FACEBOOK TWITTER RSS APP PODCAST Opinion & Analysis : Staff Columnists BENT: On Rampage Jackson's tirade, I pity this fool

Sep 23, 2009 - 4:23:48 PM
By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
I will not kiss Quinton "Rampage" Jackson's "big, black, hairy ass", nor will I come try to kick it. I will, however, not miss him being such an ass; and if he indeed has chosen to walk away from fighting, I will not exactly shed any tears. I can also promise you that the folks at Pepperidge Farms will not be coming up with a new version of the Milano cookie as a way to commemorate his foray into acting. Jackson has gotten caught up in himself and has quickly forgotten that fighting is what got him here; the fans who paid money to see him did in fact pay his bills and will pay his children's tuition and for all the bad Dana White has done, it is White who bailed him out of last summer's mess in more ways than one.

Jackson did land the role of B.A. Baracus in the upcoming version of 'The A-Team' which coming to the big screen, but he could do well to take a harder look at the man who originally played the role. Yes, Mr. T. Did Mr. T. go on to an amazing career or has he simply been a one-note character who is simply Mr. T., generally considered a D-list celebrity?

Jackson is perfect for the role of Baracus, but he didn't get this gig because of how amazing he could possibly be on the big screen but rather because he is remarkably the closest thing to Mr. T. and fits rather well into the role. Add into this that his exposure as a top fighter for the UFC also boosts his cachet significantly. Take into account also that this role is not the lead role. Don't get me wrong, as the role is a great opportunity and the payday is beyond huge for a fighter who has made good money but is not exactly on the level of, say, a Floyd Mayweather.

Yes, "Rampage" is great and MMA is the hottest thing going today, but also remember that even the very, very best only make a few million for their efforts; and every other top athlete makes considerably more while retaining more control of their name, image and likeness. When it comes to paying his athletes, the control he has over them and his public image it is easy to compare Dana White to Vince McMahon, and in this respect I can get that Jackson has tired of the micro-managing egomaniacal boss in White. Based on this I feel that Jackson saw the big Hollywood payday and the way everyone is treating him and has decided that more money while not getting beaten up is the way to go.

The problem is that this acting career will not last long. "Rampage" is reminding me of the hillbillies you see on TV holding up their winning lottery ticket on the news who have told their boss at the widget factory to go to hell because they no longer need that job. They tell their boss to shove it and proceed to move out of the double-wide and into a palatial estate with everything but a moat. Many of these folks also begin to dole out money to every friend and every second cousin, and before long end up on hard times because they are no longer working, did not make their money work for them and now have to find a way to financially maintain their lifestyle.

A few million dollars is indeed a ton of money, but when you live somewhat lavishly or enjoy the finer things, it will go away nearly as fast as it came. Look at how many of the "Extreme Home Makeover" families have taken out mortgages on those houses that Ty Pennington built and are now putting them up for sale because they lived beyond their means. The aforementioned lottery winner I described ends up falling on hard times and soon has to sell various items and come to grips with the fact that they imagined they were wealthier than they really were, when in fact they were anything but. Many times they will not have to crawl back to the boss at the widget factory, but they do have to do something when the life of leisure they once thought would go on forever has come crashing down.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has landed one movie role. He isn't the face of a franchise, and I can guarantee you that 'The A-Team' will not end up being a franchise film. If it is, I will shed another tear for the lack of originality in Hollywood and my ignorant brethren who will only hit the theaters to see something someone has already done. Personally I am waiting for the 'Mork and Mindy' movie, or perhaps 'The Facts of Life' to hit the big screen. Sadly, there are people who would buy a ticket, but I digress. "Rampage" has won the lottery in landing this movie role, but he is quickly eschewing his already decent life and telling everyone to stick it because he sees a future of nothing but gold bricks and clouds made of cash.

As a fight fan I was unhappy when he turned down the Machida fight and opted to coach 'The Ultimate Fighter'. I believed then that he made the move for financial reasons and to protect his character, because I feel he knew it was a fight he could lose. He feared that fight and there was not enough for him to gain to make it worthwhile. So, he opted to be on TV for a dozen weeks and land a much bigger fight with Evans, albeit not one for any championship. I get it when professional fighters make decisions with money as the determining factor, but sometimes you would like to think that they really do want that championship. I think Jackson has moved beyond any championship belts and is strictly looking to position himself in front of a camera or on the pages of a magazine, with his sights set firmly on becoming a celebrity, and that he truly has no desire to really fight any longer.

I tired of Jackson when he coached 'The Ultimate Fighter' the first time, and I have never found him to be as funny as so many other people do. I don't enjoy "Mayhem" Miller for the most part, but in small doses and on 'Bully Beatdown' he is a much more engaging and tolerable personality that Jackson has ever been to me. That's just my opinion of course, but Jackson's schtick is more playing the generic black comic from Def Comedy Jam than it is anything origina,l and it just has always seemed so contrived. He really has been nothing more than a modern day Mr. T. with the only difference being that he doesn't sport the Mohawk, and the chain he wears around his neck isn't gold.

Again, this is just my opinion, but I don't see him having legs when it comes to being a celebrity on the big screen or outside of the fight world. For the most part people will probably accept him in a role such as this, but I don't see Jackson going on to play the lead in anything save for straight to video releases. And it's because of that I think he is giving the proverbial middle finger to everyone while imagining he doesn't need them anymore, and he is completely wrong. He doesn't need everyone now, but this Hollywood gig is not going to last forever for him and he is going to need to come back.

