DENVER – To hear Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (32-8 MMA, 7-2 UFC) tell it, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones (13-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) is a cocky, disrespectful athlete with decent wrestling and an overrated striking game.
And while Jackson said he does have respect for Jones' abilities in the cage, he's having trouble finding any redeeming qualities in the champ's personality.
But hate? No, Jackson insists. As one of God's children, he hates no man, despite what UFC president Dana White said at Wednesday's pre-UFC 135 press conference. Now wanting to whoop another man's ass, well that's a different story.
"I don't hate anybody," Jackson told MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com). "I'm a man of God, no matter how people see me or whether I act like it or not. I don't hate no man. I don't have any positive feelings toward Jon Jones, but Dana is just saying hate in another way. I'm using to make sure you guys know I don't like him, but I don't hate anybody. I don't even hate Rashad (Evans)."
So Jackson draws the line at hate, even on the eve of the pair's UFC 135 main-event bout, which takes place at Denver's Pepsi Center. But all the talk about a "cocky" Jones who is "fake" in the way he acts? That's not changing.
"The kid has no respect for nobody, and he needs to be humbled," Jackson said. "Sometimes you fight people, and people don't know their place. This kid obviously don't know his place.
"It's a thin line between being confident in yourself and overly cocky like the way he talks down to his opponents and stuff. It's not right. It's not called for."
Jackson, who was actually more relaxed and jovial at Thursday's pre-fight workouts than he has been at some previous events, continues to insist his UFC 135 camp has been one of the best in his career. He also contends that despite coming in as the challenger, he doesn't have to face near as much pressure as the champ.
"All the pressure is on him," Jackson said. "He's got to defend his belt. He's never been whooped up on before.
"I've lost before. I've lost my belt before. It's another day at the office for me."
Of course, how that day at the office plays out remains to be seen. Jones' length and creativity have proven problematic to every one of his eight UFC opponents to date. The heavy-handed Jackson declined to share his approach to Jones' unique style but did say gameplanning isn't always the biggest key to in-cage success.
"I'm not really a gameplan guy," Jackson said. "Back in the day, I used to have crazy gameplans and stuff like that, but I'm that type of guy that will do a gameplan until – sometimes you've got to change things up. I'm not going to rely on a gameplan. If my gameplan isn't working, I'm going to improvise.
"I'm a fighter at the end of the day. I'm a brawler. I like to brawl. I like to get in there and fight. Gameplans go out the window really quick."
Jackson's upcoming bout with Jones doesn't boast quite the tension that came along with a May 2010 fight with Evans, but it's still chock-full of drama. For the most part, Jones has bitten his tongue throughout the build-up to Saturday's fight, and while Jackson is certainly baiting his opponent with a few well-crafted verbal barbs, it's not the over-the-top approach he's used in previous contests.
Nevertheless, Jackson said he's ready to humble the 24-year-old Jones.
"This kid has a lot of hype floating around him," Jackson said. "I know he believes it.
"I've fought better fighters than him. I've fought better wrestlers. I've fought Olympic-caliber wrestlers. His standup, I'm not very impressed with his standup. He's just very long. If you really watch his standup, he only throws one or two punches at a time. It's hard to get impressed with somebody like that.
"The key is showing this guy no respect and whooping his ass."
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