Quinton Jackson

Some Lesser Known Facts About Quinton Jackson

• He had a tough childhood. He started selling drugs at a young age and was often involved in street fights.

• His father was addicted to drugs and left home when Jackson was 10 years old, but came back in 2003.

• He joined the Raleigh-Egypt High School as a 17-year-old freshman and first tried combat sports through wrestling.

• He did well in wrestling and earned All-State honours in his senior year after finishing fifth in the state tournament at 189 pounds (86 kg).

• In high school, he became friends with Jacob Noe, another fighter, who taught him karate techniques while Jackson taught him wrestling.

• Initially, Jackson decided to become a professional wrestler after high school. He continued wrestling at Lassen Community College in California.

• He got expelled from college after fighting with a teammate.

• Later, he discovered mixed martial arts (MMA). After seeing other wrestlers succeed in MMA, Jackson decided to try the sport. He trained in Las Vegas with the fighter Lewis Rumble.

• He made a record of 10 wins and 1 loss in smaller U.S. promotions like King of the Cage, Gladiator Challenge, and Dangerzone.

• Soon, he became known for lifting and attacking his opponents.

• His first MMA title fight was against Rocko “Hammerhands” Henderson, which he won.

• In 2001, the ‘Japanese Pride organisation’ promoted Jackson with a ‘homeless fighter’ image.

• His first Pride fight was at Pride 15 against Japanese fighter Kazushi Sakuraba. Jackson lost the match by rear-naked choke but impressed fans with his toughness and effort.

  

• He later defeated pro-wrestler Alexander Otsuka in the Battlarts promotion.

• After this, he returned for Pride 17 and knocked out Yuki Ishikawa, Otsuka’s training partner.

• In his next fight, Jackson was disqualified for a low blow against Daijiro Matsui.

• After that, he defeated four opponents, including Masaaki Satake, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kevin Randleman, and Mikhail Illoukhine, in Pride fights.

• He also tried kickboxing and won twice against Cyril Abidi under K-1 rules.

• After appearing in the TV show Jackass in 2001, he went on to appear in many television shows such as The King of Queens (2006), Guy’s Choice (2010), Bob Thunder: Internet Assassin (2015), Cops and Robbers (2017), and The Caretaker (2025).

• Their first fight took place on 14 July 2002. Many thought Jackson’s wild striking style would not work against the skilled and disciplined Abidi. Jackson attacked aggressively from the start and knocked Abidi down less than a minute into the fight.

• Jackson knocked out Cyril Abidi with a strong right punch in the first round. Later that year, Abidi wanted a rematch to prove that his loss was just luck.

• They fought again on New Year’s Eve under K-1 rules. Jackson won the match again by decision. This was Jackson’s last kickboxing fight as he went back to MMA full-time.

• He then aimed to win the Pride Middleweight (205 lb/93 kg) title from Wanderlei Silva.

• In the first round of the 2003 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix, he beat Murilo Bustamante by split decision.

• After three months, in the semi-finals, he defeated UFC fighter Chuck Liddell by corner stoppage at Pride Final Conflict 2003.

  

• This win set him up to face Wanderlei Silva in the finals that same night. Jackson took Silva down and cut him, but the referee stood them up.

• Silva then hit Jackson with several hard knees to the head, and the referee stopped the fight.

  

• Jackson continued in Pride with a TKO win over Ikuhisa Minowa at Pride Shockwave 2003.

• After that, he fought with Ricardo Arona at Pride Critical Countdown 2004, where the winner would face Wanderlei Silva.

• In the first round, Arona locked Jackson in a triangle choke. Jackson lifted Arona and hit him to the ground, knocking him out and winning the fight.

  

• Before his rematch with Wanderlei Silva, Jackson announced his conversion to Christianity.

• In the rematch, Jackson knocked Silva down early in the first round and landed a takedown, adding knees and elbows near the end of the round.

• In the second round, Jackson got another takedown, but Silva escaped. Silva then finished the fight by knocking out Jackson with multiple knee strikes to the head.

