Roger Gracie dominates Keith Jardine for two rounds to ease to a unanimous decision win
Another fighter moving down to the Strikeforce middleweight division tonight was celebrated Jiu-Jitsu artist, Roger Gracie who picked up an impressive victory over veteran of the sport, Keith Jardine on the main card of the evening in Portland, Oregon.
Gracie pumps the jab over and over to begin. Jardine wades in but Gracie clinches and puts him on the ground. Gracie in half-guard looks to pass. Jardine moves to the cage and uses it to get to his knees. Gracie drags him back down while trapping one of Jardine’s arms behind his back. Gracie mounts with just over a minute remaining. Nice elbow from Gracie. Big ground and pound from Gracie to end the round cuts Jardine open. MMABay scores the round 10-9 Gracie.
Jardine gets aggressive again and the patient Gracie once again scores with the takedown. Jardine scrambles and Gracie takes his back and looks for the rear-naked choke. Body triangle from the back by Gracie. Jardine is a crimson mess. Gracie goes for the choke but he doesn’t have the arm under the chin. Gracie hammers away. Gracie switches to an arm-triangle choke but the plucky Jardine escapes the position. Gracie mounts and drops punches until the bell sounds. MMABay scores the round 10-9 Gracie.
Jardine a little more cautious to begin the third but almost eats a knee. Nice combination to the body by Jardine. Gracie looks to clinch but Jardine avoids. Jardine is very mindful of the takedown but needs to do something to change the tide and secure a finish. Jardine lands a big shot which seems to wobble Gracie a little Gracie clinches looking for the takedown but Jardine avoids. Jardine with another combination. Gracie delivers the knee the next time the two men clinch. Front kick from Gracie keeps Jardine at bay. Jardine continues to follow Gracie around the cage but doesn’t land anything significant. Wild swings from Jardine end the fight. MMABay scores the round 10-9 Jardine.
The judges scored the bout 29-27, 30-27, 30-26 in favour of Gracie.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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Photo by Esther Lin – STRIKEFORCE
