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Keith Jardine - Man i hate this guy

3K views 41 replies 27 participants last post by  leviticus 
#1 · (Edited)
Source: UFC.com

“In my mind, I’m here because of the guys that I’ve beaten,” he said. “I’m an A plus fighter and I can beat anybody in this sport in my weight class on any given night"

And a quote from an earlier interview:

"Each fight I think I get closer to perfection."

This guy really grates me. He beat Forrest Griffin at a time when Griffins fights were "i'll hit you, you hit me, we'll see who drops first", and a dwindling Chuck Liddell, and he's all of a sudden developed a God complex.

Granted, he's not a bad fighter, he has an awkward technique coupled with good power. But he's FAR from an A plus fighter, and even further from perfection.

I REALLY hope Vera wins this fight
 
#3 ·
Yeah I've never liked Jardine much either. He was getting outboxed in the Forrest fight til he knocked him out and Chuck didn't have the best fight but TBF Keith won those fights fair and square. It's just the way he still has this air of arrogance about him when he's lost two of his last 3 in under a minute each.

I'm rooting for Vera aswell. I always kinda liked him just not the hype that surrounded him at HW. It'll be interesting to see how hw copes with the cut second time around at LHW.

Think I better warn you though, Aaronyman will be here soon and he won't be happy.
 
#7 ·
Nah he will hang around in the UFC for awhile because he will keep getting wins no doubt i just dont see him beating any more contenders really. He will probably be relegated to gatekeeper status for awhile but I think he'll definitly continue to be part of the UFC for awhile.

Especially since Dana knows he can put him up against some of his harder hitters for a quick knock out win in order to promote them.

I wouldnt be surprised if they toss him to Sokky to raped next. (ofcourse thats if he gets through Vera.
 
#11 ·
We've been waiting for you man.

I know what you mean about Jardine throwing in TD's. I think he's getting a bit like Chuck where people know what to expect from him. He's learning he just can't live off his awkward style just like Chuck can't just rely on his power anymore.

The difference is Keith's still got time to change whereas Chuck's a lot closer to retirement.

If he's gonna mix it up he better do it soon though cos he's not getting any younger.
 
#12 ·
This guy really grates me. He beat Forrest Griffin at a time when Griffins fights were "i'll hit you, you hit me, we'll see who drops first", and a dwindling Chuck Liddell, and he's all of a sudden developed a God complex.

Granted, he's not a bad fighter, he has an awkward technique coupled with good power. But he's FAR from an A plus fighter, and even further from perfection.

I REALLY hope Vera wins this fight
I completely agree.
 
#14 ·
I'd like him to stick with the real world is all. Its fine being confident, its even better when theres truth behind what you say, but he's getting far too carried away.

Blown away by Wandy, Beat down by Alexander. Alexander ffs! sure Houston hits hard, but no way does this guy EVER beat an "A plus fighter". Nuh uh.

I'm suprised Jardine manages to weigh in at 205 with an ego that size!!
 
#15 ·
Yeah but theres a bit of a difference between saying somehing like your getting better everyfight (confident) and saying every fight brings you closer to perfection (cocky).

And it's not as if Keith is a fighter like BJ or Tito where a lot of what he says is for publicity. Lets face it he's not very marketable with or without these comments.
 
#16 ·
He seems like a really laid back, calm, humble guy. I think you guys are taking his comments a diff way. All fighters have to be confident. What fighter wouldnt want to or think they were getting closer to perfection. It's a fine line bw arrogance and confidence but I think Jardine is on the confident side.

I also think Jardine is like a Houston Alexander. He has a couple of big wins, but will lose the next couple of fights against better opponents. I think this next fight against vera will tell all.
 
#20 ·
He seems like a really laid back, calm, humble guy. I think you guys are taking his comments a diff way. All fighters have to be confident. What fighter wouldnt want to or think they were getting closer to perfection. It's a fine line bw arrogance and confidence but I think Jardine is on the confident side.

I also think Jardine is like a Houston Alexander. He has a couple of big wins, but will lose the next couple of fights against better opponents. I think this next fight against vera will tell all.
I think this one's the unbiased version.

Jardine Begins His Search for Consistency

By Thomas Gerbasi

When you’re winning in the UFC, there’s nothing like it in the world of mixed martial arts. Keith Jardine knows this fact better than most of his peers, especially after scoring victories over current light heavyweight champ Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell in high-profile bouts. But when you’re not on the winning side of the equation – a place where Jardine sits after being stopped by Wanderlei Silva in May - that’s an entirely different story.

