Keith Jardine: Has the "Dean of Mean" Learned His Lesson Yet?

Keith Jardine is one of those guys who could be a champion. But for some reason it seems the gods are against him.

He has defeated two former champions in Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell, and recently he beat Brandon Vera, a former top contender for the Heavyweight title. In the mix of all that, he has lost to a explosive, but not that great Houston Alexander. He also got murdered by Wanderlei Silva.

In the past three years, he has been in two situations where he was one win away from a title shot. Now he finds himself in that exact same situation. A win over former champion Quinton Jackson will put him in line for a title shot after Machida.

So what will happen? Will Jardine finally get two solid wins together that he needs. Or will Jackson play the role of spoiler like Alexander and Wandi? Jackson is the odds-on favorite in this fight against Jardine. But so was Chuck, Griffin and Vera.

I personally believe this can be a REALLY bad night for Jackson. In Jardine's last three wins, he won because he found his groove and tore through his opponents. In his last two losses he lost because his opponents put on the pressure and Jardine cracked.

In order for Jardine to wi,n he needs to STAY AWAY from a dog fight with Jackson. Jackson has proven more than once that he can put you away early if you're gutsy enough to stand and trade with him. But I think Jardine learned his lesson from Wandi.

If you let Jardine get in to a groove, then you are in trouble. He can throw leg kicks that will break ribs and leave welts. He has one of the most awkward styles of anybody.

Also he has power behind his punches.  What is interesting is that both Jackson and Jardine are facing very similar opponents in each other, equal to the last people to defeat them.

Wandi, like Page, is aggressive and rarely looks to take it to the ground with power in there fists. Page is better in the sense that his striking is more technical.

Griffin, like Jardine, likes to stick and move and use leg kicks to destroy their opponents' base. Only thing is, Jardine packs more power, unlike Griffin.

One thing is for sure though. Jardine doesent have the ground defence like Griffin. But lucky for him, unless Jackson knocks him down, he won't want to go to the ground. Jackson likes to stand up and trade.

So here it is. If Jardine can survive the first minute or two, he will get into his groove and pick Jackson apart and get the decision. Its unlikely he will TKO Jackson. If Jackson can put a lot of pressure on Jardine, he can KO him quickly within the first few minutes.

My judgement is that Jardine will win this by decison. I truly think it is his time. I think he has learned from his mistakes. 

The dean of mean has indeed learned his lesson. We very well may see the future LHW champion. But Jackson is always one swing away from victory.

One thing is for sure though. This is a extremely interesting fight that Evans Machida and the rest of the world will be watching.