Ryan Bader vs. Keith Jardine Expected for February’s UFC 110 in Australia
Light heavyweights Ryan Bader and Keith Jardine each announced on Twitter on Tuesday that they had agreed to their next opponents, and the pair will reportedly meet at UFC 110 on February 21 in Sydney, Australia.
Bader (10-0) defeated Vinny Magalhaes last December to win The Ultimate Fighter 8, then began his post-TUF career with a unanimous decision over Carmelo Marrero in April. After recovering from a knee injury, “Darth” Bader returned to action in October with a unanimous decision of Eric Schafer.
Jardine (14-6-1), a semi-finalist on The Ultimate Fighter 2, dropped a unanimous decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in March then suffered a first-round knockout to Thiago Silva in his most-recent fight in August. “The Dean of Mean” has earned notable wins over Brandon Vera, Chuck Liddell, and Forrest Griffin inside the Octagon, but has lost 3 of 4 and 4 of his past 6 bouts.
UFC 110, which airs live on pay-per-view on February 20 from the Acer Arena, is expected to be headlined by Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez and is also likely to feature Wanderlei Silva vs. Michael Bisping, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Ben Rothwell, and Joe Stevenson vs. George Sotiropoulos.
Tickets for the card, which was officially announced on Wednesday, go on sale on December 9 and are available to the general public beginning on December 11.
For the latest UFC 110 news and UFC rumors stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com.
Pictured: Ryan Bader
Tags: Keith Jardine, Ryan Bader
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Yet another interesting looking bout for the oz card, seems to improve by the day.
So far this “looks like” it has the best match-ups out of the next four PPV’s. I think this might be a do or die fight for Jardine, regardless of his previous victories. I don’t think he has enough drawing power to get away with 3 losses in a row.
I wanna see this fight, should be good.
Bader by GNP in the second round
This is becoming a super sick card. Although i’ve already proven my point about Jardine and even he’s proven for me also, he needs to win this fight bad because he’s proven to be a Josh Koscheck where they can be considered Contenders but are they really? And when given a chance to move up they never deliver. Ryan Bader is a somewhat “big name” and a win over him would put Jardine not back “in the mix” but certainly help him get on a road back to trying to be a Contender.
Ryan Bader is still very green and i consider him to be overrated, if he beats Jardine it will be huge for him because for some crazy reason Jardine is a “big name” and is highly regarded by a lot of fans and people in general in the MMA world so both guys have something to gain in this fight and Jardine has the most to lose because Bader is still young and hasn’t fought top competition uyet so he can get a pass if he loses this fight, Jardine however cannot afford to lose this fight or else he might find himself fighting for Strikeforce pretty soon.
Jardine has always had decent strinking and ko power but also has always had a super jello chin that’s more guilty than suspect. I honestly think that all Jardine needs to do is avoid the takedown and if he can do that he can put Bader away beause Bader has zero stand-up. Bader obviously needs to go Cain Velasquez on Jardine and take him down and control him on the ground and try and finish Jardine there which i think he for sure can.
Bader will most likely win this fight because he’s stronger,younger and most likely will wrestle Jardine the whole fight to score a decision or tko, if Jardine can keep this fight standing then he’ll win with either leg kicks or a tko or ref stoppage, interesting fight though.
Bader via decision
I like your comparison with Kos. With his recent losses he’s not really a contender anymore, but his fights are usually fairly exciting. Jardine has also beaten some big name fighters, and was on TUF. And unlike Kos, doesn’t act like an occasional d*bag. For these reasons I don’t see him getting cut though, unless he has a few really bad losses in a row to chumps/ newbie fighters. Having him fight on the televised card will be fine for the next few fights, regardless of his record recently, as his fights are entertaining. Dana knows what sells.
So if Jardine loses does this mean he will be cut from the UFC?
- 3 consecutive losses
- 2 wins in his last 7 fights
I’ve seen guys cut for a lot less. But then again, Jardine is TUF alumni!
Bear in mind that before Jardine’s recent destruction at the hands of T. Silva, his last fight was a close decision loss to Rampage. He’s also beaten Chuck Liddell and Forrest Griffin. Though if he loses to Bader, which I actually think is unlikely, he probably will be cut.
Very interesting bout. I wonder how Jardine’s takedown defence can handle Bader’s power. Or maybe Jardine can keep the Darthness at bay with his leg kicks. Should be a good card.
However, I don’t understand how it will air “live” on ppv from Australia. So let’s just say they have the main card at a traditional 10pm Sydney start time. On the East Coast it’s 8am. On the West Coast it’s 5am. I highly doubt anyone will be watching it live anywhere in North America. I’m guessing the world will wake up Saturday morning and just download the ppv that had already happened while they were sleeping. If there should ever be a free event, this is the one.
I actually think darth will be waiting for jardine’s kicks so he can take him to the ground and unleash the “dark side”. If jardine loses i doubt he’ll get cut. It seems no matter how times jardine, grove, danzig, diaz or any of the other tuf alumni lose, dana just won’t cut them. Other fighters like clementi, mcdonald and even leites have been cut for way less. Oh yeah, and my boy brock larson was just cut too.
I think bader will knock jardine out. He’ll take him down and beat him there. It’s not like jardine is this super tough guy anyways, he’s just a dude from tuf who trains with “sugar” and “yoda”. Other than that, what else is on his resume besides forrest way back when forrest wasn’t forrest and besides a finished lidell?
The force is strong with bader on this one!
