Keith Jardine and Ryan Bader To Meet at Career Crossroads at UFC 110

UFC light heavyweights “Dean of Mean” Keith Jardine (14-5-1) and “Darth” Ryan Bader (7-0) will matchup at UFC 110 in Sydney February 21, according to an MMA Weekly report.

Fighters.com has not confirmed the matchup; but, both Jardine and Bader confirmed via Twitter that they know their next opponents.

Depending where you stand, the matchup can be seen as a step down for Jardine or a step up for Bader, but the matchup certainly features two fighters at a crossroads.

Former top ten 205er, Jardine has dropped his last two fights to Fighters.com’s sixth-ranked light heavyweight “Rampage” Quinton Jackson (28-7) at UFC 96 in Columbus March 7 and tenth-ranked Thiago Silva (15-1) at UFC 102 in Portland August 29.  He’s lost three of his last four in the Octagon, only eeking out a split decision over “Truth” Brandon Vera (11-4) at UFC 89 in Birmingham in October 2008.

Since TKOing “Pezao” Vinicius Magalhaes (4-4) to win the eighth season of SpikeTV’s The Ultimate Fighter in Las Vegas last December, Bader has surged with unanimous decisions over “Fury” Carmelo Marrero (9-3) at Fight Night 18 in Nashville April 1 and “Red” Eric Schafer (12-4-2) at UFC 104 in Los Angeles October 24.

If Bader remains undefeated after fighting Jardine, the consequences for both fighters will be drastic.  Bader will catapult himself into a new tier of competition in the Octagon, the circles Jardine has fought in consistently for the last two years.  For Jardine, the loss could mean a cut from the UFC, though that’s unlikely for the popular fighter even after three losses.  It’ll certainly dig Jardine deeper into the hole that has lead him to the role of potential stepping stone for Bader at UFC 110.