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RAMPAGE JACKSON, DIXIE CARTER & MORE DISCUSS JACKSON'S NEW DEAL WITH SPIKE, TNA & BELLATOR: FULL TRANSCRIPT

George Garcia: George Garcia with mmajunkie.com. Rampage, sounds like you've got an outstanding deal. Can you talk about the free agency process? What was that like? For many athletes it can be stressful, you know, trying to make their, you know decision as to where they're going to provide for their family. ((inaudible)) going to be fun, you know, being pursued and courted. What was it like for you?

Quinton Jackson: Well I had like every show come at me. And I even considered doing boxing. And a lot of different promoters came at me and stuff like that. And I just sat back, and I wasn't in a rush to go anywhere. Plus I had to wait to negotiate with ((inaudible)) anyway.

So I just let everybody come to me and my manager. And - but I kept my eye on Bellator, because I dealt with Spike before. I did The Ultimate Fighter and stuff. And everybody at Spike was super cool, and I watched it. And I watched Bellator. I watched it, and I was like, "Man I might want to go to Bellator. That's where I want - they on Spike."

You know, it's a no brainer. Spike is the network for men. That's what, you know, - I'm an MMA fighter. When I'm not in the city I get a bunch of men that come and approach me and stuff like that. That's the place where I want to be where it's like - it's right to the audience that watch our sport -- Spike.

So I was like, "All right Bellator's doing good. They got some exciting fights and stuff like that." And so I started talking to my manager about Bellator and stuff like that. And he said, "Oh okay, I'll check it out." So it was pretty simple for me.

But, you know what I'm saying, I think if the other fighters that are free agents and they come up I think they might want to look out for Bellator too, because they know how to treat a fighter. That's all I've been saying in the past about leaving the UFC. A lot of fans like didn't understand. They think I was talking about money. UFC didn't pay me enough money and blah, blah, blah. And like, yes, you know what I'm saying, every fighter - if a fighter stated he don't fight for money then he's lying.

And I've been known to keep it real. And like a doctor he goes into that field, because yes, he likes helping people and stuff like that, but he also probably like taking his boat out on the, you know what I'm saying, water on the weekend to get away. He want to have nice yacht, nice house for his family, and be able to put his kids through college as well. But I’m sure his main motive is to help people.

But, you know what I'm saying, he don't want go broke helping people. You know what I'm saying, I want to entertain people, but I don't want to talk bad about MMA fighters in the past. But I'll tell you it's a lot of big name fighters that retired broke, and now they have to go and get a gym and work at a gym. You know what I'm saying, it's okay to get a gym and train people, but you don't want to have to get a gym and train people.

And nowadays UFC's buying up all the gyms. They're taking even more money out of fighters' pockets, you know what I'm saying. Like MMA fighters - MMA people they have the gym and they got their own gym. And the UFC gym comes in the neighborhood, you know, what the fans going to do. They're going to go to the UFC gym and stuff like that. I wanted to have a future after I got done fighting, because, you know what I'm saying, you can't fight forever.

If you play football you can't do it forever ,and Bellator and Viacom and these guys at Spike they understand that, you know what I'm saying. So they set me up to where like you know what, yes, MMA don't have a pension and stuff like that, but we're smart people. This is going to set you up.

Like how old is Hulk Hogan and Sting and - how old are these guys? They're still pro wrestling. How old are they? They're old. Old dudes. I could beat one of those old dudes still entertaining my fans until I'm too old now then I'm just done doing everything. All right and then if the reality show pick up I can still - they can still watch me doing old man stuff.

Because I feel like even when I'm older I'm still going to be this crazy guy that I am. And if they like to tune into that I can still be doing reality shows and still be doing action movies. Arnold Schwarzenegger he old he still be doing stuff and Sylvester Stallone.

Male: That's right.

Quinton Jackson: They still be doing action movies. So they - look I don't see how any other fight organization can even compete with what Bellator has, and I think it's a no brainer. And if a fighter is not happy with their contract and stuff like that, you know what I'm saying, they can just watch me and see me smiling all the time and entertaining my fans.

Yes, I'm making more money than I was over there, but at the same time I'm still working. And I’m not in some gym because I have to be. That's not my personality.