• After that, Jackson fought two members of Silva’s Chute Boxe team. He beat Murilo “Ninja” Rua by split decision, and he lost to Ninja’s younger brother, Shogun Rua, by TKO from soccer kicks.

  

•  Jackson then defeated Hirotaka Yokoi by TKO at Pride 30.

• In his last Pride fight, he beat Yoon Dong-Sik by unanimous decision at Pride 31.

• On 16 May 2006, the World Fighting Alliance signed Jackson to a multi-fight deal.

• On 22 July 2006, he fought Matt Lindland at WFA: King of the Streets, where he won by split decision after a tough fight.

• Lindland, an Olympic silver medalist, caught him twice in guillotine chokes.

• Jackson escaped both times, hit Lindland several times, and hurt him with punches. He cut Lindland’s nose and secured the win.

  

• On 11 December 2006, Zuffa (UFC’s parent company) bought some assets from the World Fighting Alliance (WFA) after it shut down.

• Jackson’s WFA contract was included in the deal, bringing him into the UFC.

• In an interview with a media house, Jackson said that he stayed out of the UFC earlier because of his friendship with Tito Ortiz.

• Since both fought in the same weight class, Jackson did not want to clash with Ortiz, who was one of UFC’s biggest stars.

• Jackson made his UFC debut at UFC 67 and knocked out Marvin Eastman.

• On 26 May 2007, at UFC 71, Jackson fought with Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell in a rematch of their 2003 bout. Jackson won the match and became the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

• On 8 September 2007, at UFC 75 in London, Jackson defeated Dan Henderson by unanimous decision.

  

• On 9 December 2007, he became a coach on The Ultimate Fighter 7. The other coach was Forrest Griffin, who later fought with Jackson for the title.

• During the show, Jackson got angry often because his team kept losing. By the semifinals, only 2 of his fighters were left, while Griffin had 6 fighters.

• In the finale, Griffin’s pick, Amir Sadollah, beat Jackson’s top fighter, C.B. Dollaway, with an armbar in round one.

• On 5 July 2008, Jackson fought Griffin at UFC 86 for the Light Heavyweight Championship. Griffin won the fight by unanimous decision.

• Soon after, Jackson split with Ibarra as trainer/manager.

• After losing his belt, Jackson was involved in a hit-and-run and a police chase in Newport Beach, California. He was charged and later pleaded guilty.

• Jackson fought his next fight at UFC 92 against Wanderlei Silva. Jackson knocked Silva out in the first round with a powerful left hook.

• After Silva fell, Jackson punched him three more times before the referee stopped the fight, which caused some controversy since the extra punches looked unnecessary.

  

• Jackson’s next fight was against Keith Jardine at UFC 96 on 7 March 2009, where he defeated Jardine by unanimous decision.

• He was next in line for a title fight, but ongoing injuries stopped him from competing. He suffered torn ligaments in his jaw, which needed surgery and five weeks of no-contact training.

• In June 2009, he appeared in the show The Ultimate Fighter Season 10, which aired on Spike TV, as a coach against Rashad Evans.

• The season had 16 heavyweight fighters, including Internet fighter Kimbo Slice (Kevin Ferguson), former IFL Champion Roy “Big Country” Nelson, and several ex-NFL players

• On 22 September 2009, Jackson wrote on his blog that he was “done fighting” because of bad treatment by the UFC.

• On 4 December 2009, he updated his blog and wrote that he would return to the UFC to finish his contract and wanted to fight Rashad Evans.

• At UFC 114, Jackson fought Rashad Evans, who won by unanimous decision.

  

• Jackson appeared on WWE Raw on 7 June 2010, as a special guest host alongside Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley to promote The A-Team.

• On 20 November 2010, he fought with former champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 123. Jackson won the fight by a close split decision.

• In 2010, Jackson lived in Merseyside, England, and supported Everton F.C.

• On 26 February 2012, Jackson fought with Ryan Bader at UFC 144. Jackson lost the fight by unanimous decision. After that, Jackson tweeted that he was leaving the UFC.

• On 4 June 2013, Jackson signed a multi-year deal with Spike TV, Bellator MMA, and TNA Wrestling.

