Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports


Quinton Jackson
is ready to return to action, this time inside the boxing ring.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champ announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he’ll be making his boxing debut this year.

Jackson, 45, will take on former heavyweight boxing champion Shannon Briggs (60-6-1), in Qatar on June 1.

“I finally got the contract. It’s been over two years in the making of me hearing Mr. Shannon Briggs’ mouth. I get to shut him up once and for all in Qatar, on June 1. I got to sign this contract,” Jackson said in the announcement video.

“Shannon, you’re going to regret even calling me out all those years ago and you’ve been posting just ungodly videos of me, tagging me in ungodly videos, and I just endured it. I got the contract. Thank, God. I’m going to shut your mouth once and for all. Sign this sh*t.”

Briggs, 52, called out Jackson in 2021 for the first time and the two have been teasing a fight ever since. They appeared as coaches on the short-lived Triller Triad Combat with a clash expected to go down the following year. However, the bout never came to fruition.

For a while, Jackson seemed to have lost interest in the booking and was contemplating a return to mixed martial arts. Nevertheless, the much-awaited booking with Briggs has finally materialized.

“Rampage” hasn’t competed in combat sports since a Round 1 technical knockout loss against Fedor Emelianenko at Bellator 237 in 2019, barring a two vs. two Fight Circus outing with Bob Sapp last year. Meanwhile, Briggs last fought in 2016, scoring a knockout win over Emilio Ezequiel Zarate to extend his winning streak to nine.

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