George Garcia: Just a couple quick follow-ups. You know, you're rehabbing your knee. Could you be ready for season nine in the fall? Or are we looking at maybe 2014?

Quinton Jackson: No, my knee is actually getting stronger really fast, because now I've learned how to rehab it. And I have some - a great team of doctors. Like, you know, in Orange County man we got Dr. Kessler and them down there in OC Fight Docs, man. They know what they're doing.

And then in my - I got a good friend (Steve Gate). He's been taking me to the gym and showing me how to do it with weights and stuff like that. And my knee is actually doing pretty good. And I about to start running probably like next week. Well my birthday coming up on the 20th. So actually...

Male: Yes, after that.

Quinton Jackson: So I'll probably start running like days after that because - I'm going to check my knee out and start running. Because before when I was running -- just after surgery -- it was really bad for the knee. But I’m going to start running, and it looks like it's doing really good. I'm actually surprised on how good it's doing.

Brian Garcia: Brian Garcia with mmajunkie.com. You mentioned heavyweight -- wwinging with the heavyweight. Is that something you want to maybe look at further down the line, or is that a decision you could make fairly soon?

Quinton Jackson: Well honestly it's like, you know, if a good fight come up at 205, you know what I'm saying, I got enough time to get in shape and lose weight to do it. With, you know, like you said, you know, these guys are cool. They'll let me know. I don't have to take a fight like eight weeks' notice or 13 weeks' notice. Like they give me a couple months.

Okay I'll fight at 205 and lose weight. But if they got the heavyweight, you know, I walk around - I'm a big guy anyway. You know, I walk around, and I just know, you know what I'm saying, like okay this is a heavyweight guy. So I don't have to cut weight.

So, you know, a lot of small heavyweights do good. So like I said I'll fight whoever. I've never been the type of guy to turn down fights. So - but it's easier on me now that I'm older to just go heavy weight I guess, you know what I'm saying.

Like the, you know, - I'm 35 in a couple days, you know. That's - I'm at my prime, but at the same time it's like, you know, why do stuff now that I don't have to. I think heavyweight would be a good move, because I like the big guys. I like - I think I would be faster than them and stuff like that. I don't mind trying to knock out some big guys.

George Garcia: Question for Bjorn. As far as when King Mo and Rampage signed you said TNA was a big factor. Have you had any guys on the current roster kind of pull at your jacket a little bit and go hey man this is a cool deal here. I'd like to do something like that.

Bjorn Rebney: Yes, I have. I've had a lot of them. You know, it's - it takes a unique combination of factors. I mean most got that combination of factors. Rampage has got those combination of factors. But you've got to have a spectacular wrestling background. You've got to have a love for that game. You've also got to have the ability and the time to learn all the facets of that game.

I mean that's high level competition. And it's a totally different high level competition than what a mixed martial artist is typically used to. So a lot of guys - a lot of the Bellator guys have gone to the Impact events. They love it. They had a great time. A lot of them have come to me and said I'd love to do a deal like that. And you know, Dixie and I have sat down and talked about a lot of different options. But, you know, I mean this - Rampage's situation is completely unique. Mo's situation was unique. I just can't wait to see the two of them together at Impact. That's going to be something spectacular as well.

But yes, a lot of guys have come to us with it. It's exciting, it's fun, and it's cross pollinization (sic). That's what the partnership's about. It's about Kevin and Dixie and I sit down and we talk about it, and we figure out where those fit and how do you build the brand. You know, I mean we've talked about it before on your show. This - our dynamic is a different one. Our dynamic is one that is focused on building up Quinton Rampage Jackson, King Mo Lawal, Michael Chandler, Pat Curran. It's not about building up the Bellator brand.

Those guys are going to pull the Bellator brand along. The Bellator brand is not going to pull them along. So it's a totally different way of looking at it than a completion. And not say that there's anything wrong with the way that they do it. We just do it a different way. So those opportunities ((inaudible)).

Dixie Carter: And Bjorn I would add, you know, you have your fighters on our show and we're promoting their fights. And, you know, we're on your show. And you know, we're working together in so many ways. It has never been done before. That, you know, - that's what really takes this in my opinion to another level, especially from a business perspective.

