• UFC 144

Rampage Jackson wants to avoid 'fake' Joe Rogan

ESPN staff
February 20, 2012
Joe Rogan wanted to see more leg kicks from Rampage Jackson in his last fight with Jon Jones © Getty Images
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Rampage Jackson has revealed he would rather not talk to co-commentator and interviewer Joe Rogan after his UFC 144 fight with Ryan Bader, because he knows Rogan will have attacked him moments earlier on commentary.

Jackson was asked to describe his perfect outcome upon his return to Japan this weekend, and he told Fighters Only that he would like to get out of the Octagon without speaking to Rogan following a win over Bader.

Rampage's comments were made in connection with his last fight against Jon Jones, when Rogan was desperate for him to throw more leg kicks. As Jackson explains, he was hesitant with his kicks because he knew that would allow Jones to take him down.

"If you win then Joe Rogan's got to do an interview with you," Jackson said. "And most likely he has been talking some crap about you and how you don't throw leg kicks. 'I don't know why he don't throw leg kicks' - because Joe, I am fighting a wrestler who wants to take me down really bad, that's why I'm not throwing leg kicks.

'He's so one-dimensional, he's so one-dimensional' - he's going on about jiu-jitsu the whole time. That's why [when it's time to talk to him] I'm like, 'Oh here comes Joe Rogan' and he's all fake in his face like he's not just picked apart your whole game like he's the best fighter in the world and he knows every decision you're gonna make while he is just sitting there watching you."

Asked by Fighters Only how a fight between Jackson and Rogan would go, Rampage replied: "I would beat the sh*t out of Joe Rogan - as long as he don't get me to the ground, because his jiu-jitsu is really good. I know he's got good jiu-jitsu because he's so biased towards jiu-jitsu guys. Every time a guy is a jiu-jitsu fighter Rogan might as well be playing the rusty trombone.

"I don't give a f***, I am sick of people putting their [opinions]. Sometimes [I can hear him], because Joe Rogan has one of those girly high-ass voices that you can hear. I just want to tell him to shut the f*** up. Let's see you do it. Let's see you come in here and kick this mother-f***er who wants to take you down. Shut the f*** up.

"People can call me one-dimensional all they want. I don't care - at the end of the day it's my fight. I trained for this fight. People forget, I did Muay Thai fights, K-1, jiu-jitsu tournaments and I wrestled. One dimensional? Okay. Kiss my ass. I like to put on exciting fights."

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