Things should get very interesting for Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and all of MMA starting, say, next weekend.

On Friday, June 11, The A-Team premieres in North American theatres. One of its stars is, of course, Rampage, who plays the Mr. T. Role, B.A. Baracus. I can’t help but wonder if the release of the high-budget, high-profile picture presents a boom/bust opportunity for MMA’s popularity.

Rampage was already one of the most recognizable mixed martial artists in the world. Now, whether the movie bombs or not, it will still draw big enough audiences to probably make Rampage the most famous mixed martial artist alive. That means, more than ever, that he’ll be forced to become an ambassador for the sport.

The next question: would that be a good thing for the fight business? The Los Angeles Times already published a controversial piece on Rampage this week, painting him as a foul-mouthed, chauvinistic, homophobic man. In most sports, that type of image “puts bums in seats,” as stars with attitude draw media attention and attract ratings.

But the UFC and MMA in general are different in that virtually all of their athletes, whether it’s fair or not, are already cast in a controversial light. The outsider’s perspective doesn’t often see mixed martial artists as disciplined athletes who combine skills like Karate with the cerebral Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu strategy game. It instead focuses on the F-bombs, tattoos, energy drinks,  ring girls, Affliction T-shirts and, most of all, the blood.

Unfortunately, few mixed martial artists embody the “Xtreme” stereotype like Rampage does. He’s brash, he howls like a dog, he gets in car crashes, he wears a huge chain around neck…and he goes by the name “Rampage,” for cryin’ out loud! His overexposure could cement the negative MMA stereotype. It’s a shame that Randy Couture’s upcoming mega-movie The Expendables wasn’t released before the A-Team, as Couture is a much better spokesman for the sport. The real solution would be to cast the eloquent, honorable Georges St-Pierre in something. Anything.

Worse yet, Rampage has openly admitted that he “almost regrets doing the damn movie.” He blamed it for his loss against wrestling juggernaut Rashad Evans last week and is openly uncomfortable with the upcoming PR tour he must do for The A-Team. If Rampage really doesn’t want to be there at every tour stop, chances are he won’t be the friendliest cast member to interview. That makes it even more likely that he’ll make immature, off-the-cuff remarks.

The hardest part for the rest of MMA is that it didn’t have a say in all this. Rampage can’t be faulted – he has to live his own life – but there’s no questioning that his decision could potentially impact the way the rest of the world sees MMA. It’s how the media machine works these days. In this era of sound bites and YouTube clips, one bad apple can spoil a sport’s already-fragile global reputation.

By Matt Larkin
Guest Writer