling, boxing and brawling has mostly served him well, but its the year 2010, not 2005. The best fighters have complete games, and are ready for any situation. That doesn't seem to be the case with Quinton anymore. At 32 years of age, he should realistically have at least 6 or more years of fighting left. IF he really WANTS to. Given the lack of evolution in his game, that might not be the case. Lyoto might very well extinguish what little bit of fire for fighting he has left in his belly. Speaking of his belly, it seems to be expanding more and more between fights. We'll have to see if Rampage wants to do what is required to continue to compete with the top fighters in the world. He's lost 2 of his last 4 fights. Losing 3 of  his last 5 would be a first for him and most likely a career changing moment. All indications point to him leaning towards an easier day gig. This fight might be the one that shows Rampage that he just doesn't have "it" anymore.  "It" isn't something that can be taught. Either you have "it" or you don't.

Does Rampage still have "it"?!?

Sorry to Inform You, but Brock is VERY, VERY Beatable!

Right off the bat, big Brock undoubtedly deserves some credit for his performance and win over Shane Carwin at UFC 116. Of most significance is his return from dealing with a severe case of diverticulitis. Of less significance is his return to the Octagon after an 11 month layoff. Cage rust is real, but diverticulitis is VERY real. Props to the big man for what seems to be a full and complete recovery!


Brock showed tremendous heart in surviving the 1st round ass whooping that Shane laid on him, but let's be realistic about what happened in that fight. As Brock himself immediately pointed out in his post-fight interview, Shane slowly but surely melted under the hot lights and pressure of such a big fight. In short, he GASSED, and gassed hard. Whether its a lack of cardio or just an immense adrenaline dump remains to be seen. Shane has since said it wasn't his cardio, rather his entire body just "locked up". Whatever that means is a matter of interpretation. What is readily apparent though is that before Saturday night we've never seen him outside the 1st round, and now we have. Unfortunately, what we saw was pretty damn ugly. By the end of the 1st and into the 2nd round, Carwin was taking huge, deep breaths, had no pop in his punches, couldn't even remotely defend a so-so shot and had the rigidity of a warm rubber band. That arm triangle that he got caught in was as obvious as Mike Goldberg's new found obsession with fighter's glove size! My brother, who has never trained BJJ a day in his life, was screaming about that sub LONG before it happened. If Shane wasn't so physically and mentally shot at that point, maybe he would have seen it coming too. It was like watching the "R" train coming down the tracks from 1000 yards away. You see it coming forever, you're just waiting for it to pull into the station. Shane does train with one of the best teams and coaching staffs in the world, doesn't he? They have to shoulder some of the blame here. To say the least, it was very, very disappointing to watch unfold!

Specifically, here's why Brock is VERY beatable:

-His stand-up game is worse than bad, but slightly better than pathetic. He looks and moves very uncomfortably during any striking sequences and his striking defense has more holes in it than a whore house.

-He is seemingly TERRIFIED of being hit, which is not a good thing for someone competing in combat sports at any level, much less the top level. I can't be the only person who saw him cower, crumble and turtle up from that one punch he took on his feet, can I?

-Brock has NOTHING off his back. Repeat it with me, NOTHING! The word begins with an "N" and ends in a "G". In other words, NO GOOD! He showed absolutely no understanding of position, transition or hip movement on the bottom. His version of defense on his back was to use his huge arms to cover his face from being pummeled into chopped meat. According to the unified rules, he wasn't even close to "intelligently defending himself". That fight could have easily been stopped, but that's another debate altogether.

-The so-called evidence of Brock's new found BJJ skills was in the form of a rudimentary choke that I've seen white belts easily use. An arm triangle choke is far from a technical submission. And as I already stated, from what we saw of his skills off his back, his jits level is borderline pathetic.

Here's a short list of who I KNOW can, and depending on organizational politics, will beat Brock:

-The obvious first fighter on this list is Fedor! Aside from wrestling, Fedor is light years ahead of Brock in everything else. I'd be shocked if Fedor doesn't straight up KO Brock considering his highly suspect defense. Once he catches him, which will happen, if he isn't out cold, Fedor will finish him with either some efficient GnP or one of the many submissions in his arsenal. You are sadly mistaken and very misinformed if you think for a second that Fedor will wilt like a willow tree the way Shane did. And if you think Brock will do anything to him off his back like Werdum did, you are more deluded than a kid doing his first magic mushroom.

