From the Octagon to the big screen: Five fighters who swapped MMA for Hollywood

Over the years it has become something of a tradition that the biggest stars in the world of Mixed Martial Arts make the jump to Hollywood either shortly before or shortly after they retire from the sport.

From the likes of MMA pioneers Don Frye and Bas Rutten through to modern era stars Urijah Faber and current UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, fighters making the transition from the cage to the silver screen is something that looks set to continue for a long time to come, particularly considering the UFC is now owned by talent management powerhouse WME-IMG.

While it is an established career move that many have tried, not all have been equally successful.

Let's take a look at five of the biggest names to successfully transition from the bright lights of the Octagon to the equally bright lights of Hollywood.

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1. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson

'The A Team' Japan Premiere

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson already had a handful of TV and film appearances before getting his big break playing the iconic B.A Baracus in the 2010 film adaptation of classic TV show The A-Team, appearing alongside Hollywood A-list stars Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson.

After bouncing back from losing his UFC title to Forrest Griffen by picking up a pair of wins over Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine, "Rampage" passed on the opportunity to headline UFC 107 in his hometown of Memphis in order to shoot the movie. A bold decision to make considering he was likely only a win or two away from getting a shot at earning his title back.

Jackson struggled to recapture his previous form when he eventually made his UFC return at UFC 114, dropping a unanimous decision to long time rival Rashad Evans which kicked off a disappointing run which saw the former champion put together a record of 2-4-0 before leaving the UFC.

Since then of course, Jackson has gone on to find a new lease of life with Bellator, building a record of 6-2-0 with the promotion while continuing to balance acting work with his fighting career.

2. Randy Couture

'The Expendables 3' Premiere - The 67th Annual Cannes Film Festival

Like many of the fighters in this list, Randy "The Natural" Couture started taking small film roles during the height of his career but only really started to get serious about acting as he approached the end of his time competing in the Octagon.

From his film debut as "Fighter #8" in the Jet Li and Aaliyah action classic, Cradle 2 The Grave (2003), Couture has gone on to stack up an impressive number of film credits.

"The Natural" got his big break playing Toll Road in the iconic blockbuster action movie The Expendables (2010) and has remained an important part of the franchise ever since, appearing alongside legends of the genre such as Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris, to name just a few.

In addition to his work on the three Expendables movies, Couture secured a recurring role in the modern adaptation of classic TV show Hawaii Five-O. With a number of other projects currently in pre and post production, the future appears bright for the former two weight UFC champion.

3. Ronda Rousey

Premiere Of Universal Pictures' 'Furious 7' - Arrivals

"Rowdy" Ronda Rousey caught her Hollywood break alongside another member of this list, Randy Couture, playing Luna in The Expendables 3 (2014), managing to find time for filming in between successful defences of her UFC bantamweight title.

Rousey's feature film debut was followed by an appearance in the seventh installment of the blockbuster Fast & Furious franchise in 2015. Shortly after the films release, Rousey notoriously lost her beloved title in dramatic fashion as she found herself emphatically knockout out by Holly Holm at UFC 193.

Understandably, the 31-year-old stepped away from the limelight for some time as she dealt with the mental aspect of finally being handed her first MMA loss and as a result, her film career was placed on hold.

Fast forward three years later, and Rousey is happily "retired" from Mixed Martial Arts, has been enshrined into the UFC Hall of Fame and is pursuing a career as a budding WWE star. Now that "Rowdy" Ronda is enjoying life once again she has also made her return to Hollywood, with a starring role alongside movie legend Mark Wahlberg in Mile 22 (2018).

4. Gina Carano

Gina Carano as Angel Dust in Deadpool (2016)

While many have made the swift from a career as a professional Mixed Martial Artist to a career as a legitimate actor, few have been quite as successful as Gina Carano.

The WMMA pioneer has moved seamlessly from trailblazing the way for women in Mixed Martial Arts to building a truly successful life as an actor. After making her film debut in Blood and Bone (2009), Carano landed the starring role in Steven Soderbergh's Haywire (2011), appearing along side Hollywood A-list starts Channing Tatum, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Michael Fassbender.

Since that breakout performance, Carano has consistently landed work in major motion pictures including a memorable performance as Angel Dust in the 2016 action comedy classic Deadpool, as well as making an appearance in the sixth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise (2013).

Carano has two films in post production set to be released early next year, including an appearance as the lead in 'Daughter of the Wolf' alongside the Hollywood icon Richard Dreyfus.

5. Keith Jardine

Keith Jardine and Jason Statham in Crank: High Voltage (2009)

While "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine may not have achieved the same level of success as some of the fighters in our list, there can be no doubt that he has managed to establish himself as a legitimate actor.

Jardine made his first forays into acting during the twilight of his MMA career, making brief appearances in a number of films as well as an entertaining, albeit uncredited, cameo in Breaking Bad where he was on the receiving end of a beating from Walter White's brother in law Hank.

Since retiring from MMA in 2012, the former fan favourite has devoted himself to acting full time and has racked up a number of roles in major movies including appearances in John Wick (2014) and Logan (2017) as well as recurring roles in TV shows such as Netflix's Godless (2017), Shameless (2017) and Preacher (2016).

With two acting credits to his name already this year and a further four films in production, Jardine has firmly planted himself within the film industry and it appears his star is absolutely on the rise.