Unless you’ve been under a rock this week, you’ve probably been following the coverage of Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s unfortunate run in with the Costa Mesa, California police department.

Rampage is facing felony hit-and-run charges stemming from a Tuesday incident where he was chased by police, and the news hasn’t gotten better since them. A video of odd ramblings by Jackson has leaked to the pathetic, muck-racking web site TMZ (seriously, have you ever watched their TV show? Those people are the biggest tools in the world!), and now word is out that Jackson has been again picked up by police and taken to a hospital for observation after Rampage’s own friends became worried about his behavior.

It’s a strange turn in what everyone thought was a straightforward sports story: Jackson losing his championship belt by a questionable decision to Forrest Griffin. Now, as MMA fans, we’re left wondering just what the mental price of losing a such high profile, high pressure fight might be for one of our heroes, as more rumors say the morning of the incident was the first time that Jackson had watched his loss to Forrest Griffin.

I’m a huge fan of Rampage, so this coverage has been hard to watch; that’s why I haven’t covered any of these stories on the blog this week. Rampage has always been portrayed as a fun-loving, laid back guy who just happens to be a terror in the octagon, so that’s why this week’s events are so startling to Rampage fans. As fans we’ll never know what some of these fighters are like behind closed doors, but the responses from those close to Rampage–like Dana White and one of his sponsors, Throwdown–seem to support the idea that Jackson has had some kind of mental collapse.

Sadly, I’m sure opponents of MMA will now point to Rampage’s problems as evidence of the evils of MMA. Their argument will be pretty simple. Something like, “this guy has taken a beating over the span of his career, and it drove him over the edge.” As more information emerges about Jackson’s mental state, it might be a hard argument to refute.

Still, the perhaps the worst part of this situation is now what happens to Jackson’s health and to his career. He’s been hugely popular with fight fans since his days in Pride, and now he was getting the respect he deserved from UFC fans who might not have realized there was MMA outside of the United States. This week’s events have brought his rise in the UFC to a screeching halt; what’s most important now is that he gets his head straight.

Unfortunately, it’s not just a matter of getting back mentally for Jackson. He’s got criminal charges to fight, and most likely other lawsuits to deal with, as a woman involved in the incident claims that Jackson injured her and her unborn child. Regardless of his mental health, it seems like it may be a very long time before we see Jackson back in the cctagon, if ever at all.