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Rampage: Boring Chael practices his stuff in the mirror

Rampage Jackson is still hurting from his loss to Ryan Bader © Getty Images

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• Profile: Rampage Jackson | Chael Sonnen

Rampage Jackson has launched a verbal assault on Chael Sonnen, labelling him a boring fighter who stands in front of a mirror to rehearse his trash talk.

Rampage and Sonnen have history when it comes to smack talk, with Sonnen mocking his compatriot as one of many who were running scared of UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Jackson eventually did fight Jones, losing via submission, and now Sonnen gets his chance as the climax to TUF 17. It is a coaching role that Sonnen's record scarcely deserves - having fought no other light-heavyweights to earn a title shot, and Rampage does not even rate his trash talk.

"His mouth gets him fights," Rampage told Inside MMA."What's his name? How do you say his name? 'Chael?' His mouth gets his ass in trouble.

"The dude is exciting for like two minutes, but then you just want to turn down the volume, like, 'What the hell you talking about?' He sounds like he practices his stuff in the mirror, and then he goes out and says it.

"He's a great wrestler. That's all I'm gonna say, 'cuz everything else sucks. He can't punch hard. Look what he did to Anderson Silva. He did a great job holding him down, making a boring fighter out of a decorated champion, for five rounds. After the fight, I see that Anderson Silva didn't have a mark on him. Not a mark."

Rampage himself is one of the most noted trash-talkers in the business, but he says the difference is that he only targets people he will fight. In Jackson's eyes, Sonnen just does it to be popular.

"This guy, he talks trash about ring girls. He talks trash about the President. Now, that's a little bit too much. He's very disrespectful. I don't like the guy. For real.

"The stuff he says about me. I like to joke around as much as anybody, but, for real, if I see Chael Sonnen, and he says anything to my face, I don't know if I'm gonna smack him or not. I don't know. I don't like the guy."

Rampage had been looking for a way out of the UFC at one stage, but with one fight left on his contract there is a growing belief he may yet extend his stay. His next opponent is expected to be Glover Teixeira, and Rampage insists he will demolish the man heavily tipped for a future title shot of his own.

"My main focus is to destroy Glover Teixeira. It's the last fight on my contract, and I'm gonna destroy Glover, then I'm gonna put my deuces up. There's no love lost with the UFC. They're a great company. They're doing great things for the sport, but I just don't think they're doing great things for me."

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