Quinton "Rampage” Jackson loves to play the spoiler. Let us explain: Last May, while boxing fans were salivating over Floyd and Oscar, Ultimate Fighting Championship held its own dream bout between Jackson and popular light-heavyweight champion and ESPN the Magazine cover boy Chuck "Ice Man” Liddell. It was a nightmare for Liddell as Rampage knocked him out 1:53 into round one and snared his title. But just how did he do it? Under the direction of trainer Juanito Ibarra, Rampage, 29, hit a regime of stretching, sprinting, loads of sparring and rigorous resistance training; surprisingly, he doesn't lift weights. Now preparing for his July 5th match against Forrest Griffin at UFC 86, Rampage shares his secret recipe for pounding punks.

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RAPID FIRE
"Remember those little schoolhouse fights, where the guy's sitting on top of you and hitting you in the face? Once you got somebody in that position, the trick is to punch as fast as you possibly can. That's ‘ground and pound' right there.” —Rampage

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BAD MEDICINE
"Push-ups and exercises like that strengthen the muscle, of course, but they also strengthen your joints, the tendons and the ligaments. That way you can overload that joint with the muscle. That gives you a lot of strength. It's a punching motion, so your lats, back and traps—your push muscles—that's what it helps for a fighter.”—Juanito

Routine:
-Take an eight-pound medicine ball and put it under one hand while in push-up position.
-Do 10 push-ups with right arm.
-Roll ball to left arm; do 10 push-ups.
-Do nine push-ups with right arm.
-Switch ball back to left arm; do nine push-ups…
-Go all the way down to one push-up per arm.
-The next day, begin again with 11.

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RHYTHM NATION
"[The speed bag] is basic principles: holding your hands up and rotating with your feet and hips. It's a rhythmic thing. You go through the bag, rotating your wrist, your fist at the end of your knuckles, and then you come to it at a different angle.” —Juanito

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By Maclean Jackson

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