Quinton Jackson: Okay, can I add something. Actually I'm going to have to say something. In Pride, the reason why Pride was so big in Japan - like Pride used to be one of the biggest MMA shows in the world. The reason why they were so huge in Japan and they can get - they could fill like 80,000 seat arenas and stuff like that is because they mixed up with the pro wrestlers. A lot of Japanese fighters were pro wrestlers. So the thing that you guys are doing has proven to work before in the past.

Bjorn Rebney: Yes, in a huge way. Should we go to the phones?

Group: Yes.

David Schwarz: We're going to - (Mel) you can open the queue for questions now. We'll take some calls from the phone.

Operator: And ladies and gentlemen to ask a question over the phone lines please press star 1 at this time. If you are joining using your Speakerphone please make sure that your mute function is turned off to allow your signal to reach our equipment. Once again everyone star 1 at this time. And we'll go to Jason Floyd with themmareport.com.

Jason Floyd: Thanks for taking my call. First off, Bjorn, I guess the perception out there with a lot of people is that you're not in the business to sign UFC guys. And we've seen you sign several UFC fighters here over the past couple of weeks. Why is that?

Bjorn Rebney: Well I mean, look, I think, you know, the dynamic in our industry has changed so substantially over the last three years or so. And initially when I started this company I looked at what was going on around me, and I saw a lot of mistakes. I saw a lot of people just simply trying to build their brand based on the backs of fighters that had left other organizations -- predominately the UFC.

We've now built out the Michael Chandlers and the Ben Askrens and the Pat Currans, and the list goes on. And, you know, at this stage in the evolution of our game there are two players in the space. There's the UFC and there's Bellator from a worldwide basis and a large scale television perspective. So there are going to be UFC fighters that matriculate over to Bellator and compete. There are a number of Bellator fighters that'll matriculate over to the UFC to compete.

They got I think -- I don't know -- 15 or 20 of our guys that we've cut sign to long term agreements. We've got I think at this stage 15 or 20 of their guys signed to long term agreements. So it's just a nature of the game. You're going to see a lot more UFC fighters fighting over here. You're going to see a lot more Bellator fighters fighting over there. There's two big shows in the world today. And that's where the best fighters in the world are going to compete.

Jason Floyd: For Rampage Jackson, you know, first off, Rampage, you talked about how the UFC drained your love for MMA. Is there anything in particular they did that drained your love for the sport?

Quinton Jackson: Well the only thing that I really can into is no big secret, but when I did the movie A-Team. That's like how Dana and I - we kind of like fell out, and it caused a whole bunch of problems. But I'm under contract where I can't really go into details. But, you know what I'm saying, like the UFC - you could ask them and they can say it. I'm not going to sue them if they talk about it. I signed a disclosure where I can't talk about it. And that's all I can say on that.

But I've been pretty vociferous about things in the past. But I guess - and you guys can see from, you know what I'm saying, - like it goes all the back to my fight with Rashad Evans, you know what I'm saying. It's been since then when I lost my love for MMA, and I actually tried to retire and stuff a couple times. And actually I'm glad I didn't know, because, you know, now I wasn't psychic. But thank God I didn't, and now this is a great opportunity that happens for me.

Jason Floyd: Do you have a timetable in your head of when you want to fight next?

Quinton Jackson: Like I said, you know, I think my knee is a lot stronger now. I think I'm actually - I think I'll be good to go in a couple of months. I just - as long as I got like three or four months to start getting to serous training and getting my skills up.

I'm working on everything now. I've been in - actually I went to Mexico. I got me a place down there. It's some cool gyms and stuff down there just to get away from California. And I got a bunch of friends who love night clubs. I hate them. I don't know why they invite me to night clubs all the time, because I hat those things.

So I go to Mexico and I train. I've been working with my teammate (Gavin Stewart), and we've been working on a lot of muay thai and a lot of different stuff that I haven't been doing for a while.

Because, you know, I got addicted to knocking people out, and I kind of forgot about my rationing and my muay thai and stuff. And so I'm excited. I've been working on a lot of different stuff for my ground game, and so as long as I got like four months to keep brushing up on this type of stuff -- the new stuff that I'm working on again -- I'll be ready to go. I'd be happy to go after then, you know.

Jason Floyd: All right, thanks guys.

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