Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine
The evening’s main event is a huge Light Heavyweight contest pitting Greg Jackson protege “The Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine against former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Odds are -365 Jackson / +285 Jardine at Sportsbook.com.
Jardine, while sometimes inconsistent, has shocked the world numerous times, including big wins over former champions Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Jackson went through a much-publicized legal and mental battle following his upset loss to Forrest Griffin, but came roaring back in his last fight with a gigantic knockout of long-time rival Wanderlei Silva.
Keith Jardine, who first emerged in UFC as a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 2, has had a roller coaster ride of a UFC career. He seems to be on an alternating schedule of big wins and big losses. He crushed Forrest Griffin before Griffin went on to defeat Jackson, beat up highly-regarded prospect Brandon Vera, and shockingly out-kickboxed long-time champion Chuck Liddell.
Interspersed with those wins, though, are a decision loss to non-contender Stephan Bonnar and two complete destructions, one from Wanderlei Silva and the other from middle of the road kickboxer Houston Alexander.
Jardine definitely possesses knockout power, and has shown a propensity for extremely effective leg kicks, which could prove very advantageous since Rampage’s loss to Griffin was largely due to effective low kicking from Griffin.
That potential advantage for Jardine is more than balanced out by Rampage’s numerous advantages. For one thing, Jackson is the better boxer, has more power, has a better chin, and is a better wrestler. Furthermore, Jardine has shown against Silva and Alexander that he is vulnerable to powerful, aggressive striking very early into a fight.
Jackson, on the other side of that coin, has shown against Silva and Liddell that he is a big threat to end a fight as soon as the bell rings. Furthermore, Jackson is now training in England with Wolf’s Lair Gym, meaning that for the first time in his career he has a fully regimented training camp with quality sparring partners.
I don’t think there is really a big secret formula to this fight. The two fighters are similar in style, but Rampage is better in almost every regard. Still, there is no denying that Jardine is an extremely tough guy, and I expect him to make a fight out of this one. Begin betting of these events by looking at our UFC 96 odds page.
There is only so much that Jardine can do, though, and Rampage will put him to sleep early into the second round.
