Yes, generally this site is largely dedicated to the punching and kicking of the sport’s larger shows; the Strikeforces, the WECs, the Dreams and of course, the omnipresent / monolithic UFC. Naturally, there is much more to MMA than all this, and if you’re truly a big fan (and have little else to do) you should be making the most of what the entire MMA menu has to offer. Don’t just limit yourself to two or three dishes on the buffet; gorge yourself with quadruple-‘that guys got a plate in each hand’-style helpings.

While there are plenty of local shows out there that book way too many has-beens, or throw the hometown prospect a tomato can with a .200 winning percentage, Shark Fights is an organization that’s been making some headlines for its upcoming September 11^th card. In case you hadn’t heard, the Texas promotion has already booked several UFC vets for it, as Keith Jardine will face Trevor Prangley and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou will take on Houston Alexander. Granted, they’re not MMA landscape altering title fights, but they could be pretty damn entertaining. Former UFC slugger Drew McFedries is also booked to fight Strikefore vet Joey Villasenor, which should be awesome, and Paul Daley is also scheduled to compete (opponent TBA).

Well, according to a report from MMA Junkie today, Shark Fights has announced several more ‘I wouldn’t turn that off’ fights for the Sept. 11^th card, including Dave Herman vs. Aaron Rosa, Pete Spratt vs. Eric Davila, Ronnie Mann vs. Doug Evans, and Karen Darabedyan vs. Marcus Hicks. Brock Larson has also been confirmed (opponent TBA).

Not bad huh? Broadcast plans for the card will be announced next week.

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.

It wasn’t too long ago that Keith Jardine was viewed by most as a legitimate contender in the light-heavyweight division. Now although his career hit a major hiccup courtesy Houston Alexander’s right hand in May, 2007, after Jardine speed bagged Forrest Griffin at UFC 66, the Greg Jackson fighter went on to beat Chuck Liddell by Split Decision at UFC 76. Lots of people were talking “Dean of Mean” for understandable reasons.

Since then, however, Jardine hasn’t had much success; aside from a decision win over Brandon Vera in October, 2008, the former TUF competitor has lost four out of five fights, three times by KO. So what the hell has gone wrong you may ask? Well, according to Jardine, his recent troubles may be due to the fact that he’s gotten away from the WTF? Hands down, chin tauntingly out approach, he used to employ (thanks to Sherdog.com for the quote).

“I don’t want to get too philosophical, but I went through a phase of really trying to polish up my boxing — keep my hands up all the time. Just being a real polished boxer, that’s not me,” he said. “But it’s good, I learned a lot of stuff. Now it’s about trying to bring that together with my own style… and just have fun and loosen up and relax a little bit.”

Not something you hear everyday…but, whatever works right? Of course on Saturday night, Jardine will square off with Matt Hamill, in a bout that could determine whether or not Jardine remains on the UFC roster. We’ll be watching. To bet on the fight head here.

After his UD loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 102, the MMA world is waiting to hear what Randy “The Natural” Couture will do next, as the legendary fighter continues to weigh his options. The news that “Captain America” has signed a 6 fight extension with the UFC instantly kyboshed any retirement talk; however, speculation has continued as to what division Couture will choose to defy the aging process in.

Speaking to Sherdog.com’s Loretta Hunt, Couture has acknowledged that he is strongly leaning towards returning to light-heavyweight, the division where he blew people’s minds in 2003 by storming through Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in back-to-back bouts. (Unfortunately, many were too busy then watching Frasier, JAG and Boston Public to notice)

“Maybe this year, or maybe the first of next year,” said Couture of his next bout. “I haven’t really looked at the cards and the shows that they have. What’s on the schedule, I don’t know, but I’m especially leaning towards dropping down. I’m pushing in weight. It would be easy for me to make 205 and there’s more interesting fights there right now.”

Interesting fights? Umm yeah, you could say that. You would think that Couture might have to get another win under his belt before getting a crack at champion Lyoto Machida, but how about Keith Jardine, Thiago Silva, or a rematch with Ortiz? Need we go on?

