Dec-23-2006
Jardine Ready for A Blue Collar Battle on Saturday
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Affliction - GSP Justice Signature Series Charcoal
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By Thomas Gerbasi
The last time Keith Jardine readied for a pay-per-view bout in Las Vegas, he got his heart broken. No, his girl didn’t leave him and he didn’t lose his purse at the blackjack table, but after a rigorous training camp and weighing in for his August bout with Mike Nickels, the fight was called off due to injury just hours before he was scheduled to step into the Octagon.
“I found out the morning of the fight,” said Jardine, still incredulous. “That’s not supposed to happen. I really didn’t know how to feel or what to do. I was completely lost actually. But the UFC really took care of me. (UFC President) Dana (White) saw me and gave me a full purse for that fight, and the next week I got the call saying I’m gonna fight Forrest (Griffin), so I really didn’t have a lot of time to feel down about it.”
In practically every way, Jardine’s fight with Griffin on Saturday at UFC 66 is an upgrade. From quality of opponent to impact on the division and place on the card, this precursor to the light heavyweight championship bout between Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz is a big fight – a really big fight. But the calm, cool, and collected Jardine isn’t bothered at all by being in the spotlight.
“Actually, it’s motivation,” he said. “I’d feel worse if I was on the undercard and trying to make my way into the main show. That’s more pressure to me. So it’s really not an issue. I stay here in Albuquerque, so there’s not a lot of media and I can concentrate on my training. And when I get out there, it’s just business as usual. I fought (Stephan) Bonnar on the main event of the Spike show – it wasn’t as big an event as this one, but it was still a big deal and I had to deal with a lot of media then too, and it was no big deal.”
What is a big deal is fighting Griffin, who has gone from being the post-Ultimate Fighter face of the UFC to becoming a legitimate 205-pound contender after a razor-thin loss to Tito Ortiz and a rematch victory over Bonnar on the same UFC 62 card where Jardine was scheduled to face Nickels.
“I’m sure he’s gonna show something he hasn’t shown before, or maybe he thinks he’s just a tighter boxer than me and is gonna beat me on my feet,” said Jardine of Griffin. “But I think it’s the perfect match for me because he’s not gonna run from me. He’s gonna be willing to go toe to toe and see who the better fighter is.”
And he kinda likes the underdog role.
“I love that role,” he said “I was probably more nervous for the Mike Nickels fight because I was such a heavy favorite and I wanted to perform so well. This fight, all I’ve got to do is go out and be my best, and that’s my goal.”
Like Griffin, the 31-year old Jardine – a member of the cast of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’s second season - has made a name for himself as not only a reality TV star who could fight, but a legit fighter who just happened to be on a reality series. His emergence after wins over Kerry Schall and Wilson Gouveia and a controversial decision loss to Bonnar came as a surprise to some though.
“I feel like I’m kinda getting in the back door here,” said Jardine. “I didn’t win the reality show, but it fixed all the holes in my game. I became a much better fighter and with each fight I’m adding to that. The Bonnar fight, I was still kind of a rookie then, and I learned a lot. But this fight, if I perform at my best, will definitely establish me as one of the top light heavyweights in the world.”
The Bonnar fight – in April of 2006 - saw Jardine go to war with his foe for three rounds, but he ended up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision. Few agreed with the official verdict.
“I thought I won the fight, but at the end of it, I knew in my heart that I had a little bit more left to give,” he admits. “Don’t get me wrong, I tried my best in that fight, but as far as pacing myself, I know I could have gone a little bit harder. This fight’s going to be similar to that, and I know I’m not gonna win a close decision. Any close decision is gonna go to Forrest, so I’m gonna have to really separate myself from him.”
And given the stamina and willingness to war on the part of Griffin, Jardine’s not expecting an early night on Saturday.
“You train for every fight like you’re going three rounds and that it’s gonna be a war,” he said. “Like my last fight (against Gouveia), I thought I was gonna finish that early, but mentally I was ready for the three round war so I didn’t get rattled by him coming out and kicking my ass in the first round. This fight’s gonna be the same way. I’m ready for a three round war and I expect that. Anything earlier than that is a bonus.”
Needless to say, going hard for 15 minutes against a relentless foe takes top-notch training, but Jardine’s got that covered too, as he’s a member of one of sport’s elite fighting teams – the Greg Jackson squad out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. In fact, when this interview was conducted, Jardine – who counts Rashad Evans, Nathan Marquardt, Diego Sanchez, Joey Villasenor and Georges St. Pierre as gym mates – had just finished an exhausting gauntlet where he sparred with some of the sport’s elite for eight rounds where a fresh opponent was inserted for each round.
“It’s just incredible,” said Jardine of working with the Jackson camp. “Even though Forrest is one of the toughest fighters in the world mentally and has the best endurance, the fight’s gonna be easy compared to what I go through in practice with these guys.”
Well, ‘easy’ wouldn’t be the word I’d use for what is shaping up to be a grueling showdown with Griffin, but maybe it will be for ‘The Dean of Mean’, who has a simple philosophy for when the going gets tough in the Octagon.
“I consider myself a blue collar guy,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of blue collar jobs and I approach fighting the same way. If things aren’t going my way, I just put my head down and go to work. That’s just my mentality and I think that comes through in fights.”
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