LONDON -- They were fighting to unify the titles.

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and PRIDE 205-pound king Dan Henderson (Pictures) delivered an entertaining back-and-forth battle Saturday in London.

In the end, Jackson was the man who made history, out-pointing Henderson and bringing the UFC and PRIDE titles under one banner.

The two champions were fighting for more than just bragging rights in the most competitive division in MMA. Their fight encapsulated years of debate between two rival organizations.

Henderson had described the bout beforehand as "the biggest fight in MMA history," but he remained surprisingly relaxed in the cage. The Team Quest fighter even smiled at his snarling opponent during the pre-fight stare down.

For Jackson, however, the time for smiles and laughter was over -- a fact Henderson appeared to appreciate.

Rampage meant business from the get-go. The Memphis native came out of his corner throwing a wild right hand.

The strike skimmed by the PRIDE champion's head, setting the scene for some bitter exchanges throughout the five-round fight.

Henderson pushed the pace early, frustrating his bigger opponent with superior clinch work. He put Jackson on his back twice, but Rampage worked doggedly to improve his position.

In fact, Jackson swept his way out of trouble in the second round. The 29-year-old UFC champion then moved into side-control and chipped away with short punches.

The fighters came out swinging for the fences to begin the third round.

Both came tantalizingly close to landing a fight-ending shot. It was Rampage, however, who seized the advantage, capitalizing on an attempted knee from Henderson to take him down.

Caught on his back, Henderson turned to his underestimated submission arsenal. The 37-year-old fighter latched on a tight Kimura and flipped Rampage over.

Though Jackson powered out of the submission, Henderson attacked from his back again in the fourth round.

From his guard he swiveled his hips and surprisingly threatened Jackson with a straight armbar. Again, though, Jackson refused to be caught, wrenching his arm free to continue working from the top.

Perhaps sensing that he was behind on the scorecards entering the final round, Henderson held nothing back. He fired maliciously in wild exchanges, but Jackson's crisp boxing was more effective.

The advantage Jackson gained was short-lived, though, as Henderson cracked him with a right hand and grappled him to the mat.

After a scramble in the final moments, Jackson landed his own hard right that sent Henderson stumbling back into the cage.

Perhaps fittingly after such a close encounter, Rampage's follow-up assault was cut short by the bell.

The judges' final tally awarded a unanimous decision to an elated Jackson (48-47, 49-46, 49-46).

Jackson, 28-6, joked about Henderson's hard head at the post-fight news conference.

"He beat up my fist … with his face," Jackson said. "I'm serious."

The UFC champion credited his training camp for his performance in the trying five-round bout.

"I knew he thought I was going to get tired in the later rounds, but I'm a champion," Jackson said. "I've got to train like one. A lot of people think that because I'm lazy I don't train hard. I train hard -- I just don't like to."

Jackson had prepared for the fight in Big Bear, Calif., with Michael Bisping (Pictures) and Cheick Kongo (Pictures). He was clearly satisfied with the camp. "I just knew there was no way I was going to let (Henderson) submit me," Jackson said. "I wasn't going to let him knock me out. I just knew. My jiu-jitsu is not bad, you know, I've got a real good jiu-jitsu coach and some real good guys to roll around with."

Henderson did put Rampage on his back, though.

"Dan Henderson (Pictures) took me down more times than I would have liked him to," Jackson said, "but I'll let you all know a little secret -- I wasn't concentrating on wrestling too much in the camp. I concentrated mostly on stand-up and jiu-jitsu defense. I didn't care if he took me down because I knew I could get up, get away."

As for his next title defense, Jackson suggested he might want another crack at Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) or Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

"I want to start taking out the folks who beat me in the past," he said, before amending his statement. "But honestly, I don't care who's next."