Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine likely for January 7th
Posted on December 2, 2011, 03:45 PM by Joey SantosusNewly crowned Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold will look to make his first title defense when he meets UFC veteran Keith Jardine in January.
MMAFighting.com first reported the bout, citing sources close to the situation.
Rockhold (8-1) was last seen in action taking a unanimous decision over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza to capture the title back in September. The victory marked his seventh-straight under the Strikeforce banner, many of which were accumulated while competing on the promotion's Challengers series.
Though the ATT product was initially expected to square off with Tim Kennedy, reports indicate that Kennedy was forced to decline the offer due to an undisclosed injury.
Jardine (17-9-2), meanwhile, appeared to be on the fast-track to a UFC title shot, racking up victories over such high-profile opponents as Forrest Griffin, Chuck Liddell, and Brandon Vera, before a four-fight losing slump resulted in his release from the organization. In the time since, "The Dean of Mean" has posted a 2-1-1 mark, most recently fighting to a draw with Gegard Mousasi at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley. The fight with Rockhold will be Jardine's first at 185-pounds.
While the event is not yet official, Strikeforce is expected to make their 2012 return on January 7th from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Middleweight title fight between Rockhold and Jardine is likely to serve as the card's headliner.
Photo: MMAWeekly.com
Comments
Wow, you know your division is thin when you're giving Keith Jardine a title shot.
title shots aside this is a really good fight for Rockhold, the dude is talented, large for 185, and this fight will help him grow for sure. Jardine has always been a solid gate keeper.
No disrespect to Jardine but Strikeforce is really starting to lose talent when a draw gets you a title shot. Won't be too long before Rockhold, Kennedy, Gracie and the rest of the obvious talent in Strikefore are pulled over into ufc fights like Le was.
not only a title shot after a draw, but in a new weight division for Jardine (that is also unknown if he can make the 185 weight limit)
Prior to his fight with Mousasi, Jardine revealed that he was in the middle of cutting to 185 when they called him to step in against Gegard, and said he intended to follow through with plans to drop to Middleweight once that fight had concluded. I believe he also said that he had already successfully made a test cut before as well. So, no surprise there really, but the instant title shot in his 185-pound debut was a bit unexpected.
that must be a killer weight cut for jardine to 185.
I think he walks around a little below 205 so it shouldn't be bad.