Bleacher Report - Quinton Jackson

MMA Movies Getting Credit at Hollywood Award Shows?

Jon Grilz — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:51:31 -0500

Mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport in America. It is about time the Academy got off their f***ing asses and started to recognize.

In the last few years the market for mixed martial arts movies has grown while their budget has shrank. Redbelt and Never Back Down started MMA on its way into Hollywood's septic system.

However, their somewhat lackluster success or sheer ridiculousness in terms of plot have lead many major studios to pass on such movies.

However, this writer thinks that the next Rocky is just on the horizon, and so does the Academy.

As the award season is just on the horizon, rumors of several mixed martial arts-themed awards at The Golden Globes and Academy Awards swirl.

The following are some the categories to expect and their predicted winners:

Best Director/Writer that Also Attempted to Act in a Leading Role in an MMA Movie :

Hector Echavarria as "Reneiro" in Never Surrender

Best Fighter that Doesn't Speak in a Supporting Role:

Anderson Silva as "Fighter" in Never Surrender

Best Use of Capoeira by a Heavyweight Fighter:

Heath Herring as "Stone" in Never Surrender

Best Use of a Snap Kick as a Legitimate Offensive Weapon in an MMA Movie:

Hector Echavarria as "Reneiro" in Never Surrender

Best Exploitation of Prostitutes that the Main Character Will Later Grow Fond of:

Every woman in Never Surrender

Best Pretend Friends in an MMA Movie:

BJ Penn and Quinton Jackson as BJ Penn and Quinton Jackson in Never Surrender

Best MMA Fighter in an Acting Role:

Georges St. Pierre in Death Warrior (no, seriously, he wasn't that bad)

Best Entrance by a Man Who Has Five Seconds to Show Up Before His Sister is Decapitated Even Though He Has No Way of Knowing He Has Five Seconds To Show Up Before She is Decapitated

Keith Jardine as "Andre" in Death Warrior

Best Boom Operator in an MMA Movie:

Alex van der Meulen in Death Warrior

Best Use of a DVD Box Cover to Make You Think That MMA Fighters Are The Stars:

Tie: Never Surrender and Death Warrior

Most Depressed Writer Whose Life is So Empty That He Watched Both Never Surrender and Death Warrior (only one nominee dumb enough):

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Acting Bug Bites UFC Star Rashad Evans in 'Death Warrior'

MMAMadness.com — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:17:33 -0500

Written by Paul Delos Santos

Rashad Evans learned a little something about how difficult it is to be an actor when he was filming the movie Death Warrior.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion learned that throwing fake punches can just be as difficult as throwing a real punch.

“I didn’t think (acting) would be hard,” Evans admitted.

The movie was Evans’ acting debut, and he said that the acting bug has bitten him. He has already signed on to do another project with the executive producer, writer, and actor in the film, Hector Echavarria.

Evans is just one of many mixed martial artist featured prominently in the Lionsgate film, which was released on DVD on Dec. 1. The others involved: Evans’ teammates Georges St. Pierre and Keith Jardine, and Evans’ rival coach from The Ultimate Fighter Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

The movie features a story revolving around a fighter who was thrown into a underground fighting circuit in order to save his wife and family. As the plot unwinds, he discovers the true mastermind behind the organization and prepares for a showdown with him.

For St. Pierre and Jackson, it marks a return to working with Eschavarria after the two worked with him on another MMA film, Never Surrender , which was released earlier this year. Never Surrender , another Lionsgate film, also features other MMA stars such as Heath Herring, Anderson Silva, and B.J. Penn.

In that film, Eschavarria played a champion lured to the appeal of the underground fight scene and is found fighting for his life.

Eschavarria is well known among fighter circles, and has been training in martial arts since he was 4-years-old. He has worked with some of the fighters in the film including Jackson, who he trained prior to the fights with Chuck Liddell and Dan Henderson.

It’s all part of Eschavarria’s plan to help grow the sport of MMA and do what he considers giving back to the sport that helped him.

As for Evans, fans shouldn’t fret that one of their favorite fighters is leaving the cage fulltime to pursue an acting career.

“I’m not going to quit fighting to act,” said the 30-year-old fighter, who is slated to return to the Octagon on Jan. 2 as part of UFC 108 in Las Vegas against Thiago Silva.

For more information about Death Warrior visit deathwarriormovie.com . You can also purchase the movie through the Web site.

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Rampage Jackson's MMA Return in Store for 2010

Bryan Levick — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:23:39 -0500

Yes, MMA fans all over the world have received an early Christmas present this year.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson has announced that he will be ending his self-imposed exile from the UFC and return to take on nemesis, Rashad Evans.

In a brief statement released on his web site , Jackson stated that he intended to come back to the UFC and fulfill his contractual obligations.

His main reason for coming back was his fans, although he did say that he was also returning to shut Rashad's mouth along with Dana White's.

Once he is done with that, he will return to making movies. On another note, Jackson hinted about partaking in a yearly boxing match to keep himself in shape.

Now, I don't know about you, but I was pretty sure that Jackson would be returning at some point.

