Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has blamed promoters in a distasteful explanation for why his fight with Rashad Evans is off.
The two ex-UFC champions were set to lock horns in the ring this year in what would have been a rematch 15 years in the making.
Jackson suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Evans in the main event of UFC 114 in May 2010.
Both men had held the UFC light heavyweight title before their fight, having also coached on an iconic season of The Ultimate Fighter.
The two were rumoured to rematch for years after the bout, but it never came to fruition, and a boxing match would’ve well and truly reignited their famous rivalry.
However, Jackson, who won UFC gold in his second fight for Dana White‘s promotion by knocking out Chuck Liddell, has revealed why he is will not be putting the gloves back on anytime soon.
“I’m disappointed I have to give this announcement,” ‘Rampage’, 46, said on his Instagram.
“But the fight between Rashad and I isn’t going to happen. The promoters didn’t fulfil their contractual obligations. I’ve waited several days and given them many chances.
“I’m sorry to say, I feel bad for all my fans who bought tickets, airplane flights etc.
“Hopefully you guys can refund everything. But I’m not showing up I don’t have confidence in their abilities to promote this fight.
“I’m not going through this again, I’ve been through this once before and boxing is a totally different animal than MMA.
“I’m still going to try and get a fight here pretty soon, I’m going to keep training right now..so hopefully I can get this fight picked up somewhere else, because I was really looking forward to getting back in the ring and putting my fist through Rashad’s mouth.”
‘Rampage’ was a former title contender under the PRIDE MMA banner before he joined the UFC in 2007.
After defeating Liddell he defended the 205-pound strap against Dan Henderson, before losing it via a unanimous decision defeat to Forest Griffin.
Evans, meanwhile, a former light heavyweight champion in his own right, having fought for a world title three times during his stellar 14-year MMA career that included 33 fights.
‘Suga’ won his first and only UFC title by knocking out Griffin at UFC 92 in December 2008, before dropping the belt to Lyoto Machida five months later.
His last title fight came against current UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who edged a unanimous decision over Evans in April 2012, before bowing out of the UFC after five straight defeats.
Evans’ season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Jackson has its own place in reality TV history.
Jackson went viral after watching one of his fighter suffer a decision defeat when he hilariously threw an almighty tantrum that resulted in a door being ripped to shreds.
Both men also clashed several times during their time as coaches on the show.
They played multiple pranks on one another, exchanged verbal blows and at one point had to be held back by their respective fighters after a disagreement.
After leaving the UFC in 2015, Jackson was supposed to make a combat sports return through a boxing match with former world heavyweight champion boxer Shannon Briggs.
The bout was scheduled for June last year, but just like this fight it all fell apart before taking place.
Evans came out of retirement for one final bout to ‘get that feeling again’ in January 2022, and was victorious at the age of 43 contesting in Eagle FC, an MMA promotion owned by Khabib Nurmagomedov.
