I know a lot of guys have had bad knockouts and come back from them, but for Jardine it seems to happen quite often. Look I get that people like Jardine. I get that Jardine is cool and probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I get that he's in a great training camp and he's much loved by Greg Jackson and Rashad Evans.
That said, can Jardine have a future in the sport at this point? Jardine's claim to fame are having two big wins over big name opponents by Griffin and Liddell, but he's never been able to do anything with them. He seems to get vicious knockout after vicious knockout.
While Joe Rogan talks about Jardine's leg kicks and herky jerky awkward style, I noticed in the Thiago Silva fight, Jardine leaves his head and his chin WIDE OPEN while Jardine swings in with his "unorthodox" striking.
Being unorthodox is one thing, but leaving your head wide open when you've been knocked out so quickly before is ridiculous. Why does Jardine do that? I mean, Silva got beaten badly in his last fight by Machida, but the dude is not a fool fighter. He's a dangerous and powerful striker.
Jardine just seems to be a guy that isn't really evolving with the sport and like Liddell, he's been figured out. And when he's against aggressive strikers he gets put down quickly. Aggressive strikers are like kryptonite to Jardine, the lone exception I think being Rampage which Jardine foolishly believes he won until that last knockdown.
I think he beats a lot of guys a lil further down the ladder, but not the top few any time soon.
Everything about Keith before the fight starts is exciting. His entrance walk, the music, his facial expression, staredown, etc. When the bell rings his movement is an instant boner killer.
HollywoodHendo - Jardine will be fighting a three-toed sloth in his next UFC fight. Spectators predict that as long as the Sloth doesn't move within the first minute, Jardine will have a good chance at not getting KO'ed.
Its a little harsh but its also funny and somewhat relevant. Jardine just does not seem to do well against aggressive fighters.
But not only that HE DOES NOT PROTECT HIMSELF! He doesn't cover up. It looked like he wanted to argue that stoppage at the end, but Silva was hitting him flush and Jardine made no attempt to cover up.
I think Jardine needs to stake some fight night spots at this point. But who does he beat lower on the ladder when the risk is there for him to get KTFO'ed by someone like Houston Alexander?
ShaqNoob - Everything about Keith before the fight starts is exciting. His entrance walk, the music, his facial expression, staredown, etc. When the bell rings his movement is an instant boner killer.
I thought coming out to Moby's song from The Bourne Trilogy was pretty cool.
the 1st time i saw Keith Jardine got KOed when he was KTFO cold by Travis Wiuff
TheVileOne - While Joe Rogan talks about Jardine's leg kicks and herky jerky awkward style, I noticed in the Thiago Silva fight, Jardine leaves his head and his chin WIDE OPEN while Jardine swings in with his "unorthodox" striking.
Being unorthodox is one thing, but leaving your head wide open when you've been knocked out so quickly before is ridiculous. Why does Jardine do that?
Good post, it's definitely true. The "awkwardness" of Jardine's style is now totally nullified by the fact that he has a two-position chin switch with "awake" and "off" as the only options.
Keith is fine when he's chipping away at people and keeping his distance, but as soon as he starts to exchange punches and takes his eye off the ball he gets clipped and caught with something that usually makes him stiffen up and get dropped, and once he can't defend himself the follow-up shot(s) almost always put him out now.
It's been said a lot of times, but guys like Jardine really prove that MMA striking has a long ways to go. I mean, Keith just fought in the co-main event of a major PPV event and his fighting style consists of mostly throwing slap hooks and leg kicks until he wins a decision or gets KOed, but the announce team were still building him up as a potential title contender because he didn't lose badly to Rampage.
Jardine does have some skills, but the way he fights basically renders them useless about half the time or more; it's sort of like putting an interesting picture in a really ugly frame.
That's probably as good an analysis of Jardine as I've ever read. And his most recent wins only really seem to be against guys who are more counter type of strikers like Griffin and Liddell. His win over Vera really wasn't all that impressive.
But he basically can't rely on his special technique to outpoint guys like Thiago Silva with his leg kicks and slap fists anymore.
Forrest fan - Jesus, this is like the fifth thread on this topic, why r u guys so quick to throw dirt on this guys grave?
Hey you are the one saying grave dude.
Its a valid topic.
Jardine's a big name fighter for the UFC, but this seems to be a bad habit he's falling into.
I don't agree with thread starter that Liddell was ever figured out. I think his only two losses in his prime were to Randy/Quinton and the reason he's lost the last 4/5 is a testament to him not being what he used to be in this sport.
I wasn't talking about Vera's win over Krys.
I think Jardine still has some fight in him. There is no question that Rampage beat him, but Jardine was very competitive in that fight. But after suffering two brutal KO's by two different Silva's kinda makes you wonder though.. I feel sorry for Jardine, especially the way he looked after the fight, he looked so crushed ...poor guy.
Jardine has fights left but they sure aren't high profile fights anymore. a lot of what's said above is well stated and he's not looking to change any of it if you gauge his last few fights.
he's 2 and 4 in his last 6 in the last 2 years and those 2 wins were both SPLIT decisions. it's pretty clear where he's headed
how is Jardines ground game? didn't rogan say it was decent IDK
for guys like jardine they need to mix it up a bit, strike against wrestlers or counter strikers, and take downs for agressive folks.
Jardine now has a blueprint on how to beat him, so he's fucked unless he mixes it up.
Jardine has all the tools but he just doesn't seem to quite have it all together
not sure what he's missing but he won't win many fights til he figures it out
Jardine's chin isn't as bad as every makes it out to be. He took Chuck & Rampage's best shots. Nothing wrong with getting caught be some good fighters (and 1 not so good fighter).
His chin is not as bad as Arlovski or Forrest, in my opinion
his chin is not that bad, but his reaction to getting hit is not the best, if that makes any sense
vs Houston he kept getting up over and over and even the other night that first punch didn't put him out. if he'd shoot for a leg after getting dropped i think he'd get KO'd alot less
i realize that's easier said than done but it just seems like his instincts are wrong
Lots of other guys
he has a good chance to beat anyone but there's not anyone i would pick him over
he's basically a gatekeeper at this point
Bobby Lupo - He'll probably go out and beat Machida or Shogun next. Jardine's a weird dude like that.
Thats one of the things I love about Jardine. He'll beat Vera, almost beat Rampage, and get destroyed by Thiago Silva. Always exciting too