Jardine Discusses Challenging Rockhold
Posted on 05 Jan 2012
by MMAScoops.com Staff

Keith Jardine (17-9-2 MMA, 0-0-1 SF) recently spoke about his Strikeforce middleweight title bout against Luke Rockhold (8-1 MMA, 7-0 SF) Saturday night, here are the highlights…

On Rockhold Not Wanting to Fight Him: "Of course he doesn't want this fight. I'm a pretty scary fight for him because I don't think – how I'd characterize it – Luke has never really been in a dirty fight," he said. "He's a real clean fighter. He likes to keep his distance and pick away at his opponents. But look at all my fights. You're going to get tired, bloody and dirty. I'm going to turn it into a brawl, and it's not a good matchup for him."

On Hitting Rock Bottom: "I went to the bottom, man," he said. "I remember fighting in the Dominican Republic in front of like a hundred people in a fight where no one got paid. It was just a mess. I think I hit rock bottom there. So to work my way back here, it's a real blessing."

On Not Turning Down Fights: "I never say no to fights," he said. "I always step up, and I think they kind of rewarded me for that. It's about the past 10 years. It's all about that."

On His Career Rebirth: "It's like a brand new career for me and a brand new start," he said. "This is a rebirth for me. I'm going to win the title on Saturday, and it's real exciting to represent Strikeforce and the direction they're going."