Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva UFC 92 Pick
Prediction on Silva-Jackson fight
The two ultra-popular and exciting UFC light heavyweight contenders have fought twice before in Japan's PRIDE Fighting organization, and they will renew their hostilities on December 27 in Las Vegas at UFC 92: The Ultimate 2008.
Rampage Jackson vs. Wanderlei Silva Fight
While there are two big title fights on the UFC 92 card in Vegas, this fight might be the most anticipated one on the entire card, mainly because of the bad blood between the two (which is genuine from most accounts unlike some overly-hyped UFC fights).
The matchup is also extremely interesting at UFC 92 because both fighters are brutal strikers who are capable of ending the fight at any given time. If one fighter smells blood he will most likely go in for the kill.
Stylistically, the two are a close match for each other despite Silva's previous two victories. Jackson is a much stronger, more physical wrestler who is capable of picking up opponents and slamming them when caught in a triangle choke or in other precarious situations.
Silva is good on the ground with his jiu-jitsu but mostly prefers to finish fights while staning via either a flurry of punches or the muy thai clinch with brutal knees.
Jackson's old trainer was Juanito Ibarra, who focused on a lot of traditional boxing-type strategies, but Jackson has ditched him after a dispute and is now training in England for the Silva fight and is becoming a little more well-rounded than he was in the past by most accounts.
Jackson also said he is in better shape than before and blamed his past losses on his lack of elite-level conditioning.
Rampage will need every ounce of conditioning he can muster against Silva, who is a relentless striker.
No one knows what kind of game plan Rampage Jackson will come out with at UFC 92 but he has a lot of tools at his disposal. He might try to bully Silva and get in his face and use his wrestling to control Silva as best as he can. But Rampage is likely to go in for the knockout if he gets the chance. His best chance for a win would be to employ the strategy he used against Dan Henderson and try to maintin top position and wear down Silva while staying out of danger on the ground.
Realistically, however, this has the looks of one of those fights where both fighters will just stand up the entire time and throw fists to give the fans exactly what they want on one of the biggest UFC pay-per-view cards of the year.
While Silva is generally a more well-rounded striker than Jackson, Jackson has a little more pure power. This is a fight that could go either way for sure but it is sure to keep UFC fans on the edges of their seats for as long as it goes, which could be only a round or two.
UFC 92 Jackson vs. Silva Prediction
Silva has beaten Jackson twice but Jackson will come out on top in this one thanks to his renewed commitment to conditioning and his decision to get away from the distractions of fighting in the United States.
With a clear mind and better conditioning, he will avenge his previous two losses by catching Silva with a big shot, pouncing, and eventually finishing off the legendary Brazilian fighter.
It will be a close match but it's extremely difficult to beat the same fighter three times, especially a fighter of Rampage Jackson's caliber. Jackson wins this one in the third round and moves a step closer to a light heavyweight title shot in the UFC again.
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