Rampage: ‘Wanderlei is in a world of trouble’

In the world of fight sport you rarely are privy to a trilogy where the first two fights have gone in one direction. But fans will see just that at UFC 92 this Saturday when Quinton Jackson takes on Wanderlei Silva in their third bout face-to-face. While the first two fights went decidedly in the direction of Silva, Jackson thinks Silva will have his hands full on Saturday.

“I really think Wanderlei is in a world of trouble,” Jackson said on Sherdog Radio’s “The Savage Dog Show” on Monday. “I punch harder. I’m faster. I have better footwork. My boxing is a lot better. I actually know what I’m doing. My defense is on point. Forrest (Griffin) opened up a new world to me with that whole low leg kick thing that he did to me last fight and I’ve been working on that. I’m hoping Wanderlei tries to low kick me this time. I’m well prepared for this fight. I know Wanderlei’s game plan. He’s going to tire himself out in the process of tiring me out. I dissected those two fights and I was doing great until I got tired. This time the cardio isn’t even an issue.”

Not only did Jackson (27-8) say he’s a different fighter for his third bout with Silva (32-8-1) but The Memphis native believes viewers should also consider the circumstances behind the first two defeats.

“Honestly, the first time I fought him I had to fight Chuck (Liddell) the same night and that would be hard for anybody,” said Jackson. “The second time I fought him I probably should’ve backed out of the fight considering what was going on with me but I still took the fight. This time I’m in better shape. I’m more mature and quite frankly back in those days I really sucked. I’m a better fighter now.”

The man who knocked out Liddell at UFC 71 in May 2007 to become a UFC champion has undergone quite the transformation since last July when he lost his light heavyweight title to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86. A week after the event, Jackson was arrested for a much publicized ride through the streets of Newport Beach, in which the 32-year-old fighter bob and weaved his lifted truck through traffic and sent pedestrians diving for safety. Jackson was charged with felony counts of hit and run, evading and reckless driving. Temporarily placed under mental evaluation following the arrest, Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all charges and will return to court in January.

While Jackson refused to go into detail about what’s transpired since the incident, he offered a more definitive statement addressing whether or not it’ll be a distraction come fight time.

“What’s going to happen is going to happen,” Jackson said. “There’s no sense in worrying about it. All I have to do is go in there and train hard and fight my fight. I don’t have to worry about what’s going on outside the Octagon or whatever. I always have something going on -- I just usually don’t talk about it whether it’s relationship problems, kid problems or whatever. It’s not hard to focus at all. I have to deal with Wanderlei, then after that I have to focus on other things. One at a time.”

After the fight with Griffin, Jackson also changed fight camps. Going from Big Bear to the Wolfslair Academy in Widnes, England, Jackson has spent his entire training camp abroad. So far the change has gone well for a fighter renowned for complaining during training.

“It’s a lot better,” Jackson said. “I didn’t b-tch and moan that much this time. How can I b-tch and moan after my last performance? It lit a fire under my a-- and made me want to work harder. No one had to push me that much this time. I was self-motivated. You guys don’t understand. The last fight I blamed on myself because I didn’t prepare enough. I didn’t take Forrest lightly. But I didn’t train as hard as I should’ve and I learned from that. I’m pushing myself now. I’m taking supplements and being serious about that. I’m doing all sorts of new things. I’m eating right. My nutrition is good. I’m acting like a professional athlete.”

Even with the big changes, Jackson knows only one guy will be stepping into the Octagon.

“The coaches don’t fight for you, do they,” said Jackson. “I still have to be the one to go out there and fight. All my coaches didn’t change. I’ve trained with these people before. I knew them so I went to the UK and worked my butt off doing new things I haven’t done before and I think it’s good for me. We’ll see on Saturday. I think I’m in excellent shape. I think that I can really do a good job.”

And what would be a really good job for Rampage?

“I walk out there and I knock him the hell out,” said Jackson. “One punch knockout. Walk out the cage without even doing an interview and go have me a few beers that night. That’s the perfect night.”