Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has expressed strong opinions about vegan martial artists, stating that “the Diaz brothers are the only vegan fighters worth a damn.”
The controversial statement emerged after Jackson publicly criticized his son for looking up to UFC veteran Alex “Bruce Leeroy” Caceres, who follows a plant-based diet. Jackson went as far as trolling his son by posting their private conversation online, dismissing his son’s admiration for Caceres.
This follows Jackson’s recent revelation on the MMA Hour that he had cautioned his son against pursuing an MMA career while maintaining a vegan lifestyle. “I told him, like, son, you can’t—there’s no way you would be an MMA champion and be a vegan,” Jackson stated during the interview.
According to Jackson, his son believes he could become “the first vegan champion in the world,” a notion the MMA legend finds unrealistic. “You’re just making everything hard. You’re helping your opponents,” Jackson explained, suggesting that a plant-based diet would put his son at a competitive disadvantage.
The situation became so contentious that Jackson eventually decided his son needed to learn through experience. “So I just said, you know what? And I pushed him out the nest. You can get out. Go do it on your own. Because no one helped me when I was his age,” Jackson revealed.
While many fans have rushed to defend Caceres in the comments of Jackson’s post, with one user stating, “people like Caceres because he’s unique, not because he’s some championship level guy,” others have supported Jackson’s perspective.
Fans were also quick to point out that Ian Garry is a vegan, though others hold that against him. The circumstances to Garry going vegan are highly suspect. According to his own team, Garry went vegan following the advice of his nutritionist, who is also the ex husband of Garry’s current wife.
The Diaz brothers—Nate and Nick—have long been associated with plant-based diets, though some fans pointed out that they, along with former UFC welterweight Jake Shields, may include some animal products like fish and eggs in their nutrition plans.
This dietary debate highlights the ongoing discussion in combat sports about optimal nutrition for elite performance, with traditional perspectives like Jackson’s clashing with the growing trend of plant-based athletes across various sports.
Whether Jackson’s son can prove his father wrong remains to be seen, but this public disagreement has certainly sparked conversation about the viability of vegan diets in professional MMA competition.