Jackson will need to fight again, and he most certainly will need the fight fans to throw down their money to see him if he wants to maintain his lifestyle. Toyo tires did not sponsor him because they simply want to sponsor Quinton Jackson; no, they sponsored him because of his fighting career, and they sure as hell couldn't have been too happy to have gotten the coverage they received after last summer's meltdown. Of course, Jackson is quick to mention absolutely nothing about that meltdown, and also forgot to thank Dana White for saving his ass as well as the fans for being so forgiving.

My opinion is that he got off lightly all the way around, and especially so from White, who has done far worse to fighters who have stepped out of line than he's done to Jackson. Jackson didn't step out of line, he drove his monster truck over it and caused everyone to run for cover. So he needs to be a little more gracious towards those who helped him back up and allowed him to continue on with his career without skipping a beat.

Jackson's fight with Jardine at UFC 96 may not have been worth it to Jackson financially, and I can tell you that I agree as that entire card was not worth it financially to me and many other fans. I have lost money at the track and felt better about where it went than I did after ponying up the bucks to a card I described as being as attractive as a hooker with an adam's apple. We the fans didn't want that fight, so Jackson shouldn't act like he did anyone a damned favor in taking it. It was a horrible main event for the fans in Columbus, and it was indeed a favor to Jackson as it was a decent payday for him to fight a foe he should have been able to beat more handily than he did. But in that respect I have to agree with Jackson that the fight with Jardine wasn't worth it.

Jackson bitches about the fans on the internet, but he seems to forget how he mocked Forrect Griffin on Twitter just a month ago. Jackson put up scathing remarks towards Griffin after Forrest was soundly defeated by Anderson Silva. I would be quicker to take Jackson's side if he wasn't a hypocritical moron who has done the very same thing that he is now bitching about. I'm sorry if Jackson's feelings have gotten hurt, but he has shown himself to be the bully who can dish it out and smile but expects us to feel sorry for him when he gets hurt. We don't, or at least I don't.

Jackson has kids and family to provide for, and he does need the UFC or at the very least its fans. Anyone who does not watch or care for MMA or the UFC has absolutely no clue who Jackson is. I'm sorry, but to most folks he is that crazy fighter who made the rounds on TMZ last year and not too many people are quick to point out he was an undisputed champion of anything other than maybe stupidity. Jackson is a fighter, and while I understand and appreciate the fact that maybe he would like to evolve a little, at the end of the day he needs to not lose sight of who he is while chasing the dreams of what he would like to become.

I am not saying Jackson cannot be an actor, even though I can promise you he won't be knocking Will Smith out of any roles. I am not saying Jackson can't be a chef, tap dancer, reality show host, VJ on VH1 or sidekick on a Fox late night talk show. Hell, if he can find the cure for cancer I will gladly support him and thank him until I can thank no more.

However, he will always be the fighter who now acts or sings or dances or hosts a reality show. If he did find the cure for cancer I can bet you any amount of money that they would still reference his fistic exploits in describing him to the masses. If Jackson wants to leave the fighting world behind it is ok and it is his choice, but he should not be cutting off his nose to spite his face in proceeding to crap all over the fans and his former employers.

Mr. T. always said, "I pity the fool," and right now I pity "Rampage" who is acting like one. I applaud him for his successes and wish him luck in Hollywood, an industry which makes the UFC look like a daycare center. If Jackson thinks fight fans and Dana White were hard on him, just wait until his performance in 'The A-Team' gets criticized by the masses and the film gets it's inevitable scores on Rotten Tomatoes. Jackson will wish for the halcyon days of fans asking him about Pride and others telling him his fight sucked once he gets torn into by the claws of the cattiest in Tinseltown.

So no, I will not kiss anything of Jackson's, and I harbor no desire to fight him. In fact it truly shows his lack of development to even state such a thing. I mean here is a guy who cannot handle losing a fight to Griffin so he goes off of the deep end and almost kills people, and he also can't handle fans trash talking him so he challenges them to fights? Wow. With an attitude like this he is going to wish he had Dana White to bail him out when he goes off on someone outside of Bar Marmont.

Goodbye "Rampage" and hello Quinton Jackson, the movie star who doesn't need the fight game or any of us at all. When I think of Jackson packing up all of his belongings, flipping us all off and running to the big Hollywood party, I can just imagine the character David Spade played, "Dick Clark's Receptionist," in a sketch on 'Saturday Night Live,' looking at Jackson and saying, "and you are?" while debating if he should let him in or not.

Jackson is right that he isn't Randy Couture. Because he isn't one of the greatest of all time, and I can guarantee you that before long there will be many fighters who can fill his gloves and surpass what he has accomplished. Hell, he is jealous of Anderson Silva and you can tell from his rant. It seems he has forgotten where he came from, but he is going to need to remember quickly when everyone else is done with his tired act. Because he is going to need to find his way back to the UFC, and I would imagine Dana White won't be as quick to pay his fare.

Farewell "Rampage," I won't kiss your "big, black, hairy ass," but I will join you in kissing your career goodbye. I can't wait to see you join Hulk Hogan on VH1, or perhaps follow Mr. T. and wind up on TV Land.

Go on.

Get your Mohawk ready.

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