Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson has officially announced his first fight in MMA since losing to Fedor Emilianenko back in 2019.
The former PRIDE middleweight champion took to his 'JAXXON' podcast on YouTube on August 31 to announce a grudge match with Darrill "The Boss" Schoonover for December 2023.
Rampage revealed the promotor of the United Fight League (UFL) wanted him to fight:
"'I'll come back and fight grudge matches only'," Jackson revealed what he told the UFL. "'I wanna fight 'titties'... from The Ultimate Fighter. He just signed the contract.'
"...The way I got 'titties' to fight was --- I said 'Look, if you beat me, I will never call you 'titties' again. He's like 'Okay, let's do this.'"
Rampage hadn't yet decided what Schoonover should do if he loses.
Why is this a grudge match?
Jackson and Schoonover appeared on season 10 of 'The Ultimate Fighter' back in 2009, with Jackson as a coach and Schoonover as a contestant. The two rubbed each other the wrong way as Jackson coined the nickname "titties" for Schoonover --- denigrating his appearance --- and Schoonover didn't appreciate the comments.
Their interactions on the show made for some viral moments, and they almost came to blows once or twice when Rampage overstepped the mark.
Now 14-years on from the show, a grudge match is on the books. So how have these fighters prospered since their TUF appearances?
Schoonover, now 38, was undefeated professionally up until his TUF finale with James McSweeney in December 2009. This was the start of a five-fight skid which he eventually put an end to with a three-fight winning streak. Schoonover retired in 2015 with a 14-8 record.
Rampage, now 45, traded wins and losses in the UFC after his TUF appearance, before transitioning to Bellator and having a semi-successful stint of six wins and three losses. He retired on a loss to Emilianenko in 2019, settling with a record of 37-14-0.
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