Up until an injury forced Tito Ortiz out of the fight, Quinton Jackson was supposed face him in the headliner of Bellator 106. The Light Heavyweight tilt was heavily pushed by the promotion. They stacked the event with two title fights for their first venture into PPV. Unfortunately the injury to Tito forced a broadcast demotion to Spike TV and a delay to Jackson’s promotional debut.
Coming up on Friday, Rampage will face fellow UFC veteran Joey Beltran in the main event of Bellator 108. With the new opponent and Ortiz still on the shelf, Jackson told MMA Junkie‘s Mike Bohn he no longer cares to fight “The Huntington Beach Bad Boy”:
“I was pretty upset,” Jackson said of Ortiz’s withdrawal from the fight. “You train for somebody, and you look forward to fighting them.”
“The only reason I was even interested in fighting Tito was because Tito and I used to be training partners and I always wanted to know if I would beat him or not,” Jackson said. “That’s what I was getting out of fighting Tito, not because he’s a big name.”
That wasn’t the only fight Rampage showed disinterest in.
Following his fight last weekend, Dan Henderson became a free agent. The KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 32 was the final bout on Henderson’s contract with the UFC. Although Dan reportedly expressed his desire to remain with Zuffa, it’s possible negotiations go south like they did in 2009 and leave him looking for another home. When asked about the prospect of rematching Henderson, Jackson had this to say:
“Why would I be interested in having a rematch with Dan Henderson?” Jackson said. “I already beat him; I beat him for the unified titles. I beat him for the PRIDE title. He has no titles now. He sucks.”
An interesting comment from a fighter on a 3-fight losing streak. Regardless, Jackson will have to get past Beltran before he starts thinking about his next fight. “The Mexecutioner” is also on a skid having only won one of his last 5 fights (and two of his last nine). In the co-main event, Alexander Volkov will look to defend his Heavyweight title against Vitaly Minakov.
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