Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson may be the most interesting man in MMA. The former UFC champion was part of Pride FC, perhaps the most entertaining promotion in the history of the sport. In fact, ‘Rampage’, who was hilariously marketed as a homeless person by the promotion, was one of the main reasons Pride was so successful and is so fondly remembered by MMA fans even in America. While that would be enough for a lifetime for most other fighters, it was just one part of ‘Rampage’s delightful life.

The Tennessee native went on to join the UFC in 2006 and starred in two seasons of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ before going on a roller coaster of a journey that would make your head spin. ‘Rampage’ actually went to Bellator while still under contract with the UFC because he didn’t like how they were treating him!

He would return to the UFC eventually, only to leave it for good in 2013. And of course, then there are his absolutely hilarious (and sometimes creepy) interviews with the media, which are still worth a watch. Most famously, however (at least for non-MMA fans), the MMA legend starred in the 2010 movie adaptation of ‘The A-Team’ as ‘Bosco Barracus’.

And if ‘Rampage’ is to be believed, this film actually caused the UFC to want him to lose his UFC 118 clash against Rashad Evans. Why? Well, for a quintessential Dana White reason. “They [the UFC] didn’t want me to win because The A-Team wanted to sponsor the mat, and stuff like that ‘cuz it was coming out and stuff like that. And there was a negotiation with Dana and them, and then Dana and them was talking to them and came back and said ‘no.’ You go back and watch, they did The Expendables and then the UFC came asked me to wear The Expendables on my shorts and then A-Team would have been mad as f–k,” Jackson told Evans on his ‘JAXXON’ podcast.

Well, Jackson didn’t totally spell it out here, but it seems he refused to promote ‘The Expendables’ on his apparel and this seemed to have upset Dana White and co. so much that they wanted him to lose. Either way, Jackson did lose a unanimous decision to Evans, which, if Jackson is right, must have delighted the then-UFC President. But Dana White isn’t the only one Jackson has a grouse against- he regrets doing the movie in the first place.

Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson feels almost fleeced by 20th Century Fox

Starring in a movie is a dream come true for many. Starring in a summer blockbuster like The A-Team, alongside creme de la creme of Hollywood like Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Biel would be life-changing for anyone. But not Jackson. While the MMA legend was happy to star in the film, he feels almost financially cheated by 20th Century Fox, who produced and distributed the film.

“I ain’t going to lie I say this in front of everybody, f–k Fox ‘cuz I lost money doing that movie, you know. And then, you know, they basically took advantage of me because I would have done the movie for free. But the night of the fight I got on a private jet and I went across the world to do the press tour and the press tour was f—ing four months. And I did all that- I did the movie, six months in the movie, and four months press tour for $100,000. I lost money doing that,” Jackson said.

Indeed, Jackson was a big MMA star at the time, and could have fought twice in that time and made potentially ten times that money. But there is also another side to this figurative coin. Of course, this film brought Jackson to mainstream attention, and was a global hit. In fact, that is the entire reason someone in the non-MMA world would know of Jackson. The former UFC champ has starred in over ten films since then, but none of them were with a cast remotely as elite as The A-Team. Nor have any of his subsequent films done even a fraction of the $177 million that that film did.

Perhaps Jackson should try to look at the silver lining- most fighters would kill to be in a film like that with as big a role as Jackson had. What do you think about ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s claims that Dana White wanted him to lose against Rashad Evans?