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who is seldom at a loss for words, (except for when “Shogun” Rua nearly pulverized his innards in 2005) has been giving Forrest Griffin ‘the gears’ on his Twitter page. Of course, Griffin not only got his ‘posterior’ handed to him by Anderson Silva Saturday night, but following the blow out loss, the highly regarded fighter immediately ran out of the arena.

Here’s Rampage’s latest ‘tweet’ regarding Griffin’s UFC 101 performance:

I’m in Hollywood minding my own business & I look over.. & I see Forrest… he’s still running!

 Here was Rampage’s initial tweet in regards to Griffin’s bout Saturday:

 I feel so bad for Forrest. I don’t even want a rematch anymore. LOSER!!

Of course, Griffin worked his way to a Unanimous Decision over Jackson last summer to win the UFC light-heavyweight crown. Since the loss Jackson has won back-to-back fights against Wanderlei Silva and Keith Jardine. (Silva still hasn’t seen the left hook that KO’d him, yes, despite watching the video)

Ahh Rampage, one of the best at stirring the ol’ ‘just kidding-but who else can I piss off’ pot. God bless him.

Earlier this week the UFC confirmed that Thiago Silva will take on Keith Jardine at the promotion’s upcoming August 29^th event in Portland, Oregon, a bout which will feature two of the light-heavyweight division’s best fighters. In a recent interview with MMA Bay, Silva is quoted saying that he is willing to take on all comers, and that further, he still is on the hunt for the light-heavyweight belt.

Definitely, my goal is to conquer the light heavy-weight title belt, and knowing that the UFC still believes in me, even after my first defeat, gives me the strength to train hard and try to fix some of my mistakes that became clear to me in my last fight. 

Silva went undefeated in his first 13 professional fights, a streak which included going 4-0 in the UFC, until the American Top Team fighter was knocked out by current champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 94 earlier this year. So in other words it’s clear that Silva has some serious ‘bolas’, as the punch that Machida put his fellow Brazilian away with, appeared to nearly send Silva’s head through the Octagon floor.

I had never lost before, and I’ve got to say it was a bad feeling, but one day we will definitely face each other again, but what I would do differently?  Only at the time of such a fight will I know, but I would definitely need a good strategy, because he fights exploiting the weaknesses and errors of his opponents. 

Despite the fact that the Jardine, Silva fight may not receive as much fanfare as many of the all-star match-ups which will be featured this summer, (straightjackets have been purchased by MMA Fix to restrain several of our more ‘animated’ MMA fans on staff) the light-heavyweight tilt could be fantastic.

Although Jardine’s unorthodox style is more confusing for opponents than trying to interpret any commercial featuring Ozzy Osbourne, the Greg Jackson trained fighter always brings it; just ask Chuck Liddell, “Rampage” Jackson, or perhaps most of all, Forrest Griffin. While Silva has never shied away from a good ol’ fashioned dust-up; in fact (not really) it’s been rumored that the veteran throws himself down a flight of stairs as a way to improve his mood.

Read the full interview with Silva here…

After losing by Unanimous Decision in a tightly contested, three round war, to Rick Franklin at UFC 99, Wanderlei Silva was quick to ask UFC President Dana White for a rematch. (Although asking for an immediate rematch is usually about as productive as telling your wife that her best friend’s ‘ass looks amazing in those pants’) While UFC brass has been quiet on that particular front regarding Franklin, there appears to be little doubt that Silva fans can look forward to watching him fight in the Octagon again.

