Mixed martial arts (MMA) legend Wanderlei Silva will make another trip to the cage later tonight (Sat., Sept. 29, 2018) at Bellator 206 live on DAZN from inside SAP Center in San Jose, California, when he takes on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson for the fourth time in his career.
Silva, who made his return to MMA last year following a four-year absence, may have formed some sort of familiarity with Jackson inside of the cage, but the two haven’t fought since UFC 92. That matchup, which took place nearly 10 years ago, ended in a knockout victory for “Rampage.”
So what exactly is motivating Silva to fight Jackson in 2018? The Brazilian answered that question honestly in a recent interview with Combate.
“I was offered one million dollars,” said Silva. “Scott [Coker] called me up and said ‘I’ll give you a million dollars to fight Rampage’. I was like ‘I’m not doing anything anyway’. I’m already training again and I feel good. I’m going to do this fight and then I might fight again in December.”
Despite money being his motivator at this point in his career, “Ax Murderer” remains confident that he is prepared to capture his third career victory over Jackson tonight at Bellator 206.
“You can expect a great Wanderlei,” Silva proclaimed. “I feel well, training is going well. I’m more experience, I’m fighting more intelligently and aggressively. I think it’s going to be a great fight. He better train, because I’m sharp and I’m going for the knockout. I don’t know if he’ll be man enough to accept a striking match against me. I hope so. If he does, we’ll have a great fight.”
While Silva and Jackson are a combined 82 years old, they remain two of the most recognizable names in the sport today. That’s probably why Bellator president Scott Coker offered Silva one million bucks to duke it out with Jackson. Only time will tell if that money was worth it.
Bellator 206 will be headlined by a middleweight title fight pitting current champion Gegard Mousasi against current welterweight king Rory MacDonald.