MMAConvert.com

There’s been so many rumors surrounding Wanderlei Silva and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson’s next fights that we were starting to think these two would never get back in the Octagon. Hopefully, that’s about to change though. Ariel Helwani with MMARated.com is reporting that the long-rumored third meeting between Silva and Jackson is very close to becoming a reality at UFC 91 on November 15.

MMARated.com has learned that a light heavyweight bout between Wanderlei Silva and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has been offered to both fighters for UFC 91 on November 15th and is very close to being finalized.

This is actually a very wise move on the UFC’s part. Both Silva and Jackson were also rumored to be fighting at UFC 92 (not necessarily against each other). But with Tuesday’s announcement that Randy Couture and Brock Lesnar would be headlining the November card, UFC 91, all of a sudden, became a major show that many, including the UFC, believe is going to sell over a million pay-per-view buys and break the all-time record for the highest grossing UFC event. The hardcore fan base knows Silva and Jackson are superstars, but to the casual audience they haven’t quite reached that level yet. If these two put on a show that rivals their first two encounters, that could change overnight. Couture and Lesnar may very well be indirectly responsible for catapulting ‘The Axe Murderer’ and ‘Rampage’ into mainstream super stardom, and solidifying them as legitimate high level pay-per-view draws.

It’s difficult to think about this fight, and not think about Jackson’s recent troubles though. I’m still not sold that everything is fine with Rampage, and I have my doubts about whether this fight is the right move for him, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about it. To be honest, if this happens, I’ll be a lot more excited about it than I am about Lesnar and Couture.