Jardine made his professional mixed martial arts debut in 2001, defeating Amir Rahnavardi via
armbar submission. He would win five out of his next six bouts, suffering one
knockout loss to
Thomas Mastin from Des Moines, Iowa six seconds into the fight, before debuting in the Japanese
Pancrase organization in 2003. Jardine's bout in Pancrase, with
Keiichiro Yamamiya, ended in a draw. Jardine defeated his next two opponents, including a submission win over
Red Devil Sport Club fighter Arman Gambaryan, before appearing on
The Ultimate Fighter 2.
The Ultimate Fighter In 2005, Jardine was cast on
The Ultimate Fighter 2, a team-based
reality television show created by the UFC, as a
Heavyweight competitor. He was the first Heavyweight to be chosen by team coach and then
UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. Although considered a favorite to proceed to the Heavyweight division's finals, Jardine was not selected to fight until the semi-finals, where he was defeated by eventual Heavyweight winner and his future
sparring partner,
Rashad Evans.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Jardine made his first appearance on an official UFC fight card at
The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale, defeating fellow
TUF 2 Heavyweight
Kerry Schall by
TKO due to
leg kicks. Jardine was signed to the UFC and subsequently dropped down a weight class to the
Light Heavyweight division. His next appearance was at
UFC 57 where he defeated
Mike Whitehead, another
The Ultimate Fighter 2 competitor, by unanimous decision. In April 2006, Jardine fought
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Light Heavyweight finalist
Stephan Bonnar at
Ultimate Fight Night 4. Jardine lost the fight in part due to a very controversial unanimous decision, but gained a great deal of fan and media support after the bout. After the fight Jardine stated, "Everyone knows that that Bonnar fight should have been my fight[...] I still get approached everyday about that. I am 3–1, but I don't necessarily look at it that way." Instead, he next faced
The Ultimate Fighter 1 Light Heavyweight winner
Forrest Griffin at
UFC 66. Although considered an underdog in the bout, Jardine scored a TKO victory in the first round after he floored Forrest then took the full guard and brought many right hands over the top to cause the stoppage. At
UFC 71, Jardine was scheduled to fight UFC newcomer
Houston Alexander. During his pre-fight interview, Jardine complained about being matched against an unknown newcomer, believing that he deserved an opponent with a higher profile. During the fight, Jardine quickly knocked Alexander down with a punch, but the newcomer promptly returned to his feet and knocked Jardine out just 48 seconds into the first round in a major upset. demonstrating grappling techniques during a
USO tour Jardine was then matched up against former long-time
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion,
Chuck Liddell at
UFC 76. The bout was Liddell's first fight since losing his belt to
Quinton Jackson. Jardine landed numerous unchecked
leg kicks and several body kicks to Liddell's side throughout the fight, which was spent almost totally on the feet. The bout was ruled a split decision in Jardine's favor, turning him into a top contender for the
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. First, however, Jardine faced former
PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. Silva swarmed Jardine with punches and knocked him out just 36 seconds into the first round. Jardine had to be helped up after the fight and was sent to the local hospital for observation. After this loss, Jardine faced
Brandon Vera at
UFC 89. Although it appeared that Vera damaged Jardine's knee with a
front kick in the second round, Jardine ultimately earned a split decision victory over Vera. In a post-fight interview, Jardine stated that the injury was minor. With the victory, Jardine earned a shot at
Quinton Jackson at
UFC 96. Although the fight was considered an elimination bout for title contention, Jardine and former
UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans are close friends and training partners and both have stated that they will not fight each other. In a close fight, Jardine lost by unanimous decision. The bout was the Fight of the Night earning them a $60,000 bonus. Jardine was the last man to fight Jackson before his temporary retirement. Jardine was knocked out by
Thiago Silva at
UFC 102 1:35 in the first round. Jardine suffered his second consecutive knockout and third straight loss at the hands of
Ryan Bader on February 21, 2010, at
UFC 110. After being rocked by a straight right from Bader, he received a
flying knee to the ribs and then a
hook punch to the chin that knocked him out, two minutes into the third round. Jardine faced
Matt Hamill on June 19, 2010, at
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale. He lost the fight via majority decision, in a bout that earned
Fight of the Night honors. Subsequently, he was released by the UFC on June 24, 2010.
Independent promotions Jardine's first fight since leaving the UFC was against
Shark Fights Light Heavyweight Champion
Trevor Prangley in a non-title bout at
Shark Fights 13: Jardine vs. Prangley on September 11, 2010. Jardine lost to Prangley via split decision, bringing his losing streak to five-in-a-row. After the fight he was given an indefinite suspension by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for shoving referee Steve Armstrong prior to the fight. Jardine was scheduled to face Francisco France at
Nemesis Fighting: MMA Global Invasion on November 13, 2010, but the event was postponed to avoid a storm. The new date for the event was December 10, 2010. Jardine defeated Francisco via unanimous decision and snapped his five fight losing streak. The win at Nemesis was surrounded by controversy, as there were no judges at the event. Jardine and other fighters on the card were also never paid by the promotion. Jardine next took on
MFC veteran Aron Lofton in an event near
Albuquerque, New Mexico. Jardine was victorious via
TKO (punches) at 3:30 of the first round.
Strikeforce Jardine signed with Strikeforce as a late replacement for the injured
Mike Kyle to face
Gegard Mousasi on the April 9th card in San Diego. The hard-fought fight ultimately ended in a majority draw due to Mousasi being docked one point in the first round for an illegal upkick. Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker has stated a rematch may be in the cards in the near future. Jardine stated that after his fight with Mousasi, he will drop down to the
Middleweight division and that he wants to fight former
Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Cung Le. Jardine faced
Luke Rockhold for the
Strikeforce Middleweight Championship at
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Jardine on January 7, 2012. He lost the fight via
TKO in the first round. Jardine next faced
Roger Gracie at
Strikeforce: Rockhold vs. Kennedy on July 14 and lost via unanimous decision after being cut open in the first round by an elbow from mount by Gracie. In an interview with MMA Fight Corner in 2013, Jardine described himself as "semi-retired" and is unsure if he will return to the cage. ==Boxing==