“Rampage” Jackson Clears Misinterpretation Of Comments
It’s no secret, but rather a sad reality, that we live in a click-bait society. Most anybody with a bit of fame to their name will have their words taken, spun and turned into something completely different at one point or another. Bellator 175 headliner Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is just another victim added to that long list.
A few days ago, Jackson was asked about his time in professional MMA. His response would seem normal to any person.
“I would have to honestly say that my biggest regret is even starting this sport,” Jackson told ESPN. “I think I would’ve lived a different life if I would have stayed home in Memphis and worked at the family business. I’d be closer to my family and growing old with them instead of living out in California with all of my family back at home. My little sister’s all grown and stuff now; I left home when she was like eight. My dream was to go and be a fighter. But then now when I look back on it, I wish that I just stayed back home with my family.”
What most would take as the sacrifice any professional athlete endures was misconstrued by some as becoming an MMA athlete was the biggest regret of his life.
Today at the Bellator 175 Press Conference on the Skydeck of the Willis Tower, I asked Jackson to clarify his statements.
It begins at 14:48 in the video above.
“Half the time when you do interviews you get negative people in the world who want to spin your words, and ‘click bait,’ or get people to listen to their interviews,” Jackson exclaimed.
“It’s hard being in the public eye, when you just keep it real. The guy asked me on the spot ‘What was my biggest regret about MMA?’ And I thought about my family. Since I’ve been, uh, I left everything back in Memphis, and I moved to California. I left everything, my family, my car, my job, everything, and I left and I moved to California, and my little sister was eight (years old) when I left. I was very close to my little sister. I helped raise her. I used to change her Pampers. I used to take her to school. Now she’s a grown woman, I put her through college, and she’s working. I don’t know my sister anymore. I don’t know my family. I just kept it real. Only thing I said, ‘I wish I would have stayed home with my family.”
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Mohammad “King Mo” Lawal face off Friday, March 31st. Both fighters are eager to settle a score dating back to 2014 where Jackson won a unanimous decision (29-28 29-28, 29-28).
The press conference featured other main card fighters including Sergei Kharitinov, Chase Gormley, etc.
The official weigh-ins for Bellator 175 are tomorrow starting at 1:00 PM CST. Newly signed contenders Lorenz Larkin and Dillon Danis will also be in attendance of the event. The weigh in will be streamed here on MyMMANews.com.
