Well I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to listen to Rampage post-fight...maybe he is finally mellowing? Re the Ultimate Fighter show, Rampage's antics (smashing doors etc etc) were one thing...less forgiveable was his complete lack of support for his fighters, most pertinently, walking out of the corner imnmediately post-fight, leaving Rashad to (classily) look after Rampage's fighter! Won't forget that in a hurry...didn't see his own corner doing that in UFC114!!!
I agree with the last commnet. I have not been privy to the 114 yet. But if he came clear as a man then give him credit for doing so, we are all apt to do this. That being said he was a real dick on TUF no doubts.
Everyone seems to have short memories. Rampage at least twice or thrice blamed the devil on his losses and going awol once or twice. Particularly the time he drove on the sidewalk and the opposite side of the street after his fight with Griffin. - He blamed his 2 losses to Wandy on the refs. ( That a find hard to buy ). And he wasn't to gracious before or after those fights. - Forget his attitude on TUF I didn't like his coaching either this time around or wih Griffin. He tells his fighters the obvious goals but never has any useful advice about how to apply any techniques during the fight. I'm not to worried about how he carries himself as much as I am of his poor communication, work ethic, and delusions.
I can't believe I'm going to agree with Phil Elmore but I have to say that while it's nice to see Rampage giving credit where it is due and smack talking is, encouraged- and somewhat expected- in the UFC, I don't think his being gracious on this occasion erases all of his general silliness and past disrespect.
I can't believe I'm going to agree with Phil Elmore but... Me too. I don't think I could spend more than a few minutes in the company of Rampage. I think he's a great fighter and, in his day, had some of the best "in the pocket" defence in MMA but the man's a bit of an ****. Myself and CKava agree with Phil Elmore on the same day....I think I just felt the axis of the earth tilt a few more degrees.
I wanted Rashad to win but to be fair to Rampage it was an edited show, and Rashad ran his mouth just as much as Rampage. If you don't think that both have been equally disrespectful then you haven't been following the pre-fight trash talk... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wkyb6oV5dQ&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wkyb6oV5dQ&feature=related[/ame] From what I can gather Dana thought it would be a good promo for a fight to have Rashad and Rampage be head to head coaches on TUF because they are both cocky and good trash talkers. Rampage openly said he didn't know how to coach - it's important to remember that TUF is supposed to be a show to generate publicity for the UFC - it focuses as much on 'drama' as it does on fighting.
I like Rashad, him going up against Shogun is gonna a shame... Shogun's gonna tear him a new one. If he get's rocked like he did against Silva and Rampage the fight's over, Shogun's killer instinct is incredible to watch. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHye7SQJxSU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHye7SQJxSU[/ame] (rampage vs Shogun) [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluSXFdPSkw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IluSXFdPSkw[/ame] (shogun vs Overeem) The knockout of Duffee was insane, I was turned away talking to my wife because I thought the fight was a done deal (and boring), but then I heard the 'ooohh' of Rogan... I was in disbelief when I turned back.
Yup.. Not everyone is cut out to be a good coach. You could see rampage was really bothered by the losses, he just didn't seem to have it in him to give them that support straight after the match. As you say he wasn't picked for that role because of his coaching abilities.
Ignoring Rampage's antics and attitude. Which honestly I don't have a problem with. I definitely wouldn't ever want that dude coaching me. Although he is a great fighter he seems to fight off of instinct rather than being a thinking man's fighter. In the ring this helps him move fluidly and with explosion but it doesn't help him when he needs to adjust tactics to fight stiff opposition. As a coach there really aren't any benefits since he's unable to communicate tactics and explain techniques to the fighters he coaches.
Agreed which is why good fighters don't always make good coaches. Again to go back to boxing... looking at Cus D'Amato or Freddy Roach. Neither of them stellar boxers in their own right... but have coached some amazing fighters to victory. So is it any surprise that Jackson isn't a great coach? No... and I'm sure he admits as much. So it's a goofy standard to try and hold him to. I never get the whole attempt at the homogenization of the fight game. If there weren't good guys, bad guys and everyone in between it would be cookie cutter boring. It's the bad guys who make us cheer the good guys and make the good guys look interesting. This whole thing of wanting fighters to be squeaky clean and straight laced and all this crap. BS. Not going to happen and I'm glad for it. Pfft... how could it happen they're surrounded by scumbag promoters from the day they hit the circuit. Talk about cockroaches.
To add to that here's an older vale tudo fight with Shogun beasting this guy under a head kicks on ground ruleset, ouchy!!!!!!!! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkiNdGutWA4&feature=related"]YouTube[/ame]
If it were just the fact that he was a bad coach, or just the fact that he talks bull and makes excuses, or just the fact that he hears Satan talking to him... Well then I might be inclined to like Rampage. I liked it when he howled in a big gold chain. I cheered for him when he came to the UFC when everybody else, at least the arena crowds and my own UFC fan crews booed him. I jumped for joy after he knocked out Chuck Liddell in the first round. After hearing his interviews and reading his bio and honestly the whole Satan thing really did it for me. I just can't be a Rampage fan. Sorry just how I feel.
Yup it's kind of the whole package. It's hard to ignore the occasional bouts of insane antics (hit and run) and religious nut jobbery when it's combined with a very arrogant persona. I take all of slip's points and I agree characters do make things more interesting but at the same time I'll always be a bigger fan of people like GSP & Andy Hug than people like Rampage & Dan Hardy.
Rampage puts on a act,he has said so himself to get attention and keep his name and image going,it makes him big money why change.look at the fight build up the Evans fight in the wolslair house he said himself Quinton doesnt like Rampage
