[Submissionist]

By: Ryan Hockensmith

Two weeks ago on The Ultimate Fighter, Rampage Jackson snapped. Another one of his fighters had just lost, and afterward, he stormed acrossthe cubicle-sized dressing room and for a moment, it looked like he was going to pounce on the small guy in the funny hat. The small guy—his trainer, Juanito Ibarra—never batted an eye as Rampage, well, rampaged, venting about yet another aggravating defeat by one of his guys against a fighter from future opponent Forrest Griffin's team.

Most people would have curled into the fetal position, but Ibarra just stood and listened. It was a snapshot into the relationship between the two men, and it illustrates Rampage's contention that Ibarra deserves much of the credit for his career resurgence. In addition to refining Rampage's skills in the Octagon, Ibarra has also played a crucial role in straightening out Jackson away from the fight. As Jackson admitted in the show, he struggles with his temper and it's held him back as a fighter.

Three years ago, as a popular but middling fighter in PRIDE, Jackson began to level off as a fighter. The lowpoint came in April, 2005, when Jackson
was KO'd by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, his third loss in six fights. At age 26, Jackson looked like he was done.

Then Juanito came on board. The two talked religion (both are devout born-again Christians) and Ibarra told him he needed a year to remake Jackson into the world's best 205-pounder. Juanito, as everybody calls him, had the timing a little off—it took about two years to get a UFC title shot—but the results speak for themselves. In his past six fights, Rampage is undefeated. He's mowed through legends Matt Lindland, Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson in stunning fashion. And now, with the reality show hype and the UFC's most live-wire personality, Jackson is primed to become the organization's biggest star.

Ibarra worked his way up from a boxing cut man, to corner man and later into MMA as a trainer. As other fighters have watched Rampage's ascent, Ibarra has become one of MMA's hottest trainers, with Michael Bisping and Cheick Kongo, among others, in his camp. "My voicemail is always full with guys wanting to come on board," Ibarra says.

With the show's taping concluded, Rampage is set to open camp next week. For the entire taping of TUF, Rampage was the coach and Ibarra was his soldier, taking orders from the boss. That will change in Big Bear. "I'm in charge," Ibarra says. "Whether he likes it or not, that's the way it is and has to be. He'll probably get frustrated at the beginning, but that's the price you have to pay."

·Yahoo.com blogger Dave Meltzer is one of the best in the business, and he has a great column this week on the long term health of the UFC. He echoes my thoughts about the league—that to build the brand, the organization needs name stars to keep winning. The emergence of Anderson Silva, Georges St. Pierre and possibly Rampage as unbeatable forces is terrific for growing the sport. Die-hard MMA fans will buy the pay-per-views no matter what. But casual fans seem to flock to the sport when there are big stars on big winning streaks, a la Chuck Liddell a year or so ago. It's a tried and true formula in sports: dynasties sell.

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