COLUMBUS, OH, March 7 – Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson didn’t get any easy road to his 30th pro win, but after a hard-fought three round unanimous decision win over Keith Jardine in the UFC 96 main event at the Nationwide Arena Saturday night, he not only got the victory, he cleared the way for a shot at the new champ, Rashad Evans.
“I needed these three rounds,” said Jackson, now 30-7. “There was a lot of pressure on me to fight Keith Jardine. I didn’t think the pressure would get to me. But he’s a tough guy. I didn’t expect him to be that tough.”
Scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Jackson.
