No Knockouts, but Jardine Shakes up Division with Win over Liddell

Chuck Liddell Iceman T-shirt Related Products UFC Ladies Revolution Jacket UFC 76-79 DVD Collector's Set UFC 76 Autographed Poster UFC Deluxe Action Figure - Mike "Quick" Swick Related News Official UFC 106 Weigh-In Results Tito Ortiz’ New Beginning Forrest Griffin – The Quest to Get That Winning Feeling Back Parisyan is out of UFC 106; Bout with Hazelett Off ‘Kos’ and Effect Headlines Official UFC 106 Weigh-In Results Tito Ortiz’ New Beginning Forrest Griffin – The Quest to Get That Winning Feeling Back UFC 106: Fantasy Preview Parisyan is out of UFC 106; Bout with Hazelett Off

By Thomas Gerbasi

ANAHEIM, CA, September 22 – Following a knockout loss in May, some observers expected Keith Jardine to be an easy mark for the return of another UFC 71 KO victim, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Chuck Liddell. But in tonight’s UFC 76 main event at the Honda Center, Jardine made it clear that there is no such thing as a sure thing in mixed martial arts, using an effective striking mix of kicks and punches to win a three round split decision over ‘The Iceman’.

Scores were 29-28 twice and 28-29 for Jardine, who rebounded from his loss to Houston Alexander in a big way. Liddell was looking to come back from the loss of his title to Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson on the same May card.

Jardine opened up hostilities with one of his patented leg kicks, with Liddell shaking it off and moving forward in stark contrast to his previous fight with Jackson, where he backpedaled and tried to use all of the Octagon real estate. And though Jardine would stay busy and fire back whenever Liddell would throw, the strikes from ‘The Iceman’ had considerably more heat on them, and soon Jardine had a knot on the right side of his head that shortly after began showing blood.

With a little over two minutes left, Jardine did score with a series of consecutive rights, one apparently catching a blinking Liddell in the eye, and ‘The Dean of Mean’ seemed to have gotten his legs under him as he confidently strode forward. The final 30 seconds of the round got the crowd roaring as a firefight broke out, with neither man holding a decided edge.

Liddell’s left jab was accurate in the early going of round two, but it was Jardine who made the biggest impression with a right hand that dropped the former champion. Liddell quickly jumped up, but the tone of the fight had changed, and Jardine’s kicks to the body bruised ‘The Iceman’ considerably. Jardine was fairly marked up too, with blood streaming down the right side of his face. With 1:40 left, Liddell got back on track with a short punch that staggered Jardine, but a follow-up knee and spinning backfist didn’t end the night for the Albuquerque resident.

With both fighters intent on ending matters before the judges had their say, the bombs kept flying in the third and final round, and Jardine continued to score with his kicks and punches, which had to be taking a toll on the 37-year old, who was starting to get hit more because he was looking to defend Jardine’s kicks. It was Liddell though who poured it on at the end, but it was too little too late for the former champion.

With the win, Jardine improves to 13-4-1; Liddell falls to 20-5.

Share |