Back on the ‘Rampage’: Quinton Jackson dominates Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92

The most highly anticipated match on the undercard also featured a lopsided TKO finish as Quinton “Rampage” Jackson dominated Wanderlei Silva in the third fight between the two men.  It was Jackson’s first fight since his well publicized hit and run incident in Orange County, California and he looked very sharp throughout before bringing the contest to a close with a perfectly placed left hook to the cheekbone.  Silva immediately collapsed to the canvas and the referee started to step in before he hit the ground.

The Ax Murderer” and “Rampage” have a very eventful shared history.  They fought twice before while superstars in the legendary Japanese promotion Pride FC.  Both matches ended with Silva victorious, the second ending in one of the most violent knockouts in recent fight sports memory.  A lot has changed since the PRIDE days, however, with Silva perhaps nearing the end of his career and “Rampage” ascending to the UFC light heavyweight championship before losing it to Forrest Griffin.

Further questions surrounding Jackson’s future in sport manifest themselves this past summer when he was arrested at gunpoint following a bizarre hit and run traffic accident and police chase through Orange County, CA.  To their credit, the UFC has been supportive of Jackson since the incident occurred with Dana White actually flying to California to bail him out of jail immediately following his arrest.  Though everyone close to the situation has suggested that “Rampage” was OK mentally, emotionally and physically there were some questioning if he should be back in “the octagon” this quickly and particularly against a dangerous opponent like Silva.

If any fighter didn’t look like he belonged, however, it was Silva as he was out of sync from the opening bell and had no answer for Jackson’s sharp punching and physical strength.  After the devastating KO victory, Jackson gave a lot of the credit for the win to his new training home in England, the Wolfslair Gym. 

At this point, Jackson’s next step is a likely rematch with Forrest Griffin who lost the light heavyweight title in the UFC 92 main event.  Should “Rampage” emerge victorious, a title fight against new champ Rashad Evans would appear to be the next logical move.