BY Charles Jay, BETUS.COM – BET NOW!

UFC Mixed Martial Arts betting

UFC 96 – Light Heavyweights: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs Keith ”The Dean of Mean” Jardine
March 7 – Columbus, O.

BetUS UFC Betting Odds:
QUINTON JACKSON -350
KEITH JARDINE +250

For betting purposes, let’s look at the contestants:

JACKSON (29-7, 14 KO’s), the -350 favorite at BetUS Sportsbook, is a product of coming up the hard way, and it hasn’t exactly gotten easier. Jackson emerged from obscurity to become a star in the PRIDE organization, and he gained a lot of credibility even in defeat to the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba, who beat him on a rear naked choke. He out together a six-fight winning streak at one point in PRIDE, and advanced to the Middleweight Grand Prix final in 2003, where he lost to Wanderlei Silva, on a TKO in about six and a half minutes. Jackson got a rematch with Silva about a year later and was KO’d in the second round of a bout that was contested for the PRIDE middleweight title.

Jackson later moved on to the UFC, and posted wins over Matt Lindland and Marvin Eastman, then followed that with a one-round stoppage of Chuck Liddell to capture the UFC light heavyweight title. Jackson defended that crown with a decision over Dan Henderson, in what was a stirring fight but one where Jackson clearly showed superiority. At UFC 86 last July, Jackson suffered a severe disappointment when he lost his title to Forrest Griffin on a decision. He could not handle that defeat, sinking into depression, and erratic behavior; he went on a wild ride through the streets and onto the sidewalks of Huntington Beach, CA after that and was arrested by the cops after he hit several vehicles. Jackson was a wreck, and was an underdog for his fight against Wanderlei Silva, a man who had beaten him twice, on December 27. Jackson landed a huge left hook in the first round of that fight, then threw a couple more punches before the fight was stopped.

JARDINE (14-4, 6 KO’s), the +250 underdog at BetUS, has been a professional MMA fighter since 2001, and won six of his first seven fights. He spent time in King of the Cage, Extreme Challenge and Pancrase, among others, and came aboard with the UFC in time for the Ultimate Fighter 2 finale. He was beaten in TUF by Rashad Evans, who eventually went on to win the light heavyweight title. He also lost against Stephan Bonnar, in a fight that was hotly disputed and ended in a unanimous decision for Bonnar.

Two fights later, however, Jardine scored a very big victory when he knocked out Forrest Griffin (who lost the light heavyweight title to Evans recently) in one round in December 2006. Inexplicably, he failed in trying to follow up on that, getting blown out by journeyman Houston Alexander in 48 seconds. Jardine gathered himself and pulled off an upset by winning a split decision over MMA legend Chuck Liddell in September of ‘07, in a bout he thoroughly controlled. Jardine then was quickly knocked out (36 seconds) by Wanderlei Silva last May. He got to this opportunity by beating Brandon Vera on a split decision last October 18.

Maybe it’s reasonable to assume that Jackson is in an emotionally improved state now that he has scored the big revenge win against Wanderlei Silva, and that he once again has his confidence back as a fighter. Indeed, that is an important consideration for anyone who steps into the Octagon.

On the basis of ability, one would probably have to conclude that Jackson has the edge. Of course, Jardine has beaten the odds before, by scoring those upsets over Griffin and Liddell. Those wins are nothing to sneeze at. Jardine, however, has also been capable of extreme lows. There was no way he should have lost to Bonnar, and certainly the KO defeat at the hands of Houston Alexander, who is MMA’s equivalent of a clubfighter, was something that was a major downer.

The rap on Jardine is that he does not have a good chin, and that observation is not unfair at all. He can be overwhelmed by someone who is a skillful striker, and Jackson fits that category, The recent knockout victory over Silva was evidence of that. Jackson did his homework, too, as Dan Henderson had also laid Silva out with a picture perfect left hook. Jackson is versatile, meaning he is dangerous on the ground, but it is the early striking on his part that is going to be very difficult for Jardine to contend with.

Sure, Jardine is not uncomfortable in the underdog role. At +250, however, it may not be enough of a price for me to consider him seriously. True, there is not an avalanche of value in the case for Jackson at -350, but he is the better all-around fighter, does not necessarily possess a glaring weakness that is easily exploited, and is in a better place from a mental standpoint. We’ll take Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, the -350 favorite in the BetUS BetUS sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: JACKSON TO WIN (-350) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)