"Best fight of my career" - Former UFC champion calls for "tie breaker" matchup against Wanderlei Silva on 15th anniversary of their trilogy fight
Former UFC champion Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, on the 15th anniversary of his trilogy bout with Wanderlei Silva, had an interesting message for 'The Axe Murderer.'
A twitter account named @MMAHistoryToday uploaded a post on social media, celebrating 15 years since the third fight between Jackson and Silva, which took place way back on December 27, 2008. In the caption of the post, the win was labelled "the most gratifying victory" of 'Rampage's' career.
Jackson responded to the tweet by sharing his agreement with the caption. The 45-year-old then showed his respect toward 'The Axe Murderer' and called for a fifth fight to settle the score between the two.
"True that.. best fight of my career respect [Wanderlei Silva though],we need a tie breaker."
Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva locked horns against each other on four separate occasions in MMA. Their first encounter took place at the Pride Final Conflict 2003 event, which was held in Tokyo, Japan in November 2003. The Brazilian emerged victorious in that bout via TKO.
The two athletes were scheduled for a rematch at Pride 28 in October, 2004. Once again, Silva proved himself to be the better fighter as he knocked Jackson out in the second round.
The two met again in December 2008 but this time, the fight took place under the UFC banner. At UFC 92, 'Rampage' finally got the better of Silva and defeated him via knockout in the first round.
Their fourth and final bout took place nearly 10 years later at Bellator 206 in September 2018. Jackson equalled Wanderlei for wins that night by scoring a second-round knockout and going 2-2 against the Brazilian overall.
How did Wanderlei Silva do in the UFC?
Wanderlei Silva started his UFC journey way back in October 1998. 'The Axe Murderer' competed in 12 UFC fights over a period of nearly 15 years, but only managed to win five of those encounters.
During his time in the multi-billion dollar promotion, the Brazilian shared the octagon with the likes of Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping and Chris Leben, among others.
Silva's last UFC fight took place in March 2013 when he went toe-to-toe against Brian Stann in a light heavyweight clash in Saitama, Japan. The 47-year-old emerged victorious that night via second-round KO and then proceeded to part ways with the promotion.