Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Rampage Jackson - Pride Final Conflict 2003 -First Fight
Year : 2003
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva versus Quinton "Rampage" Jackson is a mixed martial arts series of fights that began in the now-defunct Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. All four fights have been televised live on pay-per-view.
The Quadrilogy features four particularly violent fights in mixed martial arts, with all four contests ending in a knockout or technical knockout. On two occasions, the loser of the fight was rendered unconscious. The second fight in particular has received high acclaim, as it was named the 2004 Fight of the Year by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. The series is also known for the rivalry and bad blood between the two fighters. Indeed, Chris Parry of the Vancouver Sun considers the matches between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson to be "legendary" for the hatred and violence displayed. MMAWeekly.com considers Silva vs. Jackson to be among the greatest trilogies in the history of mixed martial arts.
The rivalry began in the months leading up to Pride Final Conflict 2003 on November 9, 2003, where the first fight took place. Silva was victorious in the first meeting, after landing close to 20 standing knee strikes to Jackson's face before the contest was halted. Silva once again bested Jackson with a combination of knees in the subsequent rematch at Pride 28: High Octane, leaving the latter motionless and hanging between the ropes. The third fight took place in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008 on December 27, 2008. This time, however, it would be Quinton Jackson avenging his two earlier defeats to Silva by knocking him unconscious with a left hook
The rivalry between the two fighters reportedly began around the Pride Middleweight (205 lb) Grand Prix. In an attempt to set up a "tune-up" bout for Kazushi Sakuraba, who had just been defeated by Silva, Pride brought in Quinton Jackson, a relative unknown at the time, to face the Japanese fighter. The fight did not go as expected, with the much bigger Jackson overpowering Sakuraba and landing several punches. Sakuraba was eventually victorious via submission, but Jackson established himself as a legitimate contender to Wanderlei Silva's Pride Middleweight Championship in the process.
Following this success, Jackson began to direct several personal insults at Silva, a gesture that infuriated the champion. Silva was in the midst of what would be a 17-fight unbeaten streak. He captured the championship from Sakuraba at Pride 17, and defeated him a total of three times. Jackson continued his negative comments towards the champion, and directed his latest insult at Silva's training camp at the time, the Chute Boxe Academy.
These insults culminated in an altercation between the two on March 16, 2003, at Pride 25. Following a victory over Kevin Randleman, Jackson was given the microphone and started talking directly to Silva, who was sitting at ringside, saying "I want you boy. It's gonna be me and you." Silva immediately jumped to his feet and made his way into the ring. He was now face-to-face with Jackson, who continued by saying, "You have my belt, you're keeping it warm for me." Silva responded by yelling "MY BELT!" and giving Jackson a forceful shove. Jackson, visibly upset, advanced towards Silva as dozens of Pride officials intervened. Jackson stood still as he was surrounded by officials, while Silva had to be constantly restrained from charging at Jackson. Jackson later stated that he was instructed by Pride executives to make these comments. He added that Silva's shove infuriated him, and he was ready to fight Silva immediately.
Since then, Jackson has further clarified the origins and the nature of the bad blood between the two. According to Jackson, the rivalry exists because he was one of the few fighters in Japan who was not afraid of Silva outside of the ring. Jackson stated that fighters were afraid to eat or be in an elevator with Silva, but he was not one of them. He added that the bad blood is only coming from Silva's end. Silva, on the other hand, cited Jackson's apparent insults towards him on the internet to account for the bad blood in an interview prior to the UFC 92 fight.
The rivalry between Silva and Jackson has been regarded as "exceptionally violent," and the fights in the Pride Fighting Championship have been considered to be two of the most brutal matches to ever take place in the organization.
While Silva had an impending fight with Franklin, he was still asked about his future with Jackson. Indeed, in an interview with Fighters Only Magazine, Silva reiterated his desire to fight Jackson for a fourth time, and added that he wants it to be the final fight of his career. He also said that he no longer has problems with Jackson outside of the cage. Silva ended by saying that he spoke with Jackson at UFC 95 in London, England, and the two shook hands.
