Sherdog.com Preview: UFC 57 – Liddell-Couture 3
Keith Jardine vs. Mike Whitehead
Feb 3, 2006
Preliminary Light Heavyweight Bout
JARDINE: Submission fighter Keith Jardine (Pictures) trains out of New Mexico with The Ultimate Fighter reality show winner Diego Sanchez (Pictures), KOTC champion Joey Villasenor (Pictures), Brian Schall (Pictures) and Damacio Page (Pictures) (both of whom tore up the TKO in Canada the other night) and Dan Christison (Pictures). They all fight as part of the Jackson’s Submission Fighting under the direction of Greg Jackson at Jackson’s Gaidojutsu Academy.
Jardine brings a pro MMA record of 9-1-1 and makes his UFC
Pay-Per-View debut. He was a football coach, avid wrestler and
former bounty hunter who was always interested in fighting and
aspired to be in the UFC more than a decade ago.
Jardine began fighting in 2001 in the Gladiator Challenge promotion, where he fought the Bas Rutten (Pictures)-trained Amir Rahnavardi (Pictures) and submitted him via armbar.
Russia’s biggest MMA promotion, M-1, was next and Jardine was back racking up air miles to fight in the M-1 Heavyweight GP. He battled Arman Gambaryan, a member of the prestigious Red Devil Sports Club, and armbarred the highly touted Russian midway through the first round.
Work began on season two of The Ultimate Fighter and Jardine was selected to take part. He lost a unanimous decision to eventual heavyweight contract winner Rashad Evans (Pictures) but still fought on the Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale like the rest of the athletes on the show. There he faced Kerry Schall (Pictures) and punished “Meat Truck” with leg kicks before the ref called a stop to the action late in the second round.
WHITEHEAD: Submission grappler and Muay Thai fighter Mike Whitehead (Pictures) fights out of the newly-formed Elite Performance camp with Jeremy Horn (Pictures), Justin Eilers (Pictures) and Travis Wiuff (Pictures) with a pro MMA record of 9-4-0.
He began training for MMA in 1999 with Derek Cleveland and began fighting in 2000 at the Kumite in Idaho. After bouts in small shows in Oregon and again in Idaho, Whitehead took part in the SuperBrawl 24 heavyweight tournament.
In the opening round he faced future UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and was pounded with strikes. It looked like Whitehead’s fighting time in Hawaii was over for that trip but he fought again the next day, defeating Miletich fighter Ben Rothwell (Pictures) by decision, to remain alive in the tournament. Well, that wasn’t his day either. He faced Sylvia again and got pounded with strikes even quicker than the first time.
After a year away from the ring Whitehead battled Brazilian Top Team fighter Alex Paz in a HOOKnSHOOT show, losing a split decision. Another year passed before he fought again, but by then he had joined the Miletich camp. Whitehead honed his skills and rattled off four consecutive wins, none of them going the distance. Working his way to the WEC 13 four-man tournament title, Whitehead suffered a broken nose courtesy of fellow UFC 57 fighter Brandon Vera (Pictures), putting an end to his night.
From there he went on to win three straight, including victories over veterans Aaron Brink (Pictures) (via decision) and Travis Fulton (via choke). Last year Whitehead, like Jardine, took part in season two of The Ultimate Fighter reality show for a chance at a heavyweight contract. His only bout on the show was a disappointing three-round decision loss to Rashad Evans (Pictures). Now Whitehead makes his long-awaited UFC debut.
MY PICK: Jardine. This is a tough one to pick. Both guys have won three pro bouts in a row. Both recently lost to Evans by decision. I think Whitehead has two big challenges in this bout. First, he’s dropping to light heavyweight. He’s fought at 260 pounds before. That’s a lot of weight to deal with. Jardine had to trim 15-20 pounds off his frame. Not easy, but doable. Second, Mike is making his UFC debut. He had a bad showing on TUF and now gets someone from the show in his debut. Is it too much to deal with? Maybe not. Maybe he’ll shine. I’m going with Jardine, however, by TKO from strikes in the second round.
