50 MMA Fights You Must Watch Before You Die
24. Rampage Jackson Vs. Wanderlei Silva 1 - Pride Final Conflict 2003
There are many reasons why fans consider Pride Final Conflict 2003 to be one of the best events in MMA history. Not only did it have the fantastic heavyweight match-up between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Mirko Cro Cop, it also had the highly-anticipated semi-finals and final of the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix.
After demolishing Chuck Liddell and Hidehiko Yoshida respectively, Rampage Jackson and Wanderlei SIlva met in the last fight of the night. At the time, Jackson was quickly rising up the ranks, knocking out opponents in the most devastating of ways.
However, Wanderlei Silva was on a completely different level to anyone Jackson had fought before. A violent knockout artist himself, Silva was in the middle of a reign of terror inside the 205lb division and he used Jackson as a showcase for his talents.
Silva absolutely destroyed Jackson over the six minutes and 38 seconds they fought. By using vicious knees from the Thai clinch and nasty soccer kicks to the head, The Axe Murderer gave a very young Jackson one of the most savage beatings in Pride history.