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By: Jason Bent, MMATorch Columnist This will be the third time that these two men have faced off, and the first since both have been in the UFC. Both men need this victory, and this is an extremely compelling and significant light heavyweight match up. The former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jackson looks to bounce back from his loss to Griffin, as well as his loss of sanity; and Wanderlei Silva looks to make it three wins over "Rampage" while trying to state the case for a future title shot. So many questions surround this one, but it is without question an anticipated fight that is one of three main event fights on the stacked UFC 92 card.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson knocked out Chuck Liddell to win the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 71 and went on to successfully defend the belt against Dan Henderson before his world turned upside down. Jackson lost his title to Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision after their epic 5 round battle at UFC 86 and then he just snapped.
By now we all know about his "Rampage" which was caused by either Juanito Ibarra not loving him enough or taking too much of his money or too many energy drinks with too little sleep but this incident has got to weigh heavily on his mind. There is no way that he could possibly be 100% focused on training with the legal ramifications from this incident hanging over his head, and if was out of his mind in July, how can he be ready to go in December? Crazy doesn't last as long as a pop song and you can't just snap your fingers and pretend it never happened.
This fight could be the worst thing for him because a loss could send him further over the edge, but at the same time it could serve to take his mind off of the unknown and focus on what he does know, which is fighting. Sometimes the best way to cope with grief of any kind is to immerse yourself in your work, and perhaps Jackson is doing much of the same, but I do not support the decision to have him fight so soon and against such a dangerous opponent when he could be in a compromised state.
Wanderlei Silva did it all in Pride. He soccer kicked the heads of opponents out into the audience and he gave us the "wrist roll," which is scarier than Karl from 'Sling Blade' punctuating his love of french fried potatoes with an exclamatory "Mmmhmm" and giving a disturbed glance that you are happy to not be the recipient of. "The Axe Murderer" was a certifiable monster in Pride but has struggled in the UFC, which has led some to wonder if this is due to fighting in a cage as opposed to a ring, possible use of steroids, the fact that opening rounds in Pride had ten minute time limits and if the officiating in Pride was much more conducive to his fighting style.
I believe it is all of the above with the exception of anabolic steroid use, as there is no proof that he was on them in Pride, and it would be unfair to brand him guilty without absolute knowledge. While I personally feel that he appeared to be enhanced, it is nothing more than a guess and as such it cannot be known if he ever took advantage of the lax testing in Pride. I do believe that the officiating is the main thing that created such a monster in Japan as the referees would routinely stand fighters up when it was not necessary to do so under the guise of providing a more exciting fight for the fans.
It can be argued that this is exactly how Silva was able to defeat Jackson both times in Pride as they were stood up in each bout, with an emphasis on the first fight, where it was clear that Jackson was at a decided advantage. It is also true that fighting in the Octagon or in a cage of any kind is much different from a boxing style ring, and it does have an effect on fighters who employ boxing style tactics to get to their opponent.
In the Octagon you must move closer to the cage and more of a back away and move sideways motion rather than the traditional circling which is prevalent in boxing and was employed successfully by Wanderlei Silva in Pride. Also the corners of a traditional ring are smaller than the angles of the Octagon, and this meant the opponent had less room to work with as he tried to escape Silva's attacks. In the UFC an opponent has more room to get out of the way and no longer can be trapped in a clinch while in the corner and fed a steady diet of knees until he is no longer able to continue.
Fighters accustomed to fighting in a ring cannot simply step into a cage and expect to be able to go about business in the same manner as they did inside of the traditional ring. This is probably another reason why Silva has not looked like nearly as much of a monster in the UFC, and has caused many to wonder if he has lost his edge or something of that nature. I think it is more or less that it is hard to teach the old dog new tricks, and even harder to get him to not revert to what was once so supremely successful. I don't think Silva is less of a fighter than he was in Pride but rather a different one who is now finding his groove and a home inside of the Octagon.
Wanderlei Silva's battle with Chuck Liddell at UFC 79 was three rounds of excitement, and a dream match as fans had wanted the chance to see the two lock up for years. Their bout let no one down, and this was a back and forth war of attrition that was not as easy for Liddell as the scorecards seemed to suggest; but it certainly was not Silva at his best. Again, I think this was more of adapting to the Octagon and having a hard time in doing so and not anything to do with Silva being a shell of his fomer self and past his prime. While the loss to Liddell was his third in a row, it was not as if it was no longer capable of competing but rather that maybe he just wasn't fighting in the same manner that had made him so successful.
The old Wanderlei Silva returned against "The Dean of Mean" Keith Jardine, and in :36 of the first round did much to show us that the hunger and killer instinct are still very much alive as he throttled the tough 'TUF' alum at UFC 84 and served up a display of vintage Silva brutality. Jardine is no joke as he holds victories over both Liddell and Griffin, and bounced back from his loss to Silva by defeating Brandon Vera at UFC 89. Since Jardine has a reputation of being such a hit or miss fighter it seemed to most that this KO loss to Silva was more a case of him missing rather than Wanderlei Silva recapturing his old form. I truly believe this was the latter and that Silva really did find a way to bring his old style to the new world of the UFC, and that this is indicative of how he could fight in the future.
