UFC 96 Betting Online

Event name: UFC 96: Jackson vs. Jardine Date: March 7, 2009 Location: Columbus, Ohio Venue: Nationwide Arena Broadcast: Pay-Per-View (10pm ET)

Former UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will face off with Keith Jardine in a showdown pairing two top 10 fighters at UFC 96 on March 7 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

The bout comes as a bit of a surprise since many see Jackson as the No. 1 contender for Rashad Evans’ UFC light heavyweight crown.

Quinton Jackson (29-7) has posted seven wins in eight fights, a disputed decision loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 86 the lone blemish. He knocked out longtime nemesis Wanderlei Silva at UFC 92 in December, launching himself back into title contention. Earlier this month, Jackson pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor charges associated with a high-speed chase that ended in his arrest in July; the plea deal will likely allow him to avoid jail time.

Jardine has been on the cusp of a championship match twice with big wins over Griffin and Chuck Liddell but his title dreams were cut short when he dropped matches to Houston Alexander and then Wanderlei Silva following those bouts. Coming off of a win over Brandon Vera at UFC 89, a win over Jackson would give Jardine the kind of momentum needed to earn his first-ever shot at the UFC light heavyweight title.

UFC 96 will also feature a bout pairing one-time heavyweight title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga with unbeaten Shane Carwin and a welterweight match pitting Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (5-2) against World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) veteran Mark “The Philippine Wrecking Machine” Munoz (5-0).

Matt Hamill has seven professional fights to his UFC record. After being medically sidelined before the semi finals of the reality show, he debuted for the promotion at the season three finale in June 2006 and was victorious with a first round technical knockout stoppage of Jesse Forbes.

Hamill has also defeated Seth Petruzelli, Tim Boetsch and Reese Andy inside the Octagon. His two losses came at UFC 75: “Champion vs. Champion” in a very controversial split decision to Michael Bisping and at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” in a third round technical knockout to Rich Franklin.

Mark Munoz is the first Filipino American to win a Division 1 National Championship; a two-time All-American; and 2001 NCAA champion at Oklahoma State. Munoz was introduced to the sport of MMA by his friend and training partner, former WEC featherweight champion, Urijah Faber. Munoz is one of the chosen few to be relocated to the UFC after the WEC's recent elimination of its 205-pound and 185-pound weight classes.

The UFC event will be the fourth held in Ohio following UFC 68 (March 2007 in Columbus - Randy Couture def. tim Sylvia), UFC 77 (October 2007 in Cincinnati - Anderson Silva def. Rich Franklin), and UFC 82 (March 2008 in Columbus - Anderson Silva def. Dan Henderson).

For the third year in a row, the Ultimate Fighting Championship® is heading back to Columbus, Ohio. The UFC® announced today that the world’s premier fight organization will travel back to Columbus, Ohio for UFC 96, live from the Nationwide Arena on Saturday, March 7, 2009.

The UFC first arrived in Columbus for UFC 68 in March 2007 for one historic night as Randy Couture won the heavyweight crown for an unprecedented third time as he beat Tim Sylvia. The show’s gate, which surpassed $3 million, set a Nationwide Arena record; the 19,000 fans who saw the event live set a record for the highest North American attendance figure for a mixed martial arts event.

Last March, the UFC returned to Columbus as 15,300 people watched Anderson Silvasuccessfully defend his middleweight title against then PRIDE champion Dan Henderson. The star-studded matchup grossed a gate of $2.2 million at Nationwide

UFC 96 will be available live on pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN, Bell ExpressVu, Shaw Communications and Viewer’s Choice Canada.

UFC 96 Lineup
Quinton Jackson vs. Keith Jardine (LHW)
Matt Hamill vs. Mark Munoz (LHW)
Pete Sell vs. Matt Brown (WW)
Gabriel Gonzaga vs. Shane Carwin (HW)
Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller (LW)

UNDERCARD
Tamdan McCrory vs. Ryan Madigan (WW)
Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day (MW)
Tim Boetsch vs. Jason Brilz (LHW)

UFC 96 Results

Televised Main Card

• Quinton “Rampage” Jackson def. Keith Jardine via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
• Shane Carwin def. Gabriel Gonzaga via knockout (punch) at 1:09 round 1
• Matt Brown def. Pete Sell via TKO (strikes) at 1:32 of round 1
• Matt Hamill def. Mark Munoz via knockout (head kick) at 3:53 of round 1
• Gray Maynard def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

• Tamdan McCrory def. Ryan Madigan via TKO (strikes) at 3:35 of round 1
• Kendall Grove def. Jason Day via TKO (strikes) at 1:32 of round 1
• Jason Brilz def. Tim Boetsch via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Brandon Vera def. Mike Patt via TKO (leg kicks) at 1:27 of round 2
• Shane Nelson def. Aaron Riley via TKO (strikes) at 0:44 of round 1

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