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Report: Keith Jardine Cut by UFC

If like thousands of other fans your introduction to MMA came via “The Ultimate Fighter” program, then your passion for the sport has been fed by a steady diet of bouts featuring dudes like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Rashad Evans, Chris Leben, Josh Koscheck etc, etc, etc. Of course, belonging on that list is Keith […]

keith-jardine

If like thousands of other fans your introduction to MMA came via “The Ultimate Fighter” program, then your passion for the sport has been fed by a steady diet of bouts featuring dudes like Forrest Griffin, Stephan Bonnar, Rashad Evans, Chris Leben, Josh Koscheck etc, etc, etc. Of course, belonging on that list is Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine, who since competing in the second season of TUF in 2005 has been one of the Octagon’s main fixtures, fighting 13 times. It’s no wonder that Jardine has become such a recognizable figure- so much so- hopes around the world were dashed when it turned out he wasn’t the Techno Viking after all…

Well, after incurring his fourth consecutive loss to Matt Hamill at the recent TUF 11 Finale, MMA Fighting is reporting that Jardine has been cut by the UFC. According to the report, UFC President Dana White has confirmed with the outlet that the light-heavyweight has in fact been released. Due to Jardine’s lengthy stint in the promotion, which let’s not forget, included wins over former champions Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell, one can understand the following statement from White:

“It sucks,” White said. “I have nothing but respect for him and I hope to see him back soon.”

Of course, there will be folks who don’t agree with the decision, as Jardine is right up there in terms of bang for your buck entertainment value, but as a result, there’s no doubt that a fighter of his stature will land a decent gig somewhere soon.

Fedor Clarifies Recent Comments; “Did Not Want to Offend the UFC”

Earlier in the week we touched on the fact that while making the pre-Fabricio Werdum-fight, media rounds, having the spotlight once again on Fedor Emelianenko has reignited the ‘will Fedor ever sign with the UFC’ speculation. Naturally, yet again, this has fed more rampant ‘where does Fedor rank all time?’, ‘could he beat the UFC’s […]

Earlier in the week we touched on the fact that while making the pre-Fabricio Werdum-fight, media rounds, having the spotlight once again on Fedor Emelianenko has reignited the ‘will Fedor ever sign with the UFC’ speculation. Naturally, yet again, this has fed more rampant ‘where does Fedor rank all time?’, ‘could he beat the UFC’s best heavyweights?’ and ‘why does Dana White love to make Fedor fans cry?’ discussion.

Of course, part of the reason for this has been due to various comments “The Last Emperor” has made himself. In a recent teleconference Fedor reportedly stated “I’m not a UFC fan”, before adding that “there seems to be negativity in a lot of their shows.” This, coupled with other recent statements where Fedor’s admitted he doesn’t give a flying eff about his critics or what they say, probably punted a lot of people’s hopes that he may still, someday, face Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, etc.

Well, in an interview this week with MMA Fighting’s Ben Fowlkes, Fedor had this to say, when asked to clarify what’s the difference between how Strikeforce and the UFC promote the sport.

“I did not want to offend the UFC in any way. What I meant is, I don’t like to watch fights in general. My main concern is what kind of culture I bring, myself.”

Interesting. Now is that just clarifying or backing off? Emelianenko went on to say that when his deal with Strikeforce is done, the UFC will have an opportunity to offer him “a contract that may be interesting to me.” Huh. And around and around we go…

Report: Yoshihiro Akiyama Not Down with Chris Leben as New Opponent

Yesterday, after finding out an injured Wanderlei Silva would no longer fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 (dude has broken ribs and a knee that requires surgery- guess we’ll give him a pass…this time), our childish temper tantrum soon subsided with news that Chris Leben would be Silva’s replacement. After all, Leben’s a damn entertaining […]

Yesterday, after finding out an injured Wanderlei Silva would no longer fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116 (dude has broken ribs and a knee that requires surgery- guess we’ll give him a pass…this time), our childish temper tantrum soon subsided with news that Chris Leben would be Silva’s replacement. After all, Leben’s a damn entertaining fighter who also likes to slug it out, so, really things could be worse right?

Well, if a report from Fighters Only Magazine is accurate, Akiyama apparently doesn’t agree with our above sentiment. Citing a story from a South Korean blog called Daum.net, it appears as though the judo star isn’t exactly thrilled about facing Leben (to put it lightly). Why? Here’s a snippet.

“If there is to be a replacement I was hoping for a big name,” he added, “I spent one year preparing hard for this fight and this news has come as a big disappointment, my motivation has waned. I do not know yet what will happen. .. In the worst case, I will not take part in the [UFC 116] event. We are working hard to resolve this issue.”

Now, we struggle mightily with English much less Korean, so well have to take Fighters Only Magazine’s word / translation on this. Knowing Dana White, like we all think we know him, what do you think his response will be to Akiyama’s “worst case” scenario. How much of an understatement is ‘not good?’

