Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is in talks to have a boxing match with former opponent Rashad Evans in November, marking a shift from his previous plans to fight Shannon Briggs.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson might be stepping back into the ring. He hasn’t fought since his knockout loss to Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 237 in 2019.
Well, unless you count his stint in Fight Circus. Recently, on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show, Jackson hinted at a boxing match with Rashad Evans.
“I saw [Evans] not too long ago,” Jackson shared. “Him and I are talking about doing a boxing match against each other in November. We’re trying to get that going.”
This marks a shift for Jackson, who had previously set his sights on Shannon Briggs. But after numerous failed attempts to secure that fight, he’s moving on.
“Bro, this motherf*cker called me out as soon as I got knocked out by Fedor,” Jackson said. “He called me out and he said he was going to promote the fight."
"MMA guys, we’re not promoters… Then we were supposed to fight and we finally had a show. We were going to do it in Qatar, but the guys that were putting it on turned out to be f*cking scam artists…”
“He’s still trying but I lost my faith in Shannon,” Jackson continued. “I don’t know if he’s going to get it done. He talks a good game."
"I hope he gets it done. If he ever gets it done, I’ll be game to fight him, but right now I guess my first boxing match is going to be against Rashad. I need to get that win back.”
Jackson and Evans have quite the history together. They coached opposite each other on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. Later, they clashed at UFC 114 in 2010.
Evans won by unanimous decision—a loss that still gnaws at Jackson. Now he’s looking for redemption.
“They were talking about Atlanta,” Jackson mentioned. “I’m not sure, but they said it was going to be under the ONE FC banner."
"I’m waiting for my manager to talk to them.” Like Jackson, Evans has been inactive for some time.
Evans came out of retirement in 2022 and ended his MMA career with a win over Gabriel Checco at Eagle FC 44.
ONE Championship will hold its third U.S. event on Nov. 8 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., headlined by an MMA heavyweight title fight between Anatoly Malykhin and Reug Reug.