“There’s nothing worse than sitting in a locker room after a fight knowing that you didn’t get a chance to fight,” said Jardine, reflecting on his one round loss to ‘The Axe Murderer’ at UFC 84. “I wanted to run it back out there and fight again as soon as possible, but things happen.”

Unfortunately for guys like Jardine, fighting isn’t like baseball or football. You lose a match and you don’t get to do it again five days or a week later. Redemption may take months - almost five months in Jardine’s case. And from the time your opponent’s hand is raised until you get the chance to step back into the Octagon, you’re likely to face almost daily questions from the media, your friends, your training partners, your family, and sometimes even yourself.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

“Are you going to fight again?”

“Do you think you’re cut out for this?”

You can take these subtle verbal jabs any number of ways. You can get testy and fire back, you can take a long vacation, or you can lock yourself away from the world. Jardine responded to his second loss in three fights by going back to Greg Jackson’s gym in Albuquerque, New Mexico. There were no judgments there, only friends, one of which – Rashad Evans – had his own fight to get ready for against Chuck Liddell in September. Jardine, with a win over ‘The Iceman’ already, played a key role in helping Evans put together a gameplan, but in typical self-effacing fashion, Jardine says that “I was just a punching bag for about six, seven weeks, that’s all.”

Jardine was more than that though, and Evans is quick to back that sentiment up, telling UFC.com after his second round knockout of Liddell that “Jardine is a great help. I feel like a cheater because I feel like I have an unfair advantage over these guys. (Laughs) He definitely helps me out, he’s my brother through and through, and he’s a good coach as well. Jardine was in my corner that night, and he was coaching me the whole time.”

Ask Jardine about a life coaching mixed martial arts though, and the former Division II college football co-defensive coordinator scoffs at such a notion.

“I love helping out people that are already at a high level because there are only little tweaks to be made, but I’m not sure if I’m that good at teaching somebody from scratch,” he said. “And I’m not nearly done being a fighter, so I don’t like to think of that right now.”

On Saturday, the behind-the-scenes tactician returns to active duty, almost five months removed from his devastating loss to Silva. It’s not as soon as he would have liked to have been back, but he says, “I’m not complaining. I’m fighting in the co-main event on a huge card, so I’m in a really good place right now.”

His opponent at UFC 89 at the NIA in Birmingham, England is one familiar to fight fans and to Jardine. There are no tune-ups or confidence builders. Each fight is designed to separate the men from the boys, and that’s why Jardine decided to take the fight against Brandon Vera, another up and comer in need of an impressive victory. He could have asked for someone who wasn’t going to get in his face and throw punches at him like Silva or another old foe, Houston Alexander, did, just so he could get his feet wet again and ease back into combat. But that’s not Jardine’s way. If he’s lost any of his thirst for battle or is the tiniest bit gun-shy, he’ll find out immediately.

“Stylistically, I always want a guy who’s gonna stand up and bang with me, and this is just an all-around fun fight, the kinda fight that I like,” said Jardine of facing Vera. “There’s no way I could turn that down. Also, with my last fight, things didn’t work out so well, and now I’m fighting another top-ranked guy, so this will get rid of most of that bad taste out of my mouth.”

If he wins. And Jardine’s past history has shown that after each of his previous post-Ultimate Fighter losses in the UFC (to Alexander and Stephan Bonnar), he’s come back even stronger, which is bad news for Vera, who will be fighting at 205 pounds for only the second time in his career. But after a fairly lackluster decision win over Reese Andy in July, Vera should now be on solid footing at light heavyweight, at least according to Jardine.

“The first time I did it (cut from heavyweight to light heavyweight), I wasn’t fighting in the UFC, and you don’t know how your body is gonna react because you haven’t done it before,” said Jardine (13-5-1), who fought at heavyweight on season two of The Ultimate Fighter. “Then you start to get techniques and learn the little things that will help you out. The first time is gonna be hard for anybody, but I’m sure it’s gonna be a non-issue for this fight. I’m pretty confident about that.”

As for ‘The Dean of Mean’ himself, he’s not making bold predictions or talking about title shots and main events right now. He’ll save that for another day.

“That’s the UFC’s decision,” he said. “Ask me after a couple of fights.”

But what Jardine will admit is that the key to success at this level of the game isn’t about being great on one night – it’s about being great every night, and he knows that once he gets that consistency, then he’ll be ready to wear UFC gold around his waist.

“In my mind, I’m here because of the guys that I’ve beaten,” he said. “I’m an A plus fighter and I can beat anybody in this sport in my weight class on any given night. I’m just trying to get a little bit more dependable and to get rid of the holes in my game.”

He starts on Saturday night.
Keith's a cool guy, the way he markets himself (not the best) and way the UFC markets him (seems to be against fan-favorites) is a hard thing to overcome.

