Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson says the UFC knows what they’re doing.
The UFC continues to dominate the MMA world in 2025. The premier promotion is largely unrivaled with One Championship seemingly not as invested into MMA as they used to be and Bellator dead in the water after the PFL bought them out.
The last couple of years have seen more and more elite fighters from other promotions make their UFC debuts, such as Patricio Pitbull, Michael ‘Venom’ Page, Reinier de Ridder, Aaron Pico, and Kai Asakura.
Fighters from other organizations have had mixed results in the Octagon and former champ Jackson thinks he knows why.
Rampage Jackson says UFC makes outsiders ‘look bad’ with tough matchups to prove they’re the best
Earlier this year, there was much hype around former Bellator star Aaron Pico heading into his UFC debut against top contender Lerone Murphy.
Despite a good start to round 1, Pico was knocked out cold in a ‘KO of the year’ contender and Murphy emerged as a potential title challenger for champ Alexander Volkanovski.
Of course, this is hardly the first time a fighter from another top organization has fallen in their debut, with Jackson explaining the UFC’s matchmaking.
“UFC is desperately trying to prove that they’re the best organization,” the former light heavyweight champion said on the Jaxxon Podcast.
“You see guys coming from, where they come from? Bellator and ONE FC. RIZIN. PFL. UFC’s given them the type of matchups that, you know, make them look bad, I feel like,” Jackson continued.
“Because I think if we get people in the UFC like AJ McKee… I think AJ McKee would do well in in UFC, but you you have to think like, who would the UFC throw at AJ McKee in his first fight?
“Because I feel like they’re trying to prove a point.
“Look at what they did to James Toney. Remember he came from boxing? They put him against Randy Couture.
“I’m thinking, why would they do that? They could’ve put him against, like, was Alexander Houston or even Kimbo Slice back then, right? And it would’ve made for a more exciting fight.
“But they just got him tapped out right away.
“They want to make sure UFC is the best.
Ex-PFL champion Ante Delija shined in UFC debut against top contender
While we’ve seen the likes of Patricio Pitbull, Aaron Pico, and Kai Asakura come up short in their debuts, there are a few fighters who are still undefeated in the Octagon.
Former ONE two-division champion Reinier de Ridder is one of them, having gone 4-0, with his latest win over former UFC middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.
Another example is former PFL heavyweight champion Ante Delija, who made quick work of top-10 contender Marcin Tybura in his UFC debut at UFC Paris earlier this month.
Following his first-round TKO victory over Tybura, Delija will now face Waldo Cortes-Acosta on Nov. 1 at the UFC Apex.