Leites was cut as much, if not more, for how he lost in addition to that he lost. Dropping to your back every time your opponent throws a punch is not going to help you keep your job. Larson lost to people who are not even top 10, and therefore deserved to be cut.
Arguments could be made for Clementi and MacDonald not deserving to be cut, and Grove, Danzig and Diaz deserving to be, though.
Not that I’m a Jardine supporter, but I think you’re selling him a bit short by posting that other than training with and at Greg Jackson’s, Jardine hasn’t got much going for him.
If you look at his record in the last 24 months or so, I’m not sure losing to Wanderlei Silva, Quentin Jackson, and Thiago Silva is grounds for dismissal from his job. Not too many other 205ers can say they’ve faced that level of opposition in the last 2 years.
Jardine’s got big fight experience, has been exposed to the spotlight, generally has the good will of the promotion, and in the cage rocks a stand-up style that can be daunting for the uninitiated.
Remember how Rampage and Vera seemed cornfused by Jardine’s herky-jerky stutter-step footwork?
Jardine also won a tough SD against Brandon Vera last year, and its not like Vera is a no-name.
A lesser fighter would have gotten finished by Jardine that night at 96, so lets not totally write the guy off just yet.
Although honestly I think Jardine is really just treading water these days in the risign tide of the 205 division…
Very intruiging match-up of TUF alums, in that we have a young 205er on his way up, and a veteran 205er some would say is on his way down, and possibly out.
While I don’t think as poorly of Jardine as some, I can’t share the POV of his supporters who keep justify Jardine’s roster spot by harping on his win over Liddell and his decision loss to Jackson, who of course most Jardine supporters call bullsh!t on.
IMO Keith Jardine is a talented 205er, and in another promotion would probably be a top 5 guy. However in the UFC’s most stacked weightclass, Jardine continues to lose ground to stronger, faster, more athletic men as the sport and the UFC blows up.
And against a 2 time D-1 All American wrestler like Ryan Bader, I don’t see how this fight doesn’t end by ref stoppage, and with Jardine dazed and confused on the mat or pinned against the cage.
Post-fight, I see Jardine being offered the “opportunity to fight outside of the UFC to work out the kinks”, sort of like Houston Alexander, rather than just cut loose.
After all, how long would it be after Jardine’s management gets the dreaded FedEx envelope with Jardine’s UFC release paperwork would his cel be chirping with a call from Scott Coker??
JUSTIN,
You know dude that’s a great point. I seemed to have blocked the leites vs silva fight out of my memory because it was horrible. So that enough is grounds for termination. But larson came back to the ufc with back to back finishes and twice stepped in on short notice for injured fighters and fights that needed to be filled. I mean that’s a hungry fighter/ loyal employee if i ever saw one.
JCOHL,
I understand where you’re coming from and i try my hardest to talk about jardine from a non bias standpoint because it’s no secret I can’t stand the dude.
IMO, he was spoiled by getting to fight wanderlei and especially jackson(a fight he didn’t earn or deserve and only got because his teammate turned down that fight). Jardine has competed against some top fighters but hasn’t beat any of them in the last 2 years. He beat vera by split and although i am a big vera fan, he isn’t really top ten if you ask me. I just think dana knows jardine is a well known fighter who for some reason is liked by many people, therefor always finds a match for him instead of cutting him. MK4 and i both agree he is the gatekeeper @ 205(kinda why is placed against a rising young dude like bader) and that could be another reason he’s staying around but that’s a different topic.
If jardine does lose, and lose by ko or sub, it will be hard to argue the fact that he should be cut.
But Larson also said he couldn’t get motivated for under card fights. If you can’t get motivated for a fight in the UFC, under card or not, I have to wonder what you can get motivated for.
Jazzkok,
I agree that should he lose this fight it’s hard to argue he shouldn’t be cut. But I think you supplied the reason for why he most likely wont be- he is a well known fighter/liked by many people. He may sink further down the ladder and only face new up and comers- his days of facing real challengers may be over with a loss to Bader.
Just wondering, what is it about Jardine that you can’t stand (not trying to pick a fight- am just curious as he doesn’t strike me as someone that could generate a strong dislike)?
jazz – its all good in terms of you not digging Jardine.
I’m just trying to make sure the rest of my frenZied crew doesn’t fall into the same trap I did with Brock Lesnar.
I so disliked the guy being in our sport, and his lack of traditional sportsmanship, that I was briefly blinded to the fact that Lesnar was in fact developing a simple but effective catch-wrestling skillset to accompany his Neanderthalic size and strength, until Justin H pointed it out over in the forum, with video no less!!
I was doubly embarrassed because my MMA background is catch-, or as it was called back in the day, shoot-wrestling…
Hopefully Jardine wins!!!!
good match up be intresting to see where bader is at. i think jardine might be a bit to much for him, his last performance he looked a bit gun shy but he was comeing back from an op, intresting match up!
Jardine should not be cut. I wish they would have given him an easier fight though. Bader is tough, as much as i don’t like Jardine, I hate Bader.
all that experience jardine has gets him through bader…. bader will try to get him to the ground and there will be scrambles, and jardine is great at throwing power in a scramble, i think he catches bader…
I’m really looking forward to this fight. I think jardine comes back in this one. Bader is good but jardine is a mad dog tht will latch on this one and not let go till his hand is raised. Should be a great fight.
go bader, i would love to see him go somewhere in this already killer weight class. i’m sick of watching jardine’s goofy style and creepy smile. lets get bader who has the potential to be a brock lesnar style fighter (only better sportsmanship and 205) i’m callin bader by choke