I really liked how he helped Evans out for Chuck with Jackson and still eats a slice of humble pie when we know he was the guinea pig for exploiting him, did what he was supposed to do and beat him. Just sounds like a nice guy to have around the camp. He may not be the best, and might be a gatekeeper but he's not a boring fighter, and played a huge part in mixing up the 205 top 5, solid opponent for anyone. :thumb02:
 
#19 ·
That may be true, but Vera makes me laugh with his arrogance.

After the Sylvia fight - "did he whoop my ass? then i'm still a heavy weight, bitches"

After the Werdum fight "let me take that ass whooping and go to the second round!"

To me, he's likeable arrogant. Jardine is one of those guys i'd really like to punch in the face, but i know i wouldnt live long enough to enjoy it
 
#24 ·
I like Jardine alot. I don't agree that he is still a pure brawler though. He took Houston Alexander lightly and got humiliated. He was the first to fight him, fighters now have the luxury of knowing to just take Houston to the ground. Proving my point, Jardine certainly did not "just brawl" with Chuck. There can be no question there and as a matter of fact didn't Jardine/Chuck feel alot like Rampage/Forrest? The winner of each was the underdog and sure looked great in executing their gameplan.

But the fact remains, he destroyed Forrest who has really utilized his leg kicks since being taught to by Jardine during their match. (who was saying Forrest was getting the better of the stand up in that fight? When? for the 25 seconds before head met canvas? LOL)
He beat Chuck using strategy when most people wanted the Chuck of old to comeback and rip someone apart. Didn't happen, Jardine made Chuck look....well, old.

You aren't going to be a popular fighter when you beat Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. That's not supposed to happen especially by someone who can't follow up the victory with some cheeky humor in the press.

For that reason this thread should fill up. A lot of people hate Keith "The Prom King Slayer" Jardine.
 
#26 ·
who was saying Forrest was getting the better of the stand up in that fight? When? for the 25 seconds before head met canvas? LOL
Forrest was getting the better of the standup in that fight. He wasn't tooling Keith but he was throwing and landing crisper cleaner punches.

I think if they fought again now Forrest would take it pretty comfortably TBH. Keiths a good fighter and has some top notch wins but he's not an A fighter in my opinion let alone A+.

I have Keith ranked about 11/12 at LHW so maybe B+. I think he could make a good gatekeeper for a stacked LHW division but I just can't see him ever being a contender.

Maybe I'm wrong, TBF I hope I am and that Jardine takes that next step, the more top 205ers the better IMO.:thumbsup:
 
#25 ·
Wow whoever started this thread is like a politician. You take quotes or statistics out of context in order to put a spin on it so it fits your version of the truth. Jardine is actually really laid back and humble. If you saw the whole interview you would see that. I hope Jardine knocks Vera out.
 
#33 ·
Sorry, but how have i taken this out of context and put a spin on it?

I've quoted the guy, word for word, and stated that i dont agree with what he's saying.

Nor have i said he's a prat throughout the whole interview, just that the two examples i used infuriate me, and in my opinion are far fetched nonsense. So i've really not put a spin on anything.

Sure i hate the guy, and will sink my teeth into anything he says which i disagree with, but the quotes are straight from the lions mouth, so. . .
 
#27 ·
I don't hate Jardine but he's definitely not a favorite fighter of mine. I just don't get into the hinky-jinky monkey fist approach to fighting but he isn't a bad fighter. I'm honestly pretty intriqued by his career lately with the up and downs of his last 4 fights he's gone from looking like a champ to chump and back to champ then chump. I don't think he will ever be champ when I say that but he has looked impressive in the fights with Forrest and Chuck, but terrible against Houston and Wand. According to the Jardine Bar Graph trend he should be "up" against Vera but I hope not.

I like Vera and will be rooting for him I just hope the hinky-jinky is not "on" for this fight.​
 
#29 ·
I wouldn't discount Jardine's win against Liddell, since Liddell was still seen as a monster, who was just beat by a guy who has his number. Most expected Liddell to smash Jardine's billy goat beard, including me. Jardine executed a nice gameplan in that fight and completely baffled Liddell.
 
#31 ·
I really cant stand Jardine. The more he talks, the more I hate him.

Regarding this fight, I think Vera is a little better everywhere than Jardine. But the clinch is where he will really have the advantage. His muay thai is very good and even though he isnt a black belt in bjj and Jardine is, I would still give Vera the advantage on the gound. Vera will use elbows when on the ground and knees when the fight is standing. Jardine got alot of scar tissue and expect Vera to cut him up real good. I hope Vera finishes him but I see him grinding out a solid decision and putting him right into contention at LHW. Id like too see him fight the winner of Page and Wand.
 
