Even UFC president Dana White said it would be hard to deny Jardine with wins over Griffin, Liddell and Silva in his last four bouts.
“For the longest time, nobody would take guys from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ seriously and it drove me crazy,” White said. “When I told you Jardine was going to be fighting Chuck, you acted like you couldn’t believe it. This guy is a very good fighter. I think finally after what he’s done, he’s starting to get the respect his talent demands. But, even now, not everyone recognizes it. I still hear a lot of that.
“There are people out there who think Wanderlei is going to walk right through him,” White continued. “You know what I think of Wanderlei, but I don’t think he’s going to walk through Keith. And if (Silva) beats (Jardine), that’s a very big, very significant win for him.”
I agree. After Jardine’s fight with Chuck, I said to myself, “Something’s up here.” Jardine lost a very questionable decision to Bonnar, defeated Gouveia, defeated Whitehead, defeated Griffin and then defeated Liddell. And he took punishment in all of those fights, which is particularly notable because he doesn’t have the sturdiest chin. The loss to Alexander, in my estimation, is a reminder of the randomness of MMA than anything else. Does anyone believe the same would happen if they fought again?
As for the Saturday’s fight with Wanderlei Silva, I’ve gone on the record as saying Jardine will win. I still believe that even if I do get a little less convinced of my own opinion as fight time approaches. But win or lose, I think it’s worth noting that Machida isn’t the only dark horse in the light heavyweight division.