Keith Jardine to face Luiz Cane at UFC 97

by PMorales on Jan 8, 2009 12:17 PM EST

MMABay reports that UFC LHW contender Keith Jardine is set to face rising Brazilian prospect Luiz Cane at UFC 97 in Montreal, Quebec.

Keith Jardine is 2-2 in his last four fights with split decision victories over Chuck Liddell and Brandon Vera and first round KO losses to Wanderlei Silva and Houston Alexander. The TUF alum had been rumored to make his return at UFC 96 in a possible rematch against Chuck Liddell.

Luiz Cane has rebounded well since his UFC debut DQ loss to James Irvin with TKO stoppages of Jason Lambert at UFC 85 and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 89.

UFC 97 is scheduled to be the UFC's second event in Canada and is expected to feature a MW championship bout between Anderson Silva and Thales Leites and the return of David Loiseau.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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I think they’ve been really trying to set jardine up to be a massive stepping stone for people instead of setting him up to go for the title.. A win by Cane boosts his stock and becomes a contender. A jardine win still doesnt give him a title shot cause he’s just 3-2 in his last five and just beat a prospect.

They expected chuck to beat jardine then get his title back but he didnt. They thought vera could win it and actually be a contender in 205 to set up a big match in the Philippines.

I think the only chance jardine gets to be close to sniffing a title shot is to do a jon fitch and just keep winning.. force them to give it to him.

http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/

by Anton Tabuena on Jan 8, 2009 8:27 AM EST reply actions

I’m picking Jardine, nipple tweaks baby.

They recently extended Vera’s contract, so if he wins his next fight he’ll probably headline a Philippines card.

by Pandanus on Jan 8, 2009 8:51 AM EST up reply actions

this is actually a really good matchup.. But i think cane wins by KO.

http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/

by Anton Tabuena on Jan 8, 2009 9:13 AM EST up reply actions

Winning

Thats ultimately what he has to do to get into contention. Win. A lot. Jardine just can’t win with decisions then get KTFO’d the next. He has to win big over big name opponents before he can sniff at that title shot.

And I’ve got a feeling he’d get KTFO’d again..

by Johann on Jan 8, 2009 8:59 AM EST up reply actions

Yep, if Jardine had beat Wanderlei Silva he would of definatly been in line for a title shot but he didn’t and the Vera performance didn’t really help him much either. The UFC isn’t trying to set up Jardine as a gatekeeper he has been doing that to himself with inconsistant performaces.

by who me on Jan 8, 2009 1:18 PM EST up reply actions

Definitely. Too bad for him, maybe its a mental thing for him but the good thing for his camp though is that he’s been in there with big name fighters (Forrest, Chuck..) that he’s able to take that experience and make a good gameplan for his teammates. And its been thrown around alot that he’s one of those fighters that’ll make as a great coach.

Its just that the LHW is too stacked that we see him constantly matched up with top fighters..

by Johann on Jan 9, 2009 2:42 PM EST up reply actions

Awesome!

by Nick Thomas on Jan 8, 2009 9:11 AM EST reply actions

Good fight.

If Jardine switches off again because he thinks he can walk through Cane like he did Alexander and to a smaller extent Wanderlei then he is going to go all rigid again and wake up to the sound of boops from his heart monitor.

Aside from Jardine sticking true to form I think we may see a Jackson gameplan that will involve a few takedowns to throw off Cane and keep him guessing en route to either a late Jardine stoppage or a Jardine decision win.

by Sam Cupitt on Jan 8, 2009 9:19 AM EST reply actions

I think it is more that Keith can be overwhelmed than he overlooks his opponents.
He fights in a controlled way that plays well against people who let him keep the pace slower but gets flustered against an aggressive striker.

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 11:01 AM EST up reply actions

And Gregg Jackson is clueless to this and has never trained for that, even after the Wanderlei fight.

Right. Let’s all keep in mind fighters evolve.

by Kaleb Kelchner on Jan 8, 2009 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

What evidence do you have that he has “evolved?”

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 4:23 PM EST up reply actions

Nipple tweak.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Jan 8, 2009 4:29 PM EST up reply actions

Do you really need evidence to thing that a human being has or has not learned from a past error? Come on man, your really reaching aren’t you?

And I love how you avoided the part about Gregg Jackson being “ignorant” to the fact that Jardine has been crushed in the face of aggression.

Or Jardine might just be one of those guys who can’t ever learn…but something is telling me he isn’t.

Gah, all of this over the Techno Viking, I don’t even like him as a fighter, but to think that Jardine hasn’t thought things through at this point is ludacris.

One last thing, Wand didn’t exactly come out throwing for the fences right out the gate, let’s not forget that it was a COUNTER punch that put Jardine down.

by Kaleb Kelchner on Jan 8, 2009 10:16 PM EST up reply actions

And òn that note. If Cane does the same first round against Jardine as he did against Sokodjou it may well be Cane that get KTFO`d. In the first round Sokodjou repeatedly hit him with some very hard punches. Didn`t even seem like Cane even tried to avoid them. THen Sokodjou gassed and basically gave up. Voila! Allof a sudden Cane has an iron-chin (which he appearantly needs) and is a super-striker (Sokodjou couldn`t avoid an oncoming truck).

