Happy trails to the 'Dean of Mean': Jardine's best
Unsurprisingly, light heavyweight Keith Jardine was cut from the UFC after his loss to Matt Hamill at the "The Ultimate Fighter 11" season finale. He's had four losses in a row, so though Jardine was a company man who often delivered exciting fights, four losses is still four losses. Few fighters would be given the chance for a fifth loss.
Still, we're going to miss the man who is resembled in the infamous Techno Viking. Here's a look back at the best of his UFC career that started with the second season of "The Ultimate Fighter."
Split decision over Chuck Liddell at UFC 76: Future Hall-of-Fame Liddell had just lost the light heavyweight title to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and needed a bout to get back on track. The fight with Jardine was not that bout. Jardine used a series of body kicks to win a split decision over Liddell, who went 1-3 after the loss to Jardine.
TKO of Forrest Griffin at UFC 66: As the first winner of "The Ultimate Fighter," Griffin was a golden boy. He had one UFC loss, a controversial decision to Tito Ortiz, and not much was expected of Jardine. It seems that low expectations are the best thing for Jardine, as he TKO'ed Griffin in the first round on the highly-watched UFC 66.
Decision loss to Rampage Jackson at UFC 96: After Rashad Evans won the light heavyweight belt from Griffin, this fight was set up to decide who would get the next title shot. Jardine hung in punch for punch with Rampage, the one-time champ, until Jackson finally edged ahead in the final minute of the fight. Though it was the fight that started Jardine's losing streak, he still impressed.
His cameo on "Breaking Bad": Jardine played a bar patron who gets into a fight on the badass AMC show "Breaking Bad." What more do you need to know?
Sure, Jardine's career had plenty of lowlights. Getting knocked out by Ryan Bader, Thiago Silva, Houston Alexander and Wanderlei Silva all count as lows in his UFC career. But a gamer like Jardine — the kind of fighter who will give his all in every single bout — is one of the reasons we like MMA.
