by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 23, 2008 at 11:52 am ET
Keith Jardine (13-4-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will look to rebound from his recent loss to Wanderlei Silva when he meets Brandon Vera (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC 89, an event that takes place Oct. 18 at The NIA in Birmingham, England.
Jardine today announced the fight on an Albuquerque radio show.
The light heavyweight bout will likely end up on the night's main card, which currently features a headline bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.
However, the UFC has yet to announce the fight.
Jardine most recently suffered a stunning, 36-second knockout to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84. The loss came right after the biggest win of his career -- a split-decision victory over Chuck Liddell in September 2007.
With a May 2007 loss to Houston Alexander, the Team Jackson fight has now lost two of his past three fights -- the first such stretch of his seven-year career.
Vera, meanwhile, will look to shake a recent three-fight funk. After a unanimous-decision loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, Vera then suffered a first-round TKO to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85. He then decided to drop to 205 pounds, and though he scored a unanimous-decision victory over UFC newcomer Reese Andy at this past weekend's UFC Fight Night 14, the performance was flat and heavily criticized.
The fight with Jardine is essentially a must-win for Vera, a former top heavyweight contender who had, at one time, been promised a title shot with then-champ Tim Sylvia, but a feud with his manager kept the fight from happening. Since returning from that year-long layoff, Vera -- who began his UFC career with four consecutive stoppage victories -- has posted three lackluster performances.
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Jul 23, 2008 at 11:52 am ET
Keith Jardine (13-4-1 MMA, 5-3 UFC) will look to rebound from his recent loss to Wanderlei Silva when he meets Brandon Vera (9-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC) at UFC 89, an event that takes place Oct. 18 at The NIA in Birmingham, England.
Jardine today announced the fight on an Albuquerque radio show.
The light heavyweight bout will likely end up on the night's main card, which currently features a headline bout between Michael Bisping and Chris Leben.
However, the UFC has yet to announce the fight.
Jardine most recently suffered a stunning, 36-second knockout to Wanderlei Silva at UFC 84. The loss came right after the biggest win of his career -- a split-decision victory over Chuck Liddell in September 2007.
With a May 2007 loss to Houston Alexander, the Team Jackson fight has now lost two of his past three fights -- the first such stretch of his seven-year career.
Vera, meanwhile, will look to shake a recent three-fight funk. After a unanimous-decision loss to Tim Sylvia at UFC 77, Vera then suffered a first-round TKO to Fabricio Werdum at UFC 85. He then decided to drop to 205 pounds, and though he scored a unanimous-decision victory over UFC newcomer Reese Andy at this past weekend's UFC Fight Night 14, the performance was flat and heavily criticized.
The fight with Jardine is essentially a must-win for Vera, a former top heavyweight contender who had, at one time, been promised a title shot with then-champ Tim Sylvia, but a feud with his manager kept the fight from happening. Since returning from that year-long layoff, Vera -- who began his UFC career with four consecutive stoppage victories -- has posted three lackluster performances.
(1616 posts)
(1086 posts)If Vera comes in like he did last week, Jardine will win easily.
(345 posts)Jardine will win this fight going by Vera's last match, he needs to make sure he can come into the fight being healthy. This fight could help both fighters and i hope it's not a main event...
(502 posts)Knew that Vera's next opponent was going to be someone that likes to charge in and strike it out. I mean, they gave him Andy to whoop up on to redeem his image. He played a safe match which I don't think is what they had in mind when setting him up with that match.
(1662 posts)Jardine is going to be hungry and take Vera out.Hopefully they pay Jardine a little more this fight, what did he get 25 grand for the last one?
(1492 posts)i hear that shit
(136 posts)ILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS FIGHT I THINK VERA HAD THE SAME REACTION TO THE WEIGHT CUT THAT MIKE SWICK HAD EXPECT TO SEE A BETTER BRANDON VERA.
(320 posts)Jardine is the perfect match up for Vera. Vera will be used to the weight and have his strength back by then. Jardine is a SLOW starter. If Vera comes at him like he usually does, it will be over in the 1st by TKO.
(45 posts)I think Vera will look better this fight after his weight cut, but Jardine has to bounce back bigtime after the last fight. Jardine 3rd rd T.K.O.