-Speaking of Werdum, he can also beat Brock. Fabricio is not quite Brock's size but is a big, athletic dude in his own right. His stand-up is MUCH better than Brock's and to even speak about their respective jits skills in the same sentence is sacrilege. Yes, Brock can put Werdum on his back, but guess what happens then? He gets tapped out, or ends up either sleeping or with a broken limb! And quickly! That's truth right there! Who's Werdum's most significant UFC loss to? Yup, JDS!

-Junior Dos Santos, otherwise known as JDS, can and WILL beat Brock. Mark my words on that! Cigano has the power of Carwin but with actual technical striking skill to back it up. Highly technical. And he has a fully loaded gas tank to back up all that skill and technique! That fight is a high-lite reel KO waiting to happen. Again, Brock will have the obvious size, strength and wrestling advantage, but JDS is the kind of fighter who has the skill and athleticism to overcome that. Junior has the speed and hip strength to stuff any TD attempts and that's only if Brock lasts long enough to even try them. From how much Brock hates getting hit, he will absolutely HATE fighting Cigano. I don't see this fight lasting 2 minutes!

-Say what you want about Alistair Overeem and his possible juice use, the same can be said about Brock. I have to question your sanity if you don't think Brock has juiced. He comes from the WWE, an organization that has more intravenous drug use than a Bushwick heroin den. To try and compare Reem's striking to Brock's is like comparing Biggie's rhyme skills to MC Hammer's. Ridiculous! Yet again, Brock has the obvious wrestling advantage, but in this case he won't enjoy the size and strength advantage. Did you see how Reem rag-dolled the 280 pound Brett Rogers like he weighed a buck fifty? Alistair has fought on every stage across the globe, been in every situation, and against every type of fighter there is. He has a wealth of experience that makes Brock look like EXACTLY what he is; a 6 fight virtual novice to the sport. I see nasty leg kicks by Alistair being the telling factor in this fight. He will take away Brock's explosiveness, and what's left after that?

-Yes, Josh Barnett has had his issues with pissin' dirty, but none of that has anything to do with his immense talent and skill. Josh has forgot more about MMA than Brock will ever know. He's a big, athletic, experienced, extremely smart fighter. He has very solid striking and his submissions and catch wrestling are off the charts. There's a reason Zuffa won't even consider bringing Josh to the UFC. They know he will wreak havoc on the division and for whatever reasons don't want that to happen.

-Bigfoot!!!!!! Yup, I said it, Bigfoot can beat Brock! Antonio Silva is literally a giant. If Brock stands with Bigfoot, he's getting hurt badly. Dude will be scarred for life. Bigfoot also has very underrated jits skills that will be ready and at his disposal if necessary. Brock might have size 4XL gloves but he punches like they're SM's. SM is short for "smedium", the size between small and medium. Thanks to Goldie, we all know what size gloves Brock and Shane wear. For a 280 pound HW, Brock punches like he weighs a buck eighty and has been absent from most of his mandatory boxing and kickboxing classes. All arms, absolutely NO hips. Bigfoot all day, every day against Brock.

-One fighter that many pundits think will beat Brock is Cain Velasquez. I don't see that happening. Their wrestling is basically a wash but Brock has an edge there because of his distinct size and strength advantage. Cain is technically a better striker than Brock (who isn't?), but he's far from being world class like Overeem is. Since this fight looks to be happening, Cain should look to attack Brock's legs. If he doesn't do that quickly and efficiently, he will be in trouble. Brock is just too big and strong and Cain doesn't have the jits or experience to deal with Brock on top.

-Then of course there's Big Country. Don't sleep on all the skill, knowledge and athleticism that is hiding under all that fat. Roy Nelson is a serious fighter and can give any HW trouble. Those wild overhand rights can easily penetrate Brock's non-existent standing defense and his wrestling and jits skills are much better than most realize. 

True, this is all speculation, but its speculation based on what should be obvious to anyone knowledgeable in the sport of MMA. Let's be realistic about what Brock brings to the table. He's had a total of 6 fights, with his most notable wins being against Shane Carwin, Frank Mir and a nearly 50 year old Randy Couture who he outweighed by at least 60 pounds. As Joe Rogan so aptly stated, "it looks like there's 3 weight classes between Randy and Brock".

Had Shane not gassed as surprisingly and dramatically as he did, I wouldn't even be writing this. Skillwise, Brock is one thing, and one thing only. He's a humongous, athletic dude with very respectable wrestling skills. Beyond that, what is there?!? To say he is even a decent striker or submission grappler is laughable. If you think and believe that he is, we have a completely different outlook as to what a mixed martial artist is.