After picking up a TKO victory in his last octagon outing at UFC 179, Fabio Maldonado decided to throw his name in the hat as a potential opponent to welcome Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson back to the UFC.
Maldonado’s comments came just a few short days after the UFC announced Rampage’s return to the UFC during the main card broadcast of UFC Fight Night: Barueri.
“I think this fight is interesting not only for me, but for a lot of people. It’s an exciting match-up,” Maldonado told MMAFighting.com. “He has better wrestling and I have a better jiu-jitsu, and we both like to brawl. It would be a fun fight to watch, and you don’t know what to expect. I think it’s a good fight.”
Rampage exited the promotion on the heels of a three-fight losing streak. Since then, he has compiled a three-fight winning streak under the Bellator banner. He picked up KO wins over Joey Beltran and Christian M’Pumbu before winning a unanimous decision of Muhammed Lawal.
Maldonado is 4-1 in his last five fights, with the only loss coming against heavyweight Stipe Miocic in a short notice fight. He also holds a victory over Beltran, even though it was a close split decision.
“When I beat Beltran in the UFC, he went to Bellator and got the fight I always dreamed about,” Maldonado said. “I always wanted to fight ‘Rampage’, and the guy I beat got the chance. I want to fight him.”
“I’m sure ‘Rampage’ will stand and trade punches with me,” he continued. “He’s dangerous. He knocked out a guy that I couldn’t finish, a guy that I won a close split decision. I’m sure he’ll stand with me. He won’t shy away from a brawl. His hands can knock anyone out in the UFC.”
Transcription taken from MMAFighitng.com.
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