• Jackson made his TNA debut on 6 June 2013 on Impact Wrestling with a fight against Kurt Angle. In the next episode, he saved Angle from an attack by the Aces & Eights group.

  

• On 11 July 2013, Jackson was announced as the fifth member of the New Main Event Mafia (with Angle, Magnus, Samoa Joe, and Sting).

• After Angle took a leave in August 2013, Jackson tried to bring Tito Ortiz into the group.

• Ortiz then attacked Jackson with a hammer, which helped Bully Ray regain the title and join Aces & Eights.

• On 22 August 2013, Jackson made his in-ring debut in a 5-on-5 tag match. The Main Event Mafia and A.J. Styles beat Aces & Eights, with Styles pinning Devon to eliminate him from TNA.

• On 12 September 2013, at No Surrender, TNA announced Bellator had pulled Jackson from their shows due to his upcoming fight with Ortiz, removing him from the Main Event Mafia.

• Jackson made his Bellator debut on 15 November 2013 at Bellator 108 against Joey Beltran. He won by knockout in round one.

• On 28 February 2014, at Bellator 110, Jackson fought Christian M’Pumbu in the Season 10 Light Heavyweight Tournament semifinals. He won by knockout in the first round.

• On 17 May 2014, at Bellator 120, Jackson faced Muhammed ‘King Mo’ Lawal in the tournament final for a title shot. Jackson won by unanimous decision.

• After the fight, the Mississippi Athletic Commission fined him $10,000 for shoving Lawal during the pre-fight staredown.

  

• On 31 July 2014, Jackson said he was leaving TNA as he did not like their work behaviour. His profile was later moved to the alumni section of TNA’s website.

• On 24 June 2016, at Bellator 157, Jackson fought with Satoshi Ishii and won by split decision.

• On 31 March 2017, at Bellator 175, Jackson fought with Muhammed Lawal in a rematch. Jackson lost the fight by unanimous decision.

• On 9 November 2017, Jackson signed a new multi-fight deal with Bellator.

• On 20 January 2018, at Bellator 192, Jackson faced Chael Sonnen in the Heavyweight Grand Prix quarterfinals. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

• On 29 September 2018, at Bellator 206, Jackson fought with Wanderlei Silva in their fourth fight. He won by TKO in round two.

• On 29 December 2019, at a co-promoted Bellator & Rizin event in Japan, Jackson fought with Fedor Emelianenko. He lost by knockout in the first round.

  

• On 2 April 2023, Jackson fought at Fight Circus 6 in Thailand. It was a two-on-two boxing match. Jackson teamed with Bob Sapp against Jon Nutt and Andrew Wood.

• Jackson and Sapp were tied together inside one oversized T-shirt. In round one, Nutt was dropped by a body shot and pulled his teammate down. Jackson and Sapp won by knockout in round three.

  

• In 2024, Jackson appeared on The Joe Rogan Experience MMA Show #159, where he said that the Fight Circus match was the most fun he ever had in the ring.

• On 31 January 2024, Jackson announced a boxing match with ex-heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs for 1 June 2024 in Qatar, but the fight never happened.

• On 22 June 2024, Jackson wrestled at Bloodsport Bushido in Tokyo, Japan. He defeated Hideki Sekine by knockout.

• Jackson was later booked to box Rashad Evans on 12 April 2025 at ICS Mania 1, but it was cancelled due to contract issues.

• Three of his children have the middle name ‘Rampage.’

• He and his wife had two children together. They separated in 2006 after a paternity test confirmed that Jackson fathered another child in 1999.

• They briefly got back together but later divorced.

• He is a gamer and streams online on the site Kick in his free time.

• In August 2025, at a KnokX wrestling event, his son Raja Jackson attacked wrestler Syko Stu by hitting him and punching him more than 20 times while Stu was unconscious. Raja streamed the attack on Kick.

• After that, Jackson condemned Raja’s actions and called it ‘a work that went wrong.’

• He is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. He often shares pictures of his gym sessions on social media.

  

• He is an animal lover and has a pet dog. He often shares pictures of his pet on social media.