I do think it will be a KO. But I`m not a 100% it will be Jardine on the floor.

"They called him the axe-murderer because he was murdering chumps. They should have been calling him the chump-murderer..." Rampage Jackson (commentating on the fighting abilities of Wanderlei "F#ck Chuck" Silva.)

by BlueberryMuffin on Jan 9, 2009 10:55 AM EST up reply actions

Cane blocked a lot of those shots and I suspect used that as his gameplan to tire Sokoudjou out, before he turned it on and put him away. A good gameplan that worked perfectly.

by Rundownloser on Jan 9, 2009 11:10 AM EST up reply actions

Isn`t Jardine a better wrestler than Sokodjou? And was it part of the plan to let Sokodjou hit him that much?

by BlueberryMuffin on Jan 9, 2009 2:55 PM EST up reply actions

He blocked many of the shots, negating much of their effect, while tiring Soko out. It’s called rope-a-dope.

by Rundownloser on Jan 9, 2009 5:53 PM EST up reply actions

No way Jardine hits as hard as Soccerjew did early though SJ gasses hard.

And he may wrestle better but I’d be curious how Soko’s real world judo credentials stack up to some learned on the job wrestling from Jardine.

Gimme 1 Round!

by skwirrl on Jan 10, 2009 12:56 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

…..“soccerjew”……?

by georgehouse on Jan 11, 2009 6:54 PM EST up reply actions

Soccerjew = Sokoudjou

Bolts from the Blue // "Game over." - Jamal Williams
Bloody Elbow // "Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." - H.L. Mencken

by Richard Wade on Jan 11, 2009 11:03 PM EST up reply actions

It's all about

Sokodon’tusemyjudo

by Derek Suboticki on Jan 13, 2009 4:40 PM EST up reply actions

Jardine TKO`d Forrest and dropped Chuck. He has power, add your TD`s to that and Cane might have to stay on the outside. Even fight.

by BlueberryMuffin on Jan 9, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions

Thank god it isn't a rematch w/ Liddell

This is going to be a great fight, we’ll see Cane get tested in this one and see if Jardine even belongs in contender talks after this one.

by Gunslinger20 on Jan 8, 2009 9:24 AM EST reply actions

What? Of course he does. He’s beaten two of the last four champions.

by George Lucas on Jan 8, 2009 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

Seriously. Losing to Wandy is nothing to be ashamed of. Beating Chuck is pretty big. Even if Chuck is quite sad these days..

by lbk on Jan 8, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions

NO MORE REMATCHES!!!

Jardine vs Liddell, it makes zero sense other than giving Dana’s former golden cash cow a chance to avenge a loss.

He got straight KTFO by Wandy and he beat Brandon Vera by the skin of his teeth. There are many other LHW’s that are far ahead of him in the title contention race. He’s gonna have to pull off more than a victory against Brandon Vera… let me rephrase that…. A DECISION WIN over Brandon Vera.

Fighting Luiz Cane is a very good start for him to make his way back to being a contender, no way Jardine is a contender now.

by Gunslinger20 on Jan 8, 2009 8:27 PM EST up reply actions

Cane All Day.

http://mma4real.net/

by Tha Realness on Jan 8, 2009 9:46 AM EST reply actions

Great match making continues in the UFC..

by lbk on Jan 8, 2009 9:46 AM EST reply actions

This change makes sense. The UFC is good about having multiple guys from the same camp fight at the same UFC or at least only a couple weeks apart. As of now, Team Jackson has Loiseau and Jardine lined up for UFC 97. It makes it easier on the fighters if multiple guys are trying to hit their peak at the same time.

by Hardcharger on Jan 8, 2009 10:03 AM EST reply actions

I don’t believe David Loiseau trains full-time with Greg Jackson,

by Scott Haber on Jan 8, 2009 10:34 AM EST up reply actions

Neither does GSP. That doesn’t mean they aren’t at Jackson’s in the month leading up to the fight, perfecting their gameplans and trying to get in peak condition. GSP, Rashad, Jardine, Marquardt, Loiseau, Villasenor, etc, all train together. Putting multiple guys who train together on the same card is beneficial all around.

by Hardcharger on Jan 8, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions

Peak condition =

Having Nate Marquardt in charge of your nutrition and “supplements.”

Gimme 1 Round!

by skwirrl on Jan 8, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions

Peak condition = S&C with Jonathan Chaimberg, having head coach Greg Jackson, striking coach Mike WInkeljohn, and sparring with Rashad Evans, Nate Marquardt, and Georges St. Pierre.

by Hardcharger on Jan 8, 2009 4:11 PM EST up reply actions

Awesome! I’ve been waiting for this fight!

by Scott Haber on Jan 8, 2009 10:34 AM EST reply actions

GOOD!

This is the fight I have wanted to see since both fighters won at UFC 89.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Jan 8, 2009 10:56 AM EST reply actions

Cane via aggressiveness alah houston and wand

by dbcb on Jan 8, 2009 11:38 AM EST reply actions

Please no!

