A Look at UFC 96's Rampage Jackson-Keith Jardine Fight

One man is going to enter the cage, eyeing for a shot to reclaim his title. Another man is entering it to prove that he is more than a .500 fighter.

Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Quinton Jackson (29-7) will face contender Keith Jardine (14-4) on Saturday, March 6th in Columbus, Ohio. If Jackson wins this match, he will be granted a title match. If he loses to Jardine, undefeated Lyoto Machida (14-0), fresh after his shocking dispatch of Thiago Silva (13-1), will fight for the belt against another undefeated champion in Rashad Evans (13-0).

This was a bout that was not supposed to happen. It makes no sense for UFC matchmaker Joe Silva to make Jardine fight Jackson, who has knocked out Wanderlei Silva, who himself has knocked out Jardine in 36 seconds.

Jardine pulled off a close three round decision against Chuck Liddell. Jackson “whooped [Chuck’s] ass” twice, and did so in three minutes in UFC 71. If there is one thing that MMATH scholars should still consider, it is that Jardine did in fact beat Forrest Griffin (when Griffin was a lanky bar brawler).

All matters aside, the truth is this; the card in Columbus was not a big enough draw; so Joe Silva decided to quickly call in Rampage. Nonetheless, Jackson versus Jardine is a very intriguing match up.

Quinton Jackson

Strength 1: Striking

Regardless of how Juanito Ibarra infuriated Jackson and “betrayed” him, there is no doubting that the boxing coach refined Jackson’s striking abilities. After Ibarra’s mentorship, Jackson counterpunched the world’s best counterpuncher, the Iceman.  He knocked out the Axe Murderer, avenging his two losses in a matter of three minutes.

What those two fights tell about Jackson is fairly straightforward; Rampage is a dangerous striker now. His hooks and overhand rights are some of the best in the business. Fans of the “old” Rampage complain that Ibarra turned Jackson into a boxer and not the MMA fighter that he should be. They miss his slams. The last time fans saw Rampage’s trademark slam was when he picked up Griffin while the TUF representative was attempting a triangle, only to fail when Griffin let go out of sheer terror.

His wrestling also looked mediocre in that match (UFC 86) where Griffin took Jackson down in the second round, earning a decisive score for that particular round. You can blame Ibarra for that.

Strength 2: Wrestling and grappling

In one Pride FC event, Jackson was interviewed about what his biggest strength was. “My biggest strength is…my strength. I am very strong,” he replied. Watch some of his fights in Pride and you will see some of the most devastating slams in the history of MMA. Picking up a squealing 220 athlete and slamming him on the canvas is not just something WWE wrestlers do. Jackson does it as well, if not better.

No matter how unimpressive Jackson's grappling skills looked against Griffin, he is still a better grappler than Jardine. Against Jardine’s unorthodox and “aesthetically unpleasing stance,” Jackson has the option of mixing up his offense by going for an occasional takedown. It has been acknowledged that Jackson has trained a lot of wrestling ever since moving to Wolfslair Team in the U.K.   

Weakness 1: Defense against Muay Thai and leg kicks

Some say that Jackson’s flattening of Wanderlei Silva aptly answers the question: “Is Jackson really prepared enough for Muay Thai fighters?” I still say the answer remains to be found.

The Axe Murderer was not a Chute Boxe fighter anymore when he left Brazil. He turned into a boxer. Silva did not use his knees anymore and his stance also changed. Griffin won because he used low kicks and managed to stay out from the danger zone. Jardine could do it too, if not better.

As of now, Rampage’s defense against low kicks still remains underdeveloped, which is ironic since there should be a 240 pound Frenchman named Cheik Kongo lurking around somewhere in the same gym.

Keith Jardine

Strength 1: Kicks

At this stage, Jardine cannot be considered a better striker than Jackson. Jackson has a lot more power and is good at using both hands. If there is one thing Jardine can do better than Jackson, it is his kicks. Critics of Rampage have said repeatedly about how "flat-footed" Jackson is; he doesn't use foot work that often and tends to move around in a predictable way. This allowed for Forrest Griffin to land several low kicks and ultimately take the unanimous decision. Jackson also ate a few kicks during his fight against Wanderlei Silva. Whether Jackson corrected those mistakes remains to be seen in UFC 96.

Weakness 1: Lack in variety of opponents

Look at the opponents the Dean of Mean has faced in the Octagon. Brandon Vera. Wanderlei Silva. Chuck Liddell. Forrest Griffin. Wilson Gouveia. Houston Alexander. Stephan Bonnar. Notice something? They are all strikers. Yes, Jardine has won a few fights via armbar years ago, but it his the first time in a while that Jardine is facing a man who can strike very well and wrestle well.

Unless Jardine lands about 20 low kicks for each round, Jackson is going to close the distance and try a short uppercut or just take him down.  Usually, it is Jardine who frustrates opponents with his style, but a game Jackson might very easily frustrate Jardine and disrupt his game plan to “stay on the outside and pepper him with kicks and punches.” At this stage, Jackson simply has a significant advantage in terms of experience.

Weakness 2: Striking style

Striking is Jardine’s bread and butter. Jardine will have a slight reach advantage and size advantage coming to the fight, but as others have mentioned, Jardine’s biggest advantage comes from his “unpredictability.” His punches come from weird angles and he kicks to the body or leg when the opponent’s arms are positioned high up.

But Jackson has lately been eating up unorthodox fighters. Chuck Liddell. KO. Wanderlei Silva KO. To him, Jardine is just another version of an unorthodox fighter. It is also to be noted that Jardine has been knocked out mostly due to hooks and overhand rights, a specialty which is very likely to be served by Rampage Jackson. As soon as Jardine goes for one of his mean kicks, Rampage will most likely try to counterpunch the Techno Viking.

The Final verdict:

Jackson has only been knocked out once in his career of near 40 fights. Jardine has been knocked out twice in his last four. If Jackson loses this match, it will be via split decision or unanimous decision. If he wins this match, it will most likely be by KO or TKO.

Jackson is a heavy favorite to win this match, and for good reason. Ever since coming to the UFC, he has beaten Marvin Eastman, Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva, while losing only once. In UFC 96, Jackson will add another nice KO win to his resume and get a step closer to the Light Heavyweight Title. Lyoto Machida will just have to wait.