Rampage & Wanderlei Silva Want Fifth Fight To End Rivalry
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Wanderlei Silva’s mixed martial arts (MMA) rivalry isn’t going anywhere.
The two heavy hitters have been a staple in the sport for the past few decades. Initially, the pair squared off for the first time ever under the Pride banner. The Brazilian finished Jackson via first round TKO. One year later, Jackson sought redemption when he met Silva again in Pride. Unfortunately, the result was the same, with Jackson losing via second-round knockout.
Four years later, both Jackson and Silva would find their way into the UFC. They were booked for a third fight at UFC 92 in December of 2008. “Rampage” finally extracted his revenge. He brutally knocked out “The Axe Murderer” in the first round.
A decade later, both men are now inked to deals with Bellator MMA. They co-main evented this past weekend’s (Sat. September 29, 2018) Bellator 206 pay-per-view (PPV) card. In the fourth meeting of a series that was in favor of Silva 2-1, Jackson evened the odds.
Jackson picked up his first win since 2016 by finishing Silva in the second round via TKO. Despite the series sitting at a 2-2, with both men in their 40s, their desire for a fifth fight is mutual. Silva said in the post-fight press conference that real rivalries don’t exist in MMA anymore. He and Jackson’s is one of the last ones (via MMA Junkie):
“Real rivals don’t exist anymore,” Silva said. “This is one of the last ones. Four fights, never go to the points. Now we have to have the fifth fight.
“I accept already. I hope he accept too because he beat me two times, I beat him two times and now have to have fifth fight to decide. … Next time I’m going to cut your head.”
Jackson wasn’t expecting a fifth fight to even be a discussion. Now that it is, “Rampage” is game:
“Honestly I wasn’t thinking about a fifth fight because last time I beat Wanderlei he dropped weight classes,” Jackson said. “It’s a dream come true that he comes up to heavyweight because I’m like, ‘Damn, I’m too fat to fight Wanderlei now.’ But he came up to heavyweight, which means he’s a true soldier.
“He came up after the fight and said, ‘You know, we’re 2-2. Somebody’s got to be the victor.’ He said it, so it surprised the hell out of me. I’m down with a fifth fight, but I don’t know if (Bellator President) Scott (Coker) is down with a fifth fight. But I’m down for the fifth fight.”
