So Rampage has decided to call it quits in MMA to focus on acting. That’s a good move. Hollywood has always been starved for actors. Especially those with no significant theatrical training. Not to mention ones whose sense of humour consists of howling and acting like a dog and humping the legs of reporters like, well, a dog.
I mean, this MMA thing is a fad, anyway. There’s no money in it long-term. The silver screen is the way to go; that’s a career that will last.
At this point, I sincerely hope you can tell I have my tongue firmly planted in cheek. It’s no secret I’m not a fan of Rampage and have been critical of him in the past.
Having said that, I don’t blame him for the decision. Is it a smart to move on from the field where was a champion just last year and still has a lot to offer over to the relative unknown? I don’t believe so. But he has a right to make that choice. And he has his reasons.
I’m not going to get into all of them — I’ll leave the whole “he said, he said’ deciphering to my colleague Showdown Joe. But suffice it to say I’m sure Dana White’s head was just about ready to explode this morning.
The results from the current poll on sportsnet.ca suggest just under two-thirds of you readers believe he had a commitment to fight Rashad Evans in December and should not have taken the role in the A-Team movie. I for one, am okay with his decision. Did he agree on a fight Evans? Sure, but that can always be rescheduled. The only commitment he has to the UFC is to fight for the money they pay him. If he doesn’t fight, he doesn’t get paid. Simple as that. (And this is coming from a guy who doesn’t like the man.)
As for his relationship with Dana, if the UFC’s president can kiss and make up with Tito Ortiz and can be on hand to laugh and cheer on Chuck as he makes a fool of himself on the dance floor, then perhaps in time he’ll be able to accept a red-carpet invitation from Jackson to the premiere of the A-Team.
The fact that Rampage is hanging things up does take a bit of the tension off the current Ultimate Fighter show. The fact he won’t be fighting Rashad at the end renders a lot of their trash talk moot.
Rashad: “When this is over and all my guys beat up your guys, I’m going to beat you up too.”
Rampage: “Oh yeah, well I’m going to make a UFC documentary and make sure your character is played by Jaleel White!”
Oh, snap.
Speaking of the first episode, I thought it was not bad. We didn’t get to see much of the main attraction, Kimbo Slice, but that’s to be expected. The UFC has to build the suspense as long as possible.
The sight of Kimbo walking in, after the big suspenseful pause and introduction by White, was something else. The big man looked like a deer in the headlights; or as contestant and former NFL player Brendan Schaub put it, “the sheep entering the room with a bunch of wolves.”
Rampage was quick to claim Kimbo as his own, which leads me to question if his mind has already left the sport and thinking more about theatrics.
“Kimbo ain’t got to train,” he says. Really? Did you watch his last fight against Seth Petruzelli? He may need to learn a thing or two.
And you don’t know who former IFL champion Roy Nelson is? “He’s fat,” is all Jackson could muster. Meanwhile Darrill Schoonover has “titties.” Classy.
Jackson then demonstrated poor coaching aptitude in his choice of matchup for the first fight. He picked Abe Wagner, a man lacking in a ground game, to fight against John Madsen, Rashad’s No. 1 wrestler, simply because he was bigger. Not a smart recipe.
And when Wagner was invariably in trouble during the fight, Rampage proceeded to shout out these ringside coaching gems:
“Do what you gotta do, Abe, do what you gotta do.”
“You gotta do something. You gotta do something, Abe.”
Brilliant. In turned out to be a bloody mess, and I’m not just talking about the Wagner getting covered in his own, as he was completely dominated by Madsen.
Considering Jackson’s coaching failures in the opening episode, perhaps it’s a good thing he’s leaving the sport.
Episode 2 airs Wednesday night on Sportsnet (another shameless plug). Let’s hope Rampage does a better job from here on, because it appears this is the last we will be seeing of him in the Octagon in any respect.