In a nostalgic return to his martial arts origins, MMA veteran Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has recently been spotted training in a gi at Paulo Gazze Jr’s gym in Huntington Beach, California. Despite his illustrious career in combat sports, Jackson surprisingly remains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu after stepping away from gi training for over 20 years.
During a recent appearance on the Jaxxon Podcast with host Bear Degidio, Jackson opened up about his return to traditional BJJ training and revealed his connection to the Huntington Beach gym.
“That gym is the first gym I trained at when I moved to California,” Jackson explained. “I moved from Memphis to train at that gym. That was Fabiano Ihas’ old gym. And then Tito (Ortiz) came with Team Punishment. That was [where] everything started.”
The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion shared that his recent training session was a test to see how his skills would hold up after such a lengthy hiatus from gi jiu-jitsu.
“I haven’t done gi jiu-jitsu in over 20 years,” Jackson admitted. “I wanted to know how would I do. And so I went with another blue belt and I did good. And then I went with a brown belt and I did well.”
When asked about how it felt to put on the gi again after so long, Jackson described the experience as somewhat disorienting but ultimately positive.
“It was weird. It was weird. I liked it. I liked it that day. It’s good. I’m used to no gi, but then I haven’t done gi jiu-jitsu in over five years,” he said.
The podcast took a humorous turn when Degidio pointed out footage of Jackson employing an unorthodox technique of spinning a training partner by the ankles. The clip had apparently been circulating online, prompting Jackson to clarify that his training partner was “a grown-ass man” and not a child as some viewers had speculated.
When questioned about the origin of this unusual move, Jackson simply stated, “Bro, I’ve been doing it for a long time,” suggesting it might be one of his “hidden secret” techniques.
Jackson’s return to gi jiu-jitsu has generated excitement among fans on social media, with many expressing enthusiasm about seeing the MMA icon reconnect with the traditional aspect of the martial art that helped shape his early career.
Whether this marks the beginning of a more dedicated return to gi training for Jackson remains to be seen, but the blue belt seems to be enjoying the journey back to his roots in the martial art that helped launch his storied career in combat sports.
