Mixed Martial Arts has evolved so much in the last 15 years that now days, there are true athletes that learn the sport right from a young age. unfortunately for many MMA pioneers, the talent and athletic pool has passed them up and it is difficult to swallow for many former champions.
So what is the best thing to do, switch to a sport that no one watches anymore?
Jackson is on the fence and toying with boxing now, the 33-year-old is talking about a boxing career. Will he go through with it?
Jackson is annoyed with the direction of MMA. While he’s become a one-dimensional fighter, who’s always looking to land the right hand, he’s seeing the young guns at 205 pounds becoming more and more athletic.
“I hate fighting people who are scared. When you fight somebody who is scared you never know what they’re going to do. They turn and run,” Jackson told the ESPN U.K. podcast. “That’s why I’m gonna go to boxing. I’m gonna try boxing because they’ve got to stand with you. If I get knocked out I don’t care because at least it’s a fight.”
Jackson is coming off a fight where he couldn’t touch UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones for 15-plus minutes. Jones used his 84-inch reach and kicks to keep Jackson at long range. When the space closed, Jackson swung away like a maniac, but Jones just scooted out of the pocket.
Jackson became a crossover star with his role in “The A-Team,” but that mean anyone outside of MMA will care if he moves over to boxing?
“I’ve tried a lot of boxing, I’m falling in love with boxing and I know I can put butts on seats over there.” said Jackson.
Keep in mind, Jackson fights at 205 pounds and walks around at anywhere between 225-250 pounds. Boxing’s heavyweight division could use an infusion of American draws, but could a guy with zero pro fights in the sport fill anything bigger than a 2,000 seat arena?
On top of that, Jackson will have to leave the UFC to move over to boxing. Based on previous discussions with Zuffa management, there’s no way a fighter under contract with the UFC would be allowed to potentially scar his reputation by boxing. Long story short, Rampage will “change his mind” about boxing in the next few days.
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