#32 ·
Ill probably repeat stuff said here already.. but..

I dont see how jardine stand up is great.

Effective, in some way yes, i guess. But throwing brawling punches only to finish with a low kick all the time can only work for so long.

And standup is his only weapon, or at least the one he uses the most.

His best wins, standing, are over fighters with worse standup than him, technique wise(at least at the time for Forrest). Chuck is what jardine will be in a few years, a used to be strong striker with no techniques.

Add his age to that, I dont even understand how he can or will be a A+ fighter any day.

However, hes a very solid fighter, and all that talk about him being a cocky person or whatever is complete bs. Im sure it was mentionned somewhere, but do you expect him to say hes a D- fighter? And yes, he is getting better everytime, hes mixed up his standing a little more, hes quicker on his feet(although still pretty slow).

Against Vera, its all about how Vera will fight. An aggressive Vera will probably go either way, but id go with Vera, hes just more precise. But any other boring way by Vera, i think Vera will just take it, unless Jardine starts taking him down when Vera clinches with him and does nothing.
 
#35 ·
Jardine isn't particularly good at any discipline in mma....his striking is good, but not great, his ground game is good, but not great, his wrestling is good but not great....but he is tough as balls. He's been thrown in their with some guys that pack alot of heat and has failed miserably, but from what I've seen, he can take punches from guys with power like nothing....

look at his fight vs. wilson....first round he was getting recked badly....but he battles back to win a UD.

against chuck, he took some right hands on the jaw...but he continued to battle

he's ALOT like forrest griffin actually, cept forrest has chosen to start using his ground game more often...which is something i hope to see jardine do in the future
 
#36 ·
But with that said he doesn't have a great chin. I mean Wanderlei and Houston showed that.

I don't think he has a glass jaw but I wouldn't say his chin is a strength.

I don't think Jardine is that great but that's because where you see everything being good I see everything being average.

I don't think Jardine is near the level of grappling Forrest is.

I don't see Jardine hanging with the top strikers at 205 besides Liddell who is a different type of striker then anyone else.

I don't think he can beat the top grapplers I mean on his back I don't think he stands a chance against 205's best grapplers.
 
#37 ·
Keith is usually overly-softspoken, and humble.

The closer to perfection most likely just refers to "The Path to Perfection"- like the never-ending journey always seeking to attain it though it is unattainable.
With that in mind, and this is a philosphy not uncommon to many schools of fighting, it doens't mean Jardine is arrogant- it just means he assumes we all know the same things he does.

And yes, the original poster quoted out of context, since he did not add all of the last sentence.
 
#38 ·
I have Jardine winning this fight because:

1. I am not ready to right him off on any level because of the Wandy and Houston losses. There were two separate reasons for each of the fights. Jardine has learned 1. Don't underestimate a nameless last minute replacement. 2. Beating Chuck is impressive but it doesn't make you superman, only superman should stand in front of Wandy and trade. There is a difference between executing a striking game plan against your opponent (Jardine/Chuck) and standing in front of Wandy Silva.

2. Jardine has proven he can win "the big fight" and he has also shown us he can lose big. Vera has only shown the ability to highlight reel mid level talent and post-accident Mir. Both times he was given a Top 10 opponent, he was dispensed of easily. I can only listen so much to someone say what they "shoulda/coulda/woulda" done against Werdum when they were being handled so easily.

So where are we now? People are saying Reese Andy is legit which is understandable considering how well he did against Vera.....I look forward to Andy's big run in the UFC LHW division.

3. Jardine fights for Greg Jackson and Vera isn't a hard fghter to figure out. The strategy may not look like Chuck/Jardine but Greg Jackson will formulate a good one and Keith has shown he can execute...inconsistently but he can.

4. We all thought it, Dana White thinks it too: Vera is a changed fighter since being brought back to face Tim Sylvia. Its one thing to come out to the octagon slapping high 5's with the fans and laughing because you know that all you have to do is KO Justin Eilers. Its another thing to face real talent. Vera has shown through his 2 of his last 3 cautious boring performances that a big name fighter can get in his head. Blame it on the weight cut or whatever but the fact is Vera fought Reese Andy like he fought Sylvia and Werdum except he won b/c it was Reese Andy.

5. No one should argue that the longer this fight goes, the more it favors Jardine. How hard is it to extend the fight against a hesistant fighter and I don't think 2006 Vera is showing up. He hasn't in a long time, there have been alot of distractions. For this fight its that Vera got robbed at gunpoint in someone's home a week or so ago.
 
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