by Nick Meyer, BetUS.com – BET NOW

UFC superstar Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s retirement announcement came as a surprise to many in the MMA world, but to put it bluntly, “shocked” is probably not the correct word.

Anyone who saw the first episode of “The Ultimate Fighter Heavyweights” with Kimbo Slice could tell that Rampage wasn’t embracing his role as a coach and almost seemed burned out on the whole thing.

When one of his first picks on the show, Abe Wagner, was getting thoroughly dominated in his fight, Rampage’s only coaching advice was to tell him “Abe, he’s doing the same thing over and over!” and to “get up!” when he was repeatedly taken down.

Rampage seemed more interested in cracking jokes and jawing with Rashad Evans than he did in the actual MMA aspect of the show, teaching, and coaching his fighters, and that was the first red flag we saw from the show.

The second clue that Rampage might have had retirement on his minds obviously was his pursuit of an acting career and the postponement of the Evans fight.

Rampage has had a lot of injuries like every other fighter, which he pointed to in his retirement statement, and he clearly had his eye on trying something new, especially since the movie industry is more lucrative.

Rampage will star in the upcoming A-Team remake as B.A. Baracus, a role he simply couldn’t turn down because it was one of his favorite TV characters growing up.

The UFC was good to Rampage, but it’s not like he was turning down a Floyd Mayweather-style multi-million dollar contract here.

And while Dana White’s trademark style of challenging guys and giving “Do you wanna be a &%$*ing fighter!?” speeches works on up-and-comers, it’s likely that his similar response to Rampage’s request to postpone the Evans fight in order to star in the A-Team movie likely didn’t go well with the hard-headed (inside and outside the Octagon) fighter.

It’s too bad that we might never see Rampage and Evans settle their feud with their fists, a fight in which Rampage would have been the favorite, but when you step back and look critically at the situation, you can’t blame Jackson too much for walking away.

MMA is perhaps the toughest sport on the planet and Jackson has had more than 30 fights in his pro career. He already tasted championship glory once and truth be told, his style doesn’t seem like a good matchup for Lyoto Machida.

The road back to the title would be a long and hard one and the financial rewards just aren’t the same for a guy with Jackson’s personality who could go on to be a big-earning movie star, albeit not in serious roles, but his name recognition and personality could definitely propel him to find a solid niche in Hollywood.

Sometimes you just have to know when to walk away. While the timing was awful for the UFC and Jackson should take a little heat for not living up to his commitment to fighting Evans, it’s hard to blame a guy who puts his future and his family above all else.