I can’t take it again, I don’t want to see Jardine knocked out again, please no!

I know that was a bit dramatic – but really is anyone else ready to see The Dean of Mean get knocked out again?

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Jan 8, 2009 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

meh, he is goign to be the new upper level gatekeeper of the LHW division

by dbcb on Jan 8, 2009 12:04 PM EST up reply actions

"meh, he is goign to be the new upper level gatekeeper of the LHW division"

Very true. Even if Jardine doesn’t know it yet.

by donkeypunch on Jan 8, 2009 12:24 PM EST up reply actions

Hadn’t thought about it like that, but it totally makes sense. Maybe he’ll get a couple good matchups and a title shot if they’re short of contenders (unlikely in this of all divisions, I know).

by Rundownloser on Jan 9, 2009 12:58 AM EST up reply actions

ummm….YES!

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Jan 8, 2009 6:02 PM EST up reply actions

Luiz Cane takes on the TECHNO VIKING!!

by Gogoplatapus on Jan 8, 2009 1:34 PM EST reply actions

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Jan 8, 2009 6:03 PM EST up reply actions

My internet skills are very weak.

Eliot Marshall: Bader won. Like I said in the episode, I'm not going to make any excuses. It's my job to be able to deal with when somebody's doing that. It's not his job to change up his tactics.

http://eliotmarshall.com/

by BJJDenver on Jan 8, 2009 6:22 PM EST up reply actions

Still awesome.

by Rundownloser on Jan 9, 2009 12:58 AM EST up reply actions

This is bad for Jardine. He hasn’t really done so well against aggressive strikers. Those seem to be the worst match up for him. Wand, Houston and now Cane. Jardine won’t be able to get into a rhythm against Cane and I think he’ll be KOed in the 1st.

by Discman2 on Jan 8, 2009 1:34 PM EST reply actions

I really want to see Jarkine win this one and show some consistency.

by lbk on Jan 8, 2009 1:42 PM EST reply actions

Why isn't this being rec'd more?

This is a HUGE fight – the winner may be in line for a #1 contender’s fight in the summer, and Jardine is one of the most underrated fighters on the planet. I can’t wait.

by Derek Suboticki on Jan 8, 2009 2:01 PM EST reply actions

Maybe because some people don’t rec based on how HUGE a fight is going to be but instead grade the post on the post itself.

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 4:25 PM EST up reply actions

Cane by murder. Jardine can't deal with aggressive fighters.

Brad Ziegler had a scoreless inning streak. Brad Ziegler had not met BJ Upton.

by P Brady on Jan 8, 2009 3:33 PM EST reply actions

Greg Jackson needs to have Jardine train with a female silverback gorilla on her period so he can learn how to defend against aggressive fighters.

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Jan 8, 2009 3:41 PM EST reply actions

Jardine is going to get Cane in this one.

by lbk on Jan 8, 2009 3:58 PM EST reply actions

you mean get Caned

like AA is going to get Fedored

Gimme 1 Round!

by skwirrl on Jan 8, 2009 5:21 PM EST up reply actions

I can’t believe that people are overlooking Jardine yet again, Cane is the perfect opponent for him and he is going to get worked over by Jardine. This is a great fight that should get Jardine closer to a title shot and blow up the hype train of yet another fighter that for whatever reason has become vastly overated on the net.

by Raker on Jan 8, 2009 6:48 PM EST reply actions

This is the exact matchup I predicted a couple days ago, except for UFC 97. Jardine never gets easy fights, which in theory is a good thing, but it would be nice if the same metric was applied across the board. If they make Chuck Liddell vs. James Irvin the UFC 96 main event, I might puke a little. Chuck vs. Wanderlei 2 at this point would just be weird, considering the original expectations. I can hear Goldie now:

“Two of the biggest MMA legends ever step into the octagon to face each other for the second time! By the way, their combined record for the last two years is 2-7! And each of them just got absolutely melted!”

In fact, that should be the name for the PPV. UFC 96: MELTED

by smoogy on Jan 9, 2009 1:15 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Well, damnit, Chuck v Wandy made for a helluva fight last time. I just hate the idea that these guys should forgo paychecks because they aren’t 100% of what they once were. Basketball players don’t retire at 33, so why should fighters?

by Derek Suboticki on Jan 9, 2009 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

Fighting is a lot more dangerous than basketball. That said, I don’t think these guys necessarily need to retire. They just don’t need to be pushed towards a title shot either.

by FRANKIE on Jan 10, 2009 3:06 PM EST up reply actions

I just don’t think Chuck v Wandy II will be within shouting distance of a #1 contender’s match. It will be a great, exciting fight, and the winner will probably fight a guy ranked higher than him while the loser fillets someone lower. Everybody wins, and Lyoto or Thiago or Anderson (!) or Keith (!!) or someone else gets the next shot after Rampage.

by Derek Suboticki on Jan 10, 2009 4:05 PM EST up reply actions

I totally agree with this. I’m sorry if my previous post suggested otherwise. I was just trying to point out the difference between old basketball players and old fighters.

by FRANKIE on Jan 11, 2009 1:38 AM EST up reply actions