Joe Harrington/Sherdog.com
The UFC filed a court action in November against Quinton Jackson during a spat with the promotion after he pulled out of a December fight with Rashad Evans to film a role in big-budget movie “The A-Team.” The complaint, according to a summary by BloodyElbow.com, claims Jackson effectively retired when he authored a blog in September declaring he was done fighting.
Citing the blog, the UFC suspended Jackson’s contract, exercising a clause that theoretically prevents a fighter from coming out of retirement for any other promotion besides the UFC if bouts remain on the deal. The same clause was at issue in a suit filed by Ken Shamrock that resulted in the UFC prevailing in court last week. Shamrock claimed the retirement clause obligated the UFC to give him another fight if he opted to fight again after his fight against Tito Ortiz in October 2006. The UFC successfully countered that it was up to the promotion whether to grant Shamrock another fight and that it still could keep his contract suspended based on the retirement. The UFC terminated the contract in mid 2007 after Shamrock expressed interest in returning.
UFC President Dana White publicly soured on Jackson after he pulled out of the Evans fight following 13 weeks of quality hype on “The Ultimate Fighter 10.” The two have reconciled to a degree, with White saying last week he was happy for Jackson because of the high profile nature of his role, one made famous in the 1980s by mohawked pop icon Mr. T.
The UFC took no further action after the initial complaint, though Jackson’s management did offer to renegotiate contract terms and said the blog did not meet the retirement process outlined in the contract. Several reports indicated all paperwork is official for a Jackson vs. Evans fight at UFC 114 on May 29 in Las Vegas. Lorenzo Ferttita told Yahoo! Sports the complaint is likely to be withdrawn. Jackson told FightersOnly.co.uk that the UFC’s recent dealings make him want to leave after fulfilling the fights remaining on his contract.