That's Mr. T. He was (and still is) one bad looking dude. Here is Rampage in the same role from 2010:
I have to admit, Rampage looked the part. In fact, I was super excited when I heard the news about him landing the role. To me, Rampage had always been charismatic. His fight promos in Pride were legendary. The fans in Japan loved him as much for his personality as for his fighting ability. It's strange that I was so excited about him playing in that movie, yet here it is spring 2014--almost 4 years after the movie's release--and I still haven't watched it. Crazy, huh? I'll get around to it some day.
Regardless, in 2010 he was flying high and at the peak of his mainstream popularity. With a big box-office hit due to be released in the summer, he almost certainly expected more movie offers to come rolling in. But he had a small problem. He was a fighter and still under contract with the UFC. Though he and the company's president, Dana White, had their differences, they managed to put them aside and agree to get Rampage back in the cage. "Suga" Rashad Evans, the man who coached against him in The Ultimate Fighter, awaited.
So Rampage won that contest, right? I mean, isn't that how the story is supposed to play out? The fighter-turned-Hollywood-star wins and goes on to even greater accomplishments both in the octagon and in film? Unfortunately for Rampage, no Hollywood producer gave Rashad a script. As I wrote in the last post, Rashad won a 3-round decision over Rampage. He took Quinton down and kept him on the ground for much of the fight, neutralizing Rampage's offense and turning the fight into a boring affair. Rampage did manage to rock Rashad during one exchange, but it wasn't enough to win.
He lost that fight before the film debuted. No doubt, his costars were disappointed to see him lose. So were many of his fans. Personally, I wanted to see a fight worthy of all the smack Rashad and Rampage had talked during their season of the Ultimate Fighter. The way they had jawed at one another, I expected them to come out swinging for the proverbial fences. Instead, Rashad fought a conservative, wrestling-first fight and Rampage could do nothing to stop him. The result was boring and frustrating.
Rashad would follow up that performance with a destruction of Tito Ortiz, and a unanimous decision over Phil Davis, which would earn him a title shot against the newest champion on the block: Jon Jones. Jones was the fifth light heavyweight champion since Rampage lost the title. Rampage lost to Forrest Griffin. Griffin lost to Rashad Evans. Evans lost to Lyoto Machida. Machida lost to "Shogun" Rua (who once beat Rampage...). And Rua lost to Jon Jones. All of that happened in a little more than two years.
Six months after losing to Rashad Evans, Rampage stepped into the Octagon against the only man to have defeated Rashad at that time: Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida. I've written about Machida before. He's a bonafide bad momma-jomma. His elusive karate style combined with his serious knockout power makes him a difficult matchup for anyone. That proved no different for Rampage. The fight was only scheduled for three rounds, and neither man managed to dominate the other. Rampage pushed the pace in the first two rounds. Machida's vaunted offense didn't get on track until the 3rd round, which Machida won in the eyes of most viewers. When Bruce Buffer announced that Rampage had won a split decision, some fans howled, "Robbery!" Even Rampage thought he lost. He wore an obvious look of surprise at the announcement, and even told Joe Rogan in the post-fight interview that Machida "whooped my [butt]!"
But Dana White made his feelings clear at the post fight press conference when he claimed that, in his opinion, Rampage won the first two rounds and that Machida fought too conservatively. Regardless, Rampage walked away with a victory. His next opponent would be Matt "The Hammer" Hamill. Matt was a high-level amateur wrestler. He was also deaf. As far as I know, he is still the only deaf athlete to have ever competed in the UFC. In fact, he is the only deaf athlete I can think of who has ever competed as a professional mixed martial artist. It's a remarkable feat. His run in season three of The Ultimate Fighter was cut short when he refused to tap to a Michael Bisping arm bar during training. He was heart broken when the UFC's physicians refused to let him fight in the finale. He wanted to fight Bisping with one arm.
One arm.
Eventually, he would get his chance to fight Bisping, but only after the British smack talker won The Ultimate Fighter. Their match occurred in England. No one with eyes truly believes that Michael Bisping beat Matt Hamill. Hamill should have won the fight, but the judges gave the win to Bisping. To this day, it remains the worst decision I've ever witnessed in mixed martial arts. When Hamill stepped into the cage to face Rampage, he was riding a 5 fight win streak and had just defeated his coach from season three, Tito Ortiz. Oh, and in case I forget, he also had a movie made about his life. It was called "The Hammer."
You see, Rampage wasn't the only fighter to have captured Hollywood's attention.
After having seen Rashad Evans easily outwrestle Rampage, many expected Hamill to give Rampage a stern test since wrestling was his bread and butter. But Rampage won a unanimous decision over the deaf combatant. During the fight, Hamill shot for many takedowns, but Rampage stuffed them and made him pay with brutal knee strikes and powerful hooks and crosses. Fans booed the slow pace of the fight, but it was a solid performance for Rampage nonetheless.
With two straight wins over top competition, Rampage was suddenly a title contender again. The new champion, Jon Jones, was supposed to defend his belt for the first time against the last man to beat Rampage, Rashad Evans. But a hand injury sidelined the champion. In fact, it was originally stated that Jones's injury would require surgery. Consequently, Rashad Evans went ahead and took a fight against Tito Ortiz. Shortly after, Jones announced that his hand wasn't as badly injured as he originally thought and he was ready to defend his title. Since Rashad had just fought (and defeated Tito Ortiz), the UFC gave Rampage a call.
And, suddenly, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson was scheduled to fight for the undisputed Light Heavyweight championship of the world. Again. Could he summon the strength and determination of old to regain a title he claimed to so desperately want? And would that be enough to best one of the most impressive young champions in the sport?
Check back next time to find out.
Until then.
By the way, do you enjoy short stories? The Kindle edition of Big Blue, my collection of short stories, is on sale for 99 cents. That's less than a buck! It's also available in paperback. Just click this LINK to get your copy.
And here's a quick picture of the cover:
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