Rampage Jackson shuts down conspiracies that Fedor Emelianenko fight was fixed

On Saturday night, in the main event of Bellator MMA’s debut in Japan, former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson was knocked out by fellow PRIDE legend Fedor Emelianenko.

The fight-ending punch occurred at the 2:44 mark of round one, and admittedly didn’t look like it made all that severe of an impact. The nature of the punch caused some of MMA’s more suspicious fans to suggest that Rampage had intentionally taken a fall in the fight.

Speaking on Instagram shortly thereafter, Rampage commented on the loss and assured he will “never do a fixed fight,” thereby dispelling any suspicion that this fight was not on the level.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6pnonvg1E5/

“When that bag secured and the ladies waiting back in the room 😂💀🤦🏾‍♂️ @MKingRingo
@EntangledEntertainment (I’ll never do a fixed fight Fador won fair,i have to get my weight down,that loss was on me.. non fighters need to 🤫) much love to my real fans,you win some lose some🤷🏾‍♂️” – Rampage Jackson on Instagram.

Rampage also issued a post-fight statement through Bellator’s official Twitter account, once again suggesting that his weight caused him problems in the fight.

“Sorry guys, we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted,” Rampage said. “But you know what, I knew one of was going to get knocked out, but I didn’t know it was going to be f*cking me. But you know what, I ain’t mad though, you win some, you lose some. But you get paid for all, y’all remember that. It’s all good, it’s all good. I’m not in a bad mood, I just know what I gotta do, I gotta get my damn weight down. I felt like a hippopotamus out there, but that’s my fault. No excuses.”

What did you think of the Bellator Japan fight between Rampage Jackson and Fedor Emelianenko?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 12/29/2019.