Subsequent to Bellator MMA announcing Wanderlei Silva vs. Rampage Jackson 4, Silva addressed the bout — and didn’t mince words about his rival.
Tuesday morning, Bellator MMA held a press conference where they officially announced two of the biggest fights of the year for the promotion — to be held in September. One of the bouts marks the fourth fight between former Pride champion Wanderlei Silva, and former UFC light heavyweight champion Rampage Jackson.
The two have had a brutal rivalry over the years, fighting twice in PRIDE where Wanderlei won both times via vicious knees, and fighting once in the UFC where Rampage won via knockout. The series of fights is looked upon as some of the most devastating in MMA history, and it appears that while the bad blood between the two has mostly settled, there’s still some fire between the two veterans.
The key difference between the fights of the original trilogy and the fight in Bellator later this year is that the upcoming fight will be contested at heavyweight, whereas the others were held at light-heavyweight. That is of no concern to Silva, who will likely be outweighed by at least 20 pounds come fight night.
“I’m gonna beat this Fat Guy,” Silva said. “This fight is a present for the fans. Every time we have fought, it’s always been a finish. He won the last one, but the next one I will win for sure.”
As for Rampage, he’s very eager to fight Silva again. Jackson lost twice to ‘The Axe Murderer’ in Pride via knockout before defeating him in the UFC, and is looking to even the score between the two.
“He gave me two of the worst ass-kickings I’ve ever had in my career. I knew I could beat him if I had the right training crew, and last time I fought Wanderlei I knocked him out of the weight class,” he stated. “Bellator is giving me a present so I can at least even the score with this guy.
Wanderlei Silva and Rampage Jackson are scheduled to fight on September 29th in San Jose, California. Also on the card is a super-fight between Bellator Middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi, and Welterweight champion Rory MacDonald. In addition, the promotion will debut its welterweight Grand Prix that night.
