Wanderlei Silva knocked out Quinton "Rampage" Jackson with a barrage of knees way back in 2003. In their rematch a year later, also in the Pride Fighting Championships, Silva did it again with nasty knees. In 2008, once both fighters had landed in the UFC, Jackson turned the tables in their third matchup, connecting with a thunderous left hook that KO'd Silva in the first round.
Now, a decade later, they're set to meet once again.
Jackson, 40, confirmed on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show on Monday that he will face Silva, 41, for a fourth time as part of a Bellator MMA event on Sept. 29 in San Jose, California. Silva had announced the matchup on his Instagram page last week.
Bellator has scheduled a press conference for Tuesday and promised a "monumental can't-miss event." If it's the Sept. 29 card that the promotion is announcing, the "monumental" part will not be this bout but rather a booking that ESPN reported on last week, a superfight between middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi and welterweight champ Rory MacDonald.
The Jackson-Silva fight will evoke old memories for some fans -- memories of a particularly violent trilogy. "I owe him two more ass kickings," said Jackson. "He beat me twice; I beat him once. I owe him two more so I can be one up on him."
Two more Jackson-Silva fights? Really?
Maybe not.
"I think this is the last time I am ever going to face him in a cage," said Jackson. "Last time I beat him, I knocked him out of the weight class. This time, he'll probably just put the gloves down. I don't think we're going to see Wanderlei anymore after this fight."
Jackson (37-13), a former UFC light heavyweight champion and Pride middleweight titleholder, has lost his last two fights, most recently a unanimous decision to Chael Sonnen in January. Silva (35-13-1, 1 NC), also a former Pride middleweight champ, ended a four-year absence from MMA a year ago, losing a decision to Sonnen in his Bellator debut.
Jackson indicated that the fight will be at heavyweight. "I'm a grown man," he said. "I'm not a light heavyweight."