Ever taken such a beating in a fight that you had to undergo a series of tests just to figure out what the hell went wrong? Well, MMA legend Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson has—and he isn’t shy about it. During a conversation with fitness influencer Bradley Martyn (yes, the “But I’m 260 tho” guy), the former light heavyweight champion opened up about his first experience with Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), revealing how a brutal loss to Jon Jones at UFC 135 led him down that path.
“I don’t see nothing wrong with TRT. I did it I did it after I lost to Jon Jones, and it was legal in the UFC. They allowed us to do it. We had a doctor’s prescription after that fight,” Jackson said.
Indeed, there was a time in the UFC known as the TRT era. This is when athletes were allowed to take artificial testosterone as long as a doctor prescribed it. Some consider it one of the best eras of the UFC where hulking monsters like ‘Ubereem’ (the juiced version of Alistair Overeem) and TRT Vitor (Belfort) absolutely demolished their opponents.
Others, however, feel it was the worst era of the UFC where cheating was essentially legal as long as you had a prescription. And even ‘Rampage’ apparently briefly dabbled in testosterone but only because his levels were low.
“I went and checked my levels ‘cuz I couldn’t believe Jon Jones beat me, ‘cuz that’s that’s my first time ever losing a fight being in that good of shape, right? So I was like overly confident, I didn’t know how tough Jon Jones was, right? So I went to go check my levels and it was super low and I fought this young kid, you know,” Jackson added.
TOKYO, JAPAN DECEMBER 28, 2019: American MMA fighter Quinton Jackson during a weigh-in ceremony ahead of his Bellator 237 main card heavyweight bout against Russian rival Fedor Emelianenko, the cross-promotional event between Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation scheduled to take place at Saitama Super Arena on December 29. Valery Sharifulin/TASS PUBLICATIONxINxGERxAUTxONLY TS0C8EB1
And given how the Jon Jones fight went, Jackson was totally justified in going on TRT. Like a hurricane meets a weathered oak, Jones’ victory over Jackson wasn’t just a win. It was a changing of the guard. The 205lbs champ dismantled one of the UFC’s prolific finishers with the cold efficiency of winter-claiming autumn. However, do you know about an interesting fact about this iconic bout?
Jon Jones had nightmares before dominating ‘Rampage’ Jackson
Jon Jones had nightmares and couldn’t sleep leading up to his UFC 135 clash against ‘Rampage’ Jackson back in 2011. Why? Well because the New Mexico resident, who was making his first 205-pound title defense, wasn’t quite Jon Jones, MMA GOAT was afraid of Jackson’s nightmarish power.
“I kept having these nightmares before fighting Rampage Jackson that I would get knocked out. No matter how the fight played out I would get knocked out in the first 30 seconds… I couldn’t avoid this inevitable knockout that I was going to experience. On fight night, I felt like I was going to get knocked out,” Jones revealed in an interview with Steve-O.
In fact, this is precisely why ‘Bones’ famously chose to crawl up to Jackson on his haunches at the beginning of the fight. This was because Jones just didn’t want to engage ‘Rampage’ on the feet. “My idea to crawl towards him was the only thing that hadn’t happened in my nightmares because every fight starts on the feet,” Jones added.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JULY 06: Jon Jones of the United States looks on after his after their UFC Light Heavyweight Title bout with Thiago Santos of Brazil at T-Mobile Arena on July 06, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Jones defeated Santos by decision. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
And guess what? It worked like a charm. Jones actually pulled it off. He crawled up to ‘Rampage’ and was able to grab a hold of him without having to engage on the feet at all. To be fair, Jones also wiped the floor with ‘Rampage’ in striking too. He landed 61 total significant strikes in their fight to the veteran’s 16. Moreover, Jackson seemed tuckered out by the third. And Jones submitted him with a rear naked choke hold in the fourth.
No wonder Jackson had tests done and went on TRT. It isn’t every day that the baddest man in the world gets his butt whooped by a 24-year-old. What do you think about ‘Rampage’s revelations about his TRT usage?
The post “I Couldn’t Believe Jon Jones Beat Me” – MMA Legend Comes Clean on Taking TRTs After Crushing Loss appeared first on EssentiallySports.