For Quinton Jackson to win this fight he is going to have to be able to leave everything at the door of the Octagon and simply be able to go to work once inside. If he is mentally and physically sharp then it becomes a matter of avoiding Silva's clinch and taking him down in order to unleash some ground and pound on his foe. One only has to look back at the first meeting with Silva in Pride and wonder what would have happened had the referee not stood the two men up when it was clear that Jackson was in control.
Odds are such that this would not happen on December 27, and if Jackson can get Silva down and control him it is likely he could grind out Silva and get a huge victory at UFC 92. Jackson needs this fight, as I seriously do worry about what could happen if he were to lose and finds himself unable to cope as he did in the days after his loss to Griffin. At any rate if he is to get a shot at Griffin or Evans any time soon he is going to need to get the win in this bout; and it begins and ends with the takedown for "Rampage."
For Wanderlei Silva to win this bout it is going to take him being capable of defending the takedown and keeping this one standing for as long as possible. I see no reason why Silva will be unable to employ the clinch, and if he can do so it is certain that he would uncork some vicious knees that could easily end this one early and brutally. After two fights inside of the Octagon it should be a given that Silva has reached a comfort level and should no longer be at any sort of disadvantage due to fighting inside of a cage. It is likely that Jackson will be cautious to start this one and that could provide the opening for Silva to get this one underway and gain control of his opponent with deadly strikes. If Wanderlei can put his foot on the gas it is likely that he plays the role of a truck and Jackson looks like California sidewalk in what should be an entertaining affair for as long as it shall last.
Bent's Prediction: Wanderlei Silva by 2nd Round TKO
Had I been asked to pick a winner in this bout immediately following Jackson's loss to Griffin, but before his loss of mental capacity, I would have predicted "Rampage" as the winner. Here we are a few months later and there is no way that I could pick Jackson in this fight, but he certainly does have more than a chance to win. If he can show up in shape and ready to go with the ability to forget about everything else once he steps inside the Octagon, he has a good chance at winning. I just believe it is impossible for him to be able to do so.
Jackson lost to Griffin in a disputed decision and then went off either due to this loss or Juanito Ibarra taking his money and his sanity before he downed fifty Red Bulls and slept less than Dustin Hoffman while filming 'Marathon Man.' So now, he is being put back into the Octagon on the undercard of a Forrest Griffin UFC Light Heavyweight title defense in the main event.
He snapped after the loss to Griffin, and you can be certain that the loss had at least something to do with his curious outbursts, and now you force the man who felt he was robbed of his belt to fight on the undercard. In some respect this whole situation is just begging for Jackson to go off once again.
Imagine your wife left you and took your dog and your brand new mid-life crisis Corvette. When she left you it was all over town and you made the papers for trashing your house during a heated argument. Now, imagine it has been a few months and you are trying to just get your life back on track and leave it all in the past. You just happen to be at the beach trying to relax for a moment and suddenly you see your wife's new man pulling up in YOUR Corvette directly on the beach so that he can have some tunes blaring from YOUR awesome stereo system before playing a game of frisbee with YOUR dog. That's right. The dog who wouldn't refrain from licking his ass long enough to even look at you is now doing his best 'Air Bud' impersonation and playing a game with a Matthew McConaughey clone. There is no way that you had forgotten about everything that you had lost, but the last thing you would need is to be reminded of it so soon and be forced to deal with it all over again.
"Rampage" has to be reminded of everything he lost before staring across the Octagon and looking into the eyes of a man who has beaten him twice before. I really don't think Jackson should be back in there and fighting anyone just yet, but I really think it is a bad idea to place him on a card such as this when it is possible that it could send him spiraling downward once again if he were to lose.
Dana White posted bail for Jackson, and has defended him in the press and told everyone who would listen about how much he cares for "Rampage." Well, this fight proves to me that Dana doesn't really care about Jackson and may be looking to just squeeze a few more drops of juice out of him by feeding a man in a weakened state to the wolves. Can anyone really say that Jackson won't go off the deep end after a loss?
Is Jackson strong enough mentally to handle such a thing? He certainly wasn't after losing his belt to Griffin, so I would worry just what could happen if he loses and would suggest he wait a little longer if I were his friend. A loss to Silva could do severe damage to Jackson emotionally and also professionally as this would surely keep him from getting a title shot so soon. If Jackson does lose and happens to go off on a bender we would also have to cast some blame on the UFC for putting him back in there so soon. "The Axe Murderer" might chop Jackson's head off but its possible that "Rampage" could be entering this fight with it not firmly attached just yet.
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