I’m a UFC legend who fought Jon Jones and Chuck Liddell – but no one hit me harder than ‘The Last Emperor’
Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has named Fedor Emelianenko as the hardest-hitting opponent he’s ever fought.
Jackson was one of the first major stars to emerge after Dana White was appointed UFC president by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta in 2001.
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The 46-year-old was already famous in Japan where he competed under the Pride banner and shared the ring with Kevin Randleman, Chuck Liddell, Wanderlei Silva, and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua.
‘Rampage’ joined the UFC in 2007 and KO’d Liddell to win the light heavyweight championship in his promotional debut.
More big victories over Dan Henderson, Lyoto Machida, and Silva followed – but Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, and Jon Jones got the better of him.
Jackson hasn’t competed since suffering a defeat in his 52nd MMA bout.
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The American got knocked out by heavyweight legend Emelianenko when he stepped up a division to challenge the feared Russian phenom.
Jackson was overweight and out of shape when ‘The Last Emperor’ sent him crashing face-first to the floor with an overhand right at Bellator 237.
Randleman had held the tag of hardest hitter since he fought 'Rampage' in 2003, but Emelianenko usurped him with one shot in December 2019.
“I always said Kevin Randleman until my last fight with Fedor,” Jackson said when asked who hit him the hardest on the JAXXON podcast.
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“Fedor hit me with a punch. I never even saw that punch coming. Never even saw it.”
The UFC fan favourite initially reacted to the loss by blaming his weight and branding himself a ‘hippopotamus’ before undergoing an impressive body transformation.
Now he’s just happy he got to share the cage with a true MMA legend.
Emelianeko is widely regarded as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the sport after going on an incredible 27-fight winning streak between 2001 and 2009.
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Jackson added: “He’s my favourite fighter. I love watching him fight.
“He’s no-nonsense. When he fought Kevin Randleman, Kevin Randleman slammed him on his neck and the Japanese newspapers took pictures of him.
"Frame by frame they showed Fedor upside down in the air getting slammed and his facial expression never changed. Stone cold. That’s not normal, bro.
“Fedor, for a heavyweight, he was really fast. And he was very dangerous on the ground, so he submitted a lot of people.”
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Emelianeko got another big KO win over Timothy Johnson to earn a shot at the Bellator heavyweight title in what was billed as the final fight of his storied career.
Ryan Bader spoiled the party by stopping him with strikes in round one, but it still proved to be a special night for Emelianeko as he was given an epic sendoff.
‘Rampage’ and 10 other MMA legends got in the cage to wish him well.
They all cheered and applauded – along with the crowd – as Emelianenko confirmed during his post-fight interview that he was done with the sport.
He said: "I’m so happy that all these people are here cheering for me."
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"All these veteran fighters that walked the path with me for almost the last 20 years are here to greet me.
“I’m so happy to see all the fighters that are here to support me."
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