JARDINE: Submission fighter Keith Jardine (Pictures) trains out of New Mexico with The Ultimate Fighter reality show winner Diego Sanchez (Pictures), KOTC champion Joey Villasenor (Pictures), Brian Schall (Pictures) and Damacio Page (Pictures) (both of whom tore up the TKO in Canada the other night) and Dan Christison (Pictures). They all fight as part of the Jackson’s Submission Fighting under the direction of Greg Jackson at Jackson’s Gaidojutsu Academy.
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Jardine began fighting in 2001 in the Gladiator Challenge promotion, where he fought the Bas Rutten (Pictures)-trained Amir Rahnavardi (Pictures) and submitted him via armbar.
He went to fight in Rage in the Cage in Arizona and the Extreme
Challenge in the Midwest (losing to UFC vet Travis Wiuff (Pictures) by KO) before hooking up with the
New Mexico division of the King of the Cage. After winning all four
of his fights against experienced competition — including Bryan Pardoe (Pictures), Allan Sullivan (Pictures) and George Allen — Jardine traveled
to Japan in ’03 to face UFC veteran and seasoned fighter Keiichiro Yamamiya
(Pictures). They fought to a draw but
it was an important international experience and the first time he
fought out of the country.
Russia’s biggest MMA promotion, M-1, was next and Jardine was back racking up air miles to fight in the M-1 Heavyweight GP. He battled Arman Gambaryan, a member of the prestigious Red Devil Sports Club, and armbarred the highly touted Russian midway through the first round.
Work began on season two of The Ultimate Fighter and Jardine was selected to take part. He lost a unanimous decision to eventual heavyweight contract winner Rashad Evans (Pictures) but still fought on the Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale like the rest of the athletes on the show. There he faced Kerry Schall (Pictures) and punished “Meat Truck” with leg kicks before the ref called a stop to the action late in the second round.
WHITEHEAD: Submission grappler and Muay Thai fighter Mike Whitehead (Pictures) fights out of the newly-formed Elite Performance camp with Jeremy Horn (Pictures), Justin Eilers (Pictures) and Travis Wiuff (Pictures) with a pro MMA record of 9-4-0.
He began training for MMA in 1999 with Derek Cleveland and began fighting in 2000 at the Kumite in Idaho. After bouts in small shows in Oregon and again in Idaho, Whitehead took part in the SuperBrawl 24 heavyweight tournament.
In the opening round he faced future UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia (Pictures) and was pounded with strikes. It looked like Whitehead’s fighting time in Hawaii was over for that trip but he fought again the next day, defeating Miletich fighter Ben Rothwell (Pictures) by decision, to remain alive in the tournament. Well, that wasn’t his day either. He faced Sylvia again and got pounded with strikes even quicker than the first time.
After a year away from the ring Whitehead battled Brazilian Top Team fighter Alex Paz in a HOOKnSHOOT show, losing a split decision. Another year passed before he fought again, but by then he had joined the Miletich camp. Whitehead honed his skills and rattled off four consecutive wins, none of them going the distance. Working his way to the WEC 13 four-man tournament title, Whitehead suffered a broken nose courtesy of fellow UFC 57 fighter Brandon Vera (Pictures), putting an end to his night.
From there he went on to win three straight, including victories over veterans Aaron Brink (Pictures) (via decision) and Travis Fulton (via choke). Last year Whitehead, like Jardine, took part in season two of The Ultimate Fighter reality show for a chance at a heavyweight contract. His only bout on the show was a disappointing three-round decision loss to Rashad Evans (Pictures). Now Whitehead makes his long-awaited UFC debut.
MY PICK: Jardine. This is a tough one to pick. Both guys have won three pro bouts in a row. Both recently lost to Evans by decision. I think Whitehead has two big challenges in this bout. First, he’s dropping to light heavyweight. He’s fought at 260 pounds before. That’s a lot of weight to deal with. Jardine had to trim 15-20 pounds off his frame. Not easy, but doable. Second, Mike is making his UFC debut. He had a bad showing on TUF and now gets someone from the show in his debut. Is it too much to deal with? Maybe not. Maybe he’ll shine. I’m going with Jardine, however, by TKO from strikes in the second round.
