A Big Fish in a (Very) Small Pond? Keith Jardine Talks UFC & Shark Fights 13

For a man once highly touted as the next big can’t-miss fighter at Light Heavyweight, times certainly are tough nowadays for Keith Jardine. Jardine’s five-year, thirteen-fight career in the UFC came to an unfortunate end in June of this year, when Jardine’s loss to Matt Hamill made “The Dean of Men” 0-4 in his last four fights. Ironically, Jardine’s performance was good enough to get him a “Fight of the Night” bonus, but not enough to stave off the dreaded pink slip, as Jardine was cut from the organization shortly after losing. Now back on the independent/lower-tier circuit for the first time in almost six years, Jardine recently spoke to Sherdog.com and filled his fans in on where his head is at as he enters a new chapter in his career.

Speaking on his future plans as well as his relationship with the UFC, here’s what Jardine had to say: “There’s no bad feelings [between myself and the UFC]; we left on good terms. I expected it. I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately and, the thing is, they really want me to go out and beat up a couple guys, and then come back and get in the title picture — and that’s what I’m going to do. That’s what’s cool about Shark Fights: it’s top-notch competition, and every fight is going to be a great fight.”

Now, I hate to come out against someone who’s been both willing and able to put it all on the line simply to entertain the fans, but I think Keith Jardine is wrong if he thinks he’ll face top-notch competition outside of the UFC. The UFC has all the best talent in the world on lockdown, and even if there are a few athletes that aren’t in the firm grasp of the world’s largest MMA promotion, they’re either in Strikeforce or to a lesser extent the Japanese-based DREAM. Simply put: Jardine has faced top-notch competition, and Trevor Prangley isn’t top-notch competition.

Trevor Prangley is decent competition, simple as that. In a free agent’s market filled mostly with slim pickings, he’s a good fighter. His fight with Jardine should be a fun fight and a worthy main event, but if Jardine beating Prangley gets “The Dean of Mean” right back into the UFC, I think it will honestly have more to do with the UFC showing favoritism towards one of their former stars, rather than because Jardine has proved once and for all that he’s once again ready to take on the best in the world.

I’m not trying to discredit Keith Jardine, I’m just trying to be realistic. A four-fight losing streak is a four-fight losing streak, even when you consider that it was against some of the best competition the best promotion in the world had to offer. Changes, serious changes, need to happen before Jardine is anywhere close to being ready for a title shot. Can those changes happen? I say yes. I would love to see a new, reinvigorated Jardine try to avenge some losses and get some big wins under his belt. I think Jardine can be molded into a champion one day. But it won’t happen overnight, and it’s certainly not going to happen after only one or two fights outside of the UFC.

So I honestly kinda hope that Jardine doesn’t rush right back to the UFC. I’d like to see him stay in the lower-to-middle tier of MMA promotions until he displays the changes that have to come if he ever wants that big hunk of gold around his waist. It won’t happen overnight, but if Jardine doesn’t rush it, he’ll have all the skills necessary to finally realize his potential when he does return to the UFC, a return which I think is inevitable.

And what do you think, fans and friends? How long should Keith Jardine stay out of the UFC? How many wins do you think he should get under his belt before he’s ready for another go at best-in-the-world competition?