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Quinton "Rampage"
Jackson will meet Brazilian legend Wanderlei Silva
for the third time, and Forrest Griffin will defend
his light heavyweight crown against unbeaten Rashad
Evans in two featured bouts at UFC 92.
at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lost to Silva twice in
less than a year, the first by technical knockout at
Pride “Final Conflict 2003” and the second fight by
knockout at Pride 28,in Japan, but the two
superstars have never met inside a cage. Jackson’s
surprising loss to Griffin three months ago snapped
a six-fight winning streak that included victories
against 2000 Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland,
one-time UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck
Liddell and two-time Olympian Dan Henderson.
Silva, meanwhile, recently picked up his first UFC
win in nine years when he defeated Keith Jardine in
quick and brutal fashion at
UFC 84. He needed
just 36 seconds for the knockout victory.
Silva competed in some early UFC events before
heading to PRIDE to become one of the organization's
biggest stars and most recognizable champions.
However, his final two fights in the Japanese-based
organization were both losses to Mirko "Cro Cop"
Filipovic and Dan Henderson via knockouts and he
stretched the losing streak to three straight when
he dropped a unanimous decision to Liddell during
his octagon return at
UFC 79.
Silva owns two previous victories over Jackson, one
in 2003 and again in 2004 with both coming via
knockout.
Rashad Evans will definitely fight Forrest Griffin
for the light heavyweight title Rashad Evans has
never lost in his professional career as a mixed
martial arts fighter. His only "blemish" was a
controversial draw against
Tito Ortiz at UFC 73
Stacked. Evans fought his way into this fight
after dropping Chuck Liddell with a vicious punch at
UFC 88 Breakthrough. This will be Griffin's
first title defense after taking the
belt from Quinton "Rampage" Jackson in the summer.
Griffin is one of the UFC's most popular fighters,
having worked his way up through the light
heavyweight ranks after winning the first season of
the Ultimate Fighter. Evans is not nearly as
popular, but you can't deny his talent as a fighter.
This will be another great fight in a night loaded
with great fights.
A interim heavyweight championship match pairing
current title holder Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira with
Frank Mir will anchor UFC 92. The two men serve as
coaches on the latest season of “The Ultimate
Fighter” reality series, that airs on the Spike TV
network on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
The winner of the match will face the victor of the
bout between UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture
and Brock Lesnar, which takes place at
UFC 91
on November 15, at a later date sometime in early
2009.
Top middleweight contender Yushin Okami (21-4-1)
will return to action against Brazilian jiu-jitsu
specialist Dean Lister (11-5) at UFC 92 at the
MGM Grand
Garden Arena in Las Vegas,
Nevada, on December 27.
Yushin Okami is on a two-fight win streak since the
defeat and most recently scored a knockout of the
late Evan Tanner at UFC 82: “Pride of a
Champion” back in March.
Dean Lister is the 2003 Abu Dhabu Combat Club (ADCC)
Absolute Division Champion and is also, in the midst
of back-to-back wins,
submitting the crafty Jeremy Horn with a guillotine
choke at The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 7 Finale back in
June.
UFC 92 Fight Card
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Frank Mir HW Title Bout
Forrest Griffin vs Rashad Evans LHW Title Bout
Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson
CB Dolloway vs Jorge Rivera
Yushin Okami vs Dean Lister
Cheick Kongo vs Mustapha Al-Turk
Brad Blackburn vs Ryo Chonan |