In Silva’s latest video blog, (Thanks to Tatame for the heads up) the former champion is adamant about the fact that he is not retiring, and that after watching the memorable UFC 99 clash, he was happier with his performance than he was originally. Silva goes on to state that he believes he was close to stopping Franklin in the second round and that the former middleweight champion was tougher than he expected. (In addition to acknowledging that he was sneaking out for extra training sessions-something which he now regrets)

Despite the fact that the former Pride champ is now 1-3 in the UFC, as Silva points out, he has been involved in 2 ‘Fight of the Night’ clashes now, and 2 ‘Knock Out of the Nights.’ (Silva is referring to his lawnmower beat down of Keith Jardine, as well as being crumpled faster than a beer can at a frat party by ‘Rampage’ Jackson- yes, despite his frightening façade, the ‘Axe Murderer’ can throw out the occasional zinger)

But in one of the video’s best moments; more evidence as to why Silva ranks high on our ‘that’s the shit right there’ index, the Brazilian states:

Nothing, nobody will make me give up. The secret of the victory is keep trying, and I’m a guy who tries until the end, I never gave up about anything.

In a nut shell, Silva believes bright days are still ahead for the aspiring middleweight, we shall see…

With this win, Rampage is now set to fight Rashad Evans Rod Tidwell for another shot at the lightweight title belt.

For the fight, MMA Fix wagered $1050 to win $300.

Our other lock pick for UFC 96 was Shane Carwin over Gabriel Gonzaga. Nailed that as well with a bet of $375 to win $525. Total winnings for the night was $825.

Take your winnings and get ready to bet on UFC 97 here.

Betting Analysis: Rampage Jackson vs. Keith Jardine

UFC 96 main event, Rampage Jackson vs. Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine should be another good one. Anytime Rampage is inside the octagon you never want to miss it. We can’t decide what is better, watching him howl, watching him give that batshit crazy “i’m gonna fukkin kill you” stare pre-fight, or his actual fighting.

With odds at 3-to-1 across the board it makes this fight a little bit harder to handicap than expected. Both guys have very similar styles so we feel like the odds should be a bit closer.

Rampage has shown us time and time again that he is a finisher. If coffee is for closers then Rampage should own Starbucks. The guy has knocked out Shogun, Wanderlei Silva, and Chuck Liddell just to name a few. In addition, for the first time in his career he has a good training camp who actually isn’t taking advantage of him. Word out of the Wolfslair Camp in England is that Rampage looks better than ever. It will be interesting to see what a better than ever Rampage looks like. He looked scary good against his old buddy Wanderlei and clearly looks more motivated than ever to get his belt back.

Jardine embodies the word inconsistent. Seriously, we never know what the fuck we are going to get with this guy. He has pulled major upset victories over Chuck Liddell, Brandon Vera and Forrest Griffin, but he also has upset loses to Stephan Bonnar and Houston Alexander. The scary thing about betting on Jardine is that when he loses he loses fast. Wanderlei Silva got him in 36 seconds, Houston Alexander got him in 48 seconds, and Travis Wulff got him in 6 seconds. Those stats are really scary when you are going up against Rampage who has a proven track record of knocking guys out.

With that all being said, Jardine is still an opponent who cannot be taken lightly. First and foremost the guy is coached by Greg Jackson, which in our expert opinion gives him a much better shot to win the fight. The guy is the Phil Jackson of MMA for god sakes. Second, he has legitimate knockout power in what is going to be a purely stand up fight. Third, he has proven to be very effective with the leg kicks. This is very interesting because Rampage was wide open to leg kicks in the Forrest fight and it hurt him really bad. We expect to see a boat load of leg kicks from Jardine. If he can be effective as Forrest was with them it will make this fight extremely close.

The closer we look at this fight the more we keep telling ourselves it’s Rampage all day. The only advantage Jardine has over Rampage is the leg kicks and that won’t be enough to win the fight. Rampage has more power, better striking, and he has an iron chin. Keith Jardine plays right into the hands of Rampage’s style. Jardine is a tough dude but his style is perfect for the way Rampage fights. Rampage by KO in the 2^nd

We will bet $1050 to win 300.

Bet on UFC 96 here.

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The two fights with lines so far for UFC 89 are the middleweight bout between the aforementioned Micheal Bisping (-200) and Chris Leben (+160), and light heavyweights fight of Brandon Vera (-165) and Keith Jardine (+135).

If we had to name this card something for MMA Fix, it’d be like “UFC 89: Redemption.” Look for our picks around October 14.