Wanderlei Silva has a fourth fight with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson on the horizon, but may have something even bigger waiting in the wings after the fight. “The Axe Murder” is considering a run for Federal political office in Brazil.
Silva and Jackson will meet in the Bellator cage on Sept. 29 in California. Silva won their first two bouts under the Pride FC banner, while Jackson has a win in the UFC’s Octagon. Their fourth fight is part of the first event under Bellator’s new streaming deal with DAZN.
Once the fight is over, Silva may make a run at political office in Brazil, where there is an election just days after the fight with Jackson.
“I think right now to go to politician in Brazil because we’re gonna have election in October, but like 10 days after the fight (with Jackson). I’m gonna try to run for politician there,” Jackson told ESPN during a recent press event in New York. “Maybe I’m gonna have plans to fight in Japan in December (for Rizin), maybe. We’re gonna check.”
Silva didn’t indicate whether or not he would quit fighting if elected, but recently told MMAJunkie that “maybe this is my last fight,” referring to the bout with Jackson. A year-ending fight for Rizin in Japan would have a strong pull on Silva, however, as he was a mainstay when Pride used to hold monster New Year’s Eve events before being sold to the UFC.
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Silva sees an opportunity to give back to his country in a much bigger way than fighting, however, if he were to make a run for office. He believes that corruption is rampant in his home country, but that his current position in life would allow him to run for office unencumbered.
“Man, in Brazil, there is a lot of corruption. The guys there are doing just a terrible job. I think, man, I can do better than that. I have my own money. I have my own position. I have a lot of things I lost, I do the wrong thing; I need to do the right.”
