Shark Fight Promotions had looked at booking a rematch between Keith Jardine (15-8-1) and Houston Alexander (10-6) originally. The fight never materialized and Jardine faces Trevor Prangley in the main event of Shark Fights 13, while Alexander takes on Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in the co-main event.
Both Jardine and Alexander were guests recently on MMAWeekly.com Radio to talk about the event, and both men talked about the potential rematch.
Jardine was happy to have a chance at avenging the loss to Alexander, but was instead given Prangley.
“The original fight was supposed to be Houston Alexander actually, and that sounded alright to me…
“They didn’t give me a reason for the change, but yeah I was looking forward to it,” Jardine said about the rematch with Alexander. “Let me tell you first, Houston’s a great warrior, he’s a great guy. I’ve said this before, he’s a great humanitarian, he’s done a lot of service around his community. I’ve met the guy a few times he’s a great guy, but that’s a really dark spot on my career.”
Alexander on the other hand, wasn’t interested in a rematch with Jardine.
“They did call me to actually rematch us, and I thought about it and I was just like ‘you know what, I got to know Keith, and he’s more like a friend now. I thought in my mind, no I wouldn’t want to fight him. They would really have to put some heavy money on the table for that to happen. Right now, I consider him a friend. I didn’t even really think twice about wanting to fight him.”
Shark Fights 13 takes place this Saturday on Sept. 11 at the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas. The promotion will debut it’s first pay-per-view event so check your local provider for details. As well, Sherdog.com will stream the entire preliminary card free on their website.