Is this legal?

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has decided joined Wolfslair. Jackson joining a gym/team is a good sign of him getting things back on track.

There's just one problem: Wolfslair is located in England and Jackson is currently facing multiple felony charges. I don't mean to imply that Jackson is trying to pull an Ira Einhorn and permanently flee the country, but aren't you not allowed to leave the country while on trial, or between arraignment and trail.

Are there any lawyers out there, who read this blog, that can explain the situation? Most of my knowledge of the US legal system comes from Jack McCoy and the oh so lovely Angie Harmon so I'm far from an expert.

http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=974

This is getting really disturbing

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was arrested again (http://www.tmz.com/2008/07/17/round-2-cops-nab-rampage-again/). This time for behavior so erratic he was considered a danger to himself and others.

The ever quotable Shonie "Mr. International" Carter needs to give the ever quotable Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lessons on how to be "incognegro."

What does this mean to MMA, or at least to the UFC?

Jackson's arrest removes a lot of debate as to who Forrest Griffin will defend his light heavyweight belt against. Everyone had been speculating that Griffin would defend his belt in December against either Chuck Liddell, assuming Liddell beats Rashad "Boring Decision Victory" Evans or Jackson.

I don't think Jackson will be fighting again this year. Even though, he was co-operative when he surrendered to the police, he still led the police on a high speed chase (Question: Doesn't leading the police on a chase make you not co-operative?). I think that will have him tied up, at least, in a courtroom for a few months. And, oh yeah, there's the fascinating detail that Jackson was "medically unfit" to be booked (http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/07/16/the-rampage-situation-morning-update/).

The smart money is that now Liddell gets the title shot. Unless, he loses to the "I won't pay to watch" Evans. If Liddell does lose to Evans, picking someone for Griffin to defend the title against becomes much more interesting.

Lead candidates:

Lyoto Machida -

Pros: Considered one of the best light heavies in the world. Has a fantastic record.

Cons: To mainstream fans he's the guy who beat Tito Ortiz in a boring fight. Doesn't finish fights. Bottom line: If he'd finished Tito Ortiz, he'd probably be the guy to get the title shot. But, I doubt the UFC wants to put 2 guys with trouble finishing in a main event. Especially, when one of them has no star/drawing power.

Wanderlei Silva -

Pros: A finisher. The UFC's best known light heavy weight that isn't named Griffin, Jackson, or Liddell. One of the best in the world.

Cons: Apparently, Wanderlei doesn't want to fight again before the end of the year.

Bottom line: December's the end of the year, and it'd be a title shot. Wanderlei has to be considered the favorite, if Liddell loses or gets injured and can't fight until next year.

Dark horses:

Thiago Silva - This guy is quickly moving up the light heavyweight ranks, and he finishes fights. But, he has even less name recognition than Machida and hasn't beaten the same level of opponents as Machida.

Anderson Silva, assuming he beats Irvin - He's the most entertaining fighter to watch. He's agruably a bigger name than Wanderlei, and "2 champions fighting each other" should be an easy PPV to sell. But, Silva plans on leaving the light heavyweight division to teammate Machida (http://www.cagepotato.com/2008/07/09/full-translation-of-anderson-silvas-new-tatame-interview/). As much as, I'd love to see this fight Silva has less of a chance than everyone on this list, except for possibly Thiago.

Update: Machida & Thiago Silva are pretty much out of the running now that they're signed to face each other at UFC 89 in October. Turning down the Vera fight might turn into a title opportunity for Wanderlei.

Jackson vs Griffin: I was right

Jackson vs Griffin definitely lived up to expectations as a very entertaining fight.

Griffin showed that while he doesn't have knock-out power, he is more than just a good interview. He had a fantastic game plan of staying outside of Jackson's range and peppering the champ with shots. And, jacking up Jackson's leg to limit his mobility & ability to put power behind his punches.

But, I think credit goes to Jackson for keeping the fight so entertaining. His one-punch knock-out ability kept he fight interesting. After Griffin hurt Jackson's leg in round 2, Jackson wasn't really able to go after Griffin the way he did in round 1. He stayed in even with limited mobility and seemed ready to win the fight the second Griffin made a mistake.

The result? I thought Griffin won round 2 10-8 & round 5 10-9, but I had Jackson winning the other 3 rounds 10-9 for a draw. That said, one can easily & rationally argue that Griffin won round 4 because he briefly looked in a triangle. It was a perfectly defensible decision and shouldn't generate any controversy, I just didn't see it that way.

Coming soon: "UFC 86 Main Card: I was wrong"