And it is official. Almost. According to Yahoo Sports and Sherdog, Rampage is going to be fighting Wanderlei at the December card that also will have Big Nog submi- I mean fighting Mir. So the question is, will the third time be the charm for Rampage winning? Or for Wanderlei permenantly breaking something on Jackson's face via a series of knees to the face like the last two times?
Moved to Fight Discussions. I've only seen the first fight in its entirety, although the ending to the second was awesomely brutal. Anyway, I think it can be argued that Wanderlei is just slightly past his prime, while Rampage is probably right at his prime right now. I think the environment of a UFC match might also favor Rampage somewhat, because he'll be able to use his elbows to the head while on the ground, and won't get soccer-kicked if a takedown fails. His boxing has improved since the other fights (which were about five years ago, I think), and is lightyears ahead, on a technical level, than Wanderlei's. However, there's still some question marks about Rampage. Has he worked on his leg-kick defense? Has he recovered from his mental breakdown? What will his preparation at Wolfslair look like? How does fighting the same guy he's already lost to twice affect him mentally? As for Silva, he looked pretty good in a losing effort to Liddell, although not with his trademark agression, and he really had no answer to the versitile attack Liddell offered that night. His match with Jardine saw him at his savage best, but the match itself was too short to tell us anything other than, "if Wanderlei smells an opening, he will mess you up". I'd like to see if training at Xtreme Couture has helped him develop a game plan he can stick to. I'm a tremendous Silva fan, but if Rampage gets his head screwed on right, I think his more technical boxing and his takedown/ground-and-pound game (if he chooses to employ it) will be enough to either get a decission or a cut stoppage.
As much as I dislike Jackson's style I have to admit he's a tremendous fighter. I think we're in agreement that this comes down to the mentality of both fighters. With Jackson's history recent I don't know if he'll be able to focus enough to ignore his own fight history with Wanderlei. I know it'd mess up my concentration. Either way it's going to be one hell of a fight.
Although Jackson's boxing is better technically than Wandys he was out struck (including outpunched) by him in both their previous fights. Wandy throws wide looping punches that look sloopy but he puts together very fast, powerful combos that are also extremely accurate. In the second fight it is the punch he lands that hurts Rampage and allows Silva to finish him off with knees. I think Jacksons key to winning this fight is to GNP, pure and simple. He did damage without elbows in their first two fights, with elbows he could TKO Silva on the ground IMHO. Personally I'm rooting for Silva because he's a true fighting legend but I think it could go either way, WAR SILVA!
I don't give a damn what you all say, Wanderlei Silva was the PRIDE middleweight champion for 6 years, that's gotta count for something. History will repeat itself, you guys will see.
