UFC 92 Preview: Rampage Jackson Vs. Wanderlei Silva

A favorite quip of wrestling announcers when describing a match is, "This match could be a main event in anywhere in the country!" In looking at the top three matches of this Saturday's UFC 92: The Ultimate pay-per-view, it's actually true.

Since this doesn't have a belt involved, we'll begin the first installment of the Ropes, Ring and Cage preview of UFC 92 with former Light Heavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson vs. former PRIDE Middleweight (205) Champion Wanderlei Silva.

On Jackson (28-7)

If a pro wrestling fan had never seen MMA before, I'd point him immediately in the direction of Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, a bad-ass man that can talk as well as he can fight. Jackson came to the UFC thanks to Zuffa's acquisition of the World Cagefighting Alliance, done because they wanted him so badly.

Jackson made his MMA name in Japan's PRIDE, where he began in 2001. He compiled a 24-6 record in the organization, defeating Chuck Liddell, Murilo "Ninja" Rua, and more, but losing twice to Silva.

After a win over Matt Lindland in the WFA, the one-man sports entertainment show of Jackson came to the UFC and a much broader audience.

After knocking out Marvin Eastman, Jackson got his shot at Light Heavyweight Champion Liddell in a rematch nearly four years in the making. He won the belt by finishing off "The Iceman" in the first round and would go on to down Dan Henderson before losing the belt in an upset to Forrest Griffin in July.

That would begin a downward spiral for the popular 30-year-old, who went on a much-publicized joy ride through southern California that ended in his arrest for several felonies.

As he awaits his day in court, Jackson switched gyms to London's Wolfslair Academy. In just a few days, we'll see whether the switch made a difference.

On Silva (32-8-1-1)

The Brazilian-born Silva has been a pro fighter for 12 years, first starting in his homeland and joining UFC for the first time in 1998, going 1-2 in losses to Vitor Belfort and then-Middleweight (now Light Heavyweight) Champion Tito Ortiz.

He found work quickly, heading to PRIDE and making a major name for himself with 20 straight fights in five years without a loss (18-1-1). He defeated PRIDE Middleweight Champion Kaz Sakuraba in November 2001 and didn't relinquish the belt until dropping it to the afore-mentioned Henderson via knockout in February 2007.

"The Axe Murderer" returned to UFC in 2007 and lost his first fight to Liddell via unanimous decision last December. He bounced back in strong fashion, knocking out Keith Jardine in less than 40 seconds at UFC 84 in May and will look to defeat Jackson in their third-career match this Saturday.

Breakdown

This is one of the tougher matches to pick on the card because both Silva and Jackson are evenly-matched and neither have a lot of momentum going in.

Jackson has more questions to answer as there will be some expectation of improvement after he moved to a new country with a new trainer.

A win over Silva will put him back in line for a title shot, and a rematch with Griffin (if he can survive Rashad Evans) would be a perfect headliner for UFC 100 in July.

At 32, Silva is still somewhat of an unknown commodity to UFC fans as his two fights have been decidedly different in outcome. While far from over-the-hill, he can use a victory over Jackson as his own claim for the Light Heavyweight title and damn near demand it if he wins in convincing fashion.

Neither Silva nor Rampage are submission fighters and traditionally beat their opponents into submission or go the distance. These two battled twice in PRIDE with Silva taking both wins thanks to devastating knee strikes, the first fight ending after Silva connected with 17 straight of them. We think Jackson will finally break through this time.

RRC Prediction

Rampage Jackson via first-round TKO

Josh Nason—josh [at] ropesringandcage [dot com]—has published MMA, wrestling, and boxing blog Ropes, Ring and Cage.com since 2007. If you are using any content or recapping from this site, please include a link to www.ropesringandcage.com. Thank you for your support!