The animosity between Rampage and Evans continued to fester throughout The Ultimate Fighter 10 season.

It was Evans's team that has the two finalists fighting for the six-figure contract tomorrow night, and that has had to have a profound effect on Jackson.

During the show's last episode, a dejected and emotional Jackson admitted to the cameras that he not only wanted Marcus Jones to win his semifinal bout with Brendan Schaub to help further his own career, but he also had selfish reasons.

He had truly hoped that even though his team was dominated during the show, having one of his men win the whole thing would have given him the edge over Evans.

I cannot wait for these two to hook 'em up. I relish the day that Jackson puts Evans to sleep, not unlike Dan Henderson's knockout of fellow big mouth coach, Michael Bisping.

Jackson has been storing all of the nonsense that Evans has doled out during the season, with plans on using it once the cage door shuts behind them.

Jackson was not without his moments, but he at least had a humorous spin on his actions.

From placing chickens in Rashad's SUV, to transforming the Team Rashad warm-up room into a little girls princess fantasy, Jackson has maintained a good sense of humor for the most part.

Evans has repeatedly tried to goad Jackson into a physical altercation, but thankfully Jackson remained calm, and refused to risk a major payday by beating Evans for free.

Two great fighters who truly can't stand for each other, whether or not the past two seasons will produce the next UFC star, it has been used to promote the grudge matches in a great way.

Who do you got in this bout between former UFC light-heavyweight champions?

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Rampage Returns, Seeks Rashad Evans and Dana White

Erik Fontanez — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:52:15 -0500

In a time where Hollywood and movie star life styles attract a handful of MMA talent, a new twist presented itself late Wednesday night when Quinton Rampage Jackson announced that he will return to the UFC.

Rampage posted a short venting session on his website’s blog, temporarily ending his retirement from the world of mixed martial arts:

“All Rampage fans don't trip if haters come on OUR website and talk crap. Don't reply because the webmaster will delete it off anyway. Give it no energy cause you never know who it is, how old they are, or if they're retards or not and you'll feel real bad if you found out you were arguing with a retard.

"I've noticed that the UFC and TUF have some fans brainwashed or something. They still haven't realized yet that the TV show is just a TV show. I did my job by entertaining people and if you ever paid any attention to me, that's what I'm known for doing.

"Now, I wanted to let my fans know that I'm going to come back to the UFC and finish my contract. Not because the haters are talking shit about me being scared of Rashad or Titties or anybody else. I'm coming back for my fans and to shut Rashad's mouth up and shut Dana's mouth up. Then after that I'm going back to doing movies and I might do a boxing match once a year just to stay in shape. Hate on dis!”

Apparently, it took only a few words to be thrown around in the blogoshere to ignite Jackson’s fighting fire. Temper flaring, Rampage will seek a return to the UFC to finish his contract, put his nemesis, Rashad Evans, in check and to stick it to his boss Dana White.

Given the relatively early nature of the announcement, no word on who or when Rampage will be fighting, but, it will likely be Rashad Evans and as soon as possible. The UFC president, as outspoken as he is, will surely make a comment about Jackson’s announcement in a short amount of time.

With Rashad Evans already set to fight Thiago Silva in just under a month, Rampage will surely have to wait to meet his Ultimate Fighter coaching advisory. Judging by the schedule, a tangle between Jackson and Evans can go down at UFC 111 in New Jersey, or even as early as UFC 110 in Australia.

The cat fight between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans may finally come to an end. Now, the fans and media wait patiently as Dana White, Joe Silva and the rest of UFC upper management do some shuffling to make this fight happen. Oh, the anticipation.

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Back on the Rampage: Quinton Jackson Will Return to the UFC

Tim Bock — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:27:48 -0500

Two-and-a-half months after saying that he “was done fighting,” and that he would instead concentrate on his acting career, former UFC light-heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has apparently had a change of heart.

Jackson posted a new blog minutes ago on his web site. Here is a portion of what he had to say:

"Now, I wanted to let my fans know that I’m going to come back to the UFC and finish my contract. Not because the haters are talking shit about me being scared of Rashad or Titties or anybody else. I’m coming back for my fans and to shut Rashad’s mouth up and shut Dana’s mouth up. Then after that I’m going back to doing movies and I might do a boxing match once a year just to stay in shape. Hate on dis!"

It doesn’t seem as if Jackson is exactly thrilled to go back to the UFC, but feels obligated to at least finish up his contract with the organization. Jackson was signed to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 107 on Dec. 12. The event takes place in Memphis, TN, Jackson’s hometown.

After Jackson pulled out of the fight and said he would instead concentrate on acting, the UFC scrambled and put B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez in the main event.

Jackson made no mention of a timetable for his return, or if a fight with fellow Evans would be his first fight back.

With the rash of recent injuries to top stars Anderson Silva, Brock Lesnar, and Georges St. Pierre, Dana White and the UFC may have offered Jackson a tidy sum of money to come back and finish his contract. I’m sure more details will emerge in the coming days.

From www.mmagroundnpound.com

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