Rarely has a rivalry been so prolific that the competitors want to
face one another a fifth time.
At Pride Final Conflict 2003, Wanderlei
Silva and Quinton
Jackson battled it out in the finals of the 2003 middleweight
(205 pounds) tournament. After six-plus minutes of combat, Silva
emerged the victor courtesy of a seemingly unending series of knees
and soccer kicks. The two met again nearly one year later at Pride
28, this time for the Pride middleweight strap on the line. Silva
ultimately decimated his rival with knees in the second stanza,
causing a bloodied “Rampage” to fall through the ropes after
getting knocked out.
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The story was not over despite two knockout victories in favor of
the Brazilian, as both former Pride Fighting Championships fighters made
their way to the Ultimate Fighting Championship after the
former’s dissolution. At UFC 92 in December 2008, the 205-pound
sluggers met for a third time in a title eliminator, and Jackson
got the upper hand by starching Silva with a left hook and a few
follow-up punches.
Both men departed the UFC banner and traveled to Bellator MMA, where almost a decade after their third
encounter, they fought for a fourth time at Bellator 206. Unlike
the first three matches, this bout took place at heavyweight, as
Jackson no longer could reach the 206-pound limit. “Rampage” evened
the score at two wins apiece by clubbing Silva with a flurry that
forced referee Mike Beltran to step in.
Over 20 years after their first fight, the two want to settle the
score in a fifth clash, however different from the rest. In a
recent interview on
“The MMA Hour,” Jackson discussed his upcoming boxing match
with Shannon Briggs, while also mentioning he would not mind taking
on Rashad
Evans or Silva after defeating Briggs in June. “The Axe
Murderer” replied on social media
shortly after that, with a video where he accepted Jackson’s
challenge.
“Get ready, Quinton
Jackson,” Silva stated, “your time is coming. The challenge is
more than accepted, and Wand will hang you on the ropes again.”
At 45, the former UFC light heavyweight king will make his
professional boxing debut in Qatar against ex-heavyweight boxing
champ Briggs. The two will collide for eight rounds on June 1, in
what will be Jackson’s first foray into combat sports—barring an
appearance with Bob Sapp in
Fight Circus—since a knockout loss to Fedor
Emelianenko in December 2019. On the other hand, the
47-year-old Silva has not competed since his fourth fight with
Jackson.