Wanderlei Silva Reveals he has Knee Injury as well as Broken Ribs

Earlier today we passed along the unfortunate news (we’ll get through this together) that Wanderlei Silva will no longer fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116, due to reports that the legendary fighter had sustained a rib injury while training. Well, in a follow up report from Fighters Only Magazine, Silva informed the publication that in […]

Earlier today we passed along the unfortunate news (we’ll get through this together) that Wanderlei Silva will no longer fight Yoshihiro Akiyama at UFC 116, due to reports that the legendary fighter had sustained a rib injury while training. Well, in a follow up report from Fighters Only Magazine, Silva informed the publication that in fact, prior to breaking three of his ribs, he suffered a serious knee injury.

“I am here to talk about my last few days. I went through a very tense and difficult weekend and had a very hard decision. Two weeks ago I felt pain in my knee while I was training wrestling. I had an MRI of my knee and three doctors told me my knee was torn. I took medicine to help with the pain, and although my knee felt loose, I said “no,” this date is very important to me and I continued training,” Silva says.

“The Axe Murderer” goes on to say in the interview that he tried to push through the knee injury, but that “Last Friday, during sparring, I injured my rib. It was very painful and the next day I had an x-ray and an MRI. I discovered I had three broken ribs.” Considering that Akiyama has spent years tossing human bodies around on a judo mat like they were bean bags, in addition to possessing a pretty solid punch (see bout with Denis Kang), we’re siding with Wanderlei on this one.

Silva will likely be on the shelf for a little while as the former Pride champ revealed his knee will require surgery. To wager a lil something, something on how his replacement Chris Leben will fair against Akiyama, head here.

Report: Chris Leben in for Injured Wanderlei Silva at UFC 116

It is times like this that ‘bloggers’ really dread (no, we’re not completely opposed to being described as ‘hacks’); so just what in the hell are we referring to? Well, if you haven’t heard by now, and didn’t read the above headline, better put the coffee down as alas our friends, Wanderlei Silva has reportedly fractured his ribs while preparing for his scheduled UFC 116 bout with Yoshihiro Akiyama. The former Pride champ is out. Take a moment, grab another donut; it will help dull the pain.

MMA Fighting was apparently the first to confirm with Dana White that indeed “The Axe Murderer” is out of the co-main event for the promotion’s July 3^rd event. Then, in a follow up report from MMA Junkie, the outlet confirmed with sources that Chris Leben has agreed to step in for Silva. MMA Fighting also confirmed afterwards that Leben will now face the accomplished judo competitor at UFC 116.

So, now we’ve got the “Cat Smasher” instead of the “Axe Murderer”; although it’s painfully clear that we here at Fix were really looking forward to seeing Wanderlei fight again (as keeping thoughts to ourselves isn’t something we do), Leben is a pretty good substitute no? We all know he’s going to go after the Japanese middleweight (just like Wandy would have), he also loves to slug it out (as does Mr. Silva) and Akiyama is no shrinking violet when it comes to stand-up battles. It’s also a huge opportunity for Leben; he just took out the rising Aaron Simpson last weekend, and another win over a notable dude like Akiyama would say a lot.

To bet on UFC 116 head here.

Brock Lesnar Says Fedor Emelianenko Greatest “In His Own Little World”

Earlier today we posted some comments from Fedor Emelianenko, who recently passed along the news, that he doesn’t concern himself with what his detractors say (and judging by his less than enthusiastic and indifferent demeanour- is anyone surprised by this?) In addition to not signing with the UFC last year, “The Last Emperor’s” recent statements […]

Earlier today we posted some comments from Fedor Emelianenko, who recently passed along the news, that he doesn’t concern himself with what his detractors say (and judging by his less than enthusiastic and indifferent demeanour- is anyone surprised by this?) In addition to not signing with the UFC last year, “The Last Emperor’s” recent statements that he’s not a big fan of the MMA giant, of course, instantly kicked new life into the whole ‘what will be Fedor’s legacy’ debate. Is he still the world’s best heavyweight? Or does he need to throw down with the UFC’s top beasts like Shane Carwin, Cain Velasquez, or Brock Lesnar?

Well, speaking of the UFC Heavyweight Champion Lesnar, in a recent teleconference promoting his upcoming July 3^rd bout with Carwin (MMA is a glorious thing), the former NCAA star tossed a few more criticisms Fedor’s way (that he’s free to ignore of course). When asked to comment on recent speculation that Fedor may in fact be looking to retire, sooner than later, (further dashing hopes that the Russian will ever step into the Octagon) Mr. Lesnar said this (thanks to MMA Weekly for the quote):

“Good for Fedor, I hope he does retire.” Lesnar commented. “He’s the greatest champion of all time. He’s the greatest champion ever, of all time, in his own little world. Good for him.”

Lesnar also reportedly said “absolutely” when asked if he thinks he could beat Mr. Emelianenko; no surprises there either. Too bad we’ll likely never find out for sure. To bet on Fedor’s next fight with Fabricio Werdum, or Carwin vs. Lesnar, head here.