UFC: Keith Jardine Looking for Redemption Against Gerard Mousasi at Strikeforce

Batting 6-for-13 in UFC fights, Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine was released from his contract after four consecutive losses. He then went on to lose his fifth straight fight in a row against Shark Fights 13 opponent Trevor Prangley, a former UFC, Bellator and Strikeforce fighter who has held multiple titles with some of the best, but smaller fight promotions.

Jardine then went on to win his next two fights, which put him back in the big leagues with a fight scheduled against one of the sport's toughest, most dominant and most skilled fighters, Gerard Mousasi, at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley on April 9.

Jardine, in his usual "Dean of Mean" fashion, has once again shown why he is MMA's most feared underdog.  He is stepping up to replace Mousasi's original opponent, Mike Kyle, who was injured during training earlier this week.

"The Dean" first caught the attention of the public eye during his appearance on the second season of The Ultimate Fighter on Spike TV, where he advanced to the semifinals and was defeated by then-future UFC Light Heavyweight champ Rashad Evans. He then went on to fight on his first official UFC card where he punished opponent Kerry Schall with vicious and devastating leg kicks for a dominant TKO win.

While quickly developing a lethal set of Octagon skills and through sheer mental toughness, Jardine has always been willing to step up and never one to back down.  He has fought his way through some of the toughest fighters the sport has to offer. Win, lose or draw, Jardine comes to fight each and every time, facing the likes of Wilson Gouveia, Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Thiago Silva, Stephan Bonner and Forrest Griffin. 

Now "The Dean" finds himself back at the top with a chance to once more advance his career and move one step closer to another UFC contract when he faces Mousasi.

It's obvious UFC president Dana White likes the guy. If he didn't, he wouldn't have given Jardine a fourth chance to stay in the UFC instead of releasing him due to the standard "three-loss rule."

Then again, what's not to like about an exciting fighter who lets it all hang out each and every fight?

Will Jardine seize this opportunity to put himself back into the spotlight and move one step closer to a possible UFC contract, or will Mousasi be a bit too much for him?

Mousasi is quite a handful for any fighter out there, boasting a professional record of 34 fights with 30 wins, three losses and one draw. Mousasi has never been knocked out, has only been submitted twice (in 2005 and 2006) and lost a five-round decision for the Light Heavyweight Championship to "King Mo" Lawal at Strikeforce: Nashville in April 2010.

Jardine might be the underdog going into this fight, but "The Dean" is quite used to that, and he plays the part well.

A win over Mousasi would be a gigantic victory for Jardine and quite possibly put him in the mix for a Strikeforce Light Heavyweight title shot sometime in the near future. He's given plenty of fighters trouble who are just as skilled as Mousasi.

Then again, he's also been KO'd by lesser opponents.

If he can keep his chin down, his hands high and assuming his cardio is up to par after taking the fight on such short notice, Jardine could prove more difficult for Mousasi than one might think.

With Zuffa LLC's acquisition of Strikeforce, we should start seeing these kinds of matchups more often. It should give former UFC fighters and fan favorites a chance to fight their way back to the top and hopefully land them in the UFC once again.