Refocused Brock Jardine Sees Huge Opportunity at Titan FC 28

After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time in his career, welterweight Brock Jardine is honest in his assertion that his time in the UFC wasn’t what it could have been.

“My UFC career didn’t go quite the way I liked,” Jardine told MMAWeekly.com. “In the Rick Story fight, I think the biggest thing I let get to me was his name. It was his tenth (UFC) fight, it was my first; he was in title contention at one point.

“When I fought with Kenny Robinson, he hit me with that crazy little submission there, which I can’t do anything but tip my hat to him and tell him he was the better man that day.”

Realizing he was stressing himself out too much, Jardine went back to the drawing board and has since adjusted his outlook and is once again in the headspace that lead him to win nine of 10 fights prior to joining the UFC.

“I’m having fun again training, learning and just being involved in this sport,” he said.

“Before I put too much pressure on myself to get into the UFC and then to win to keep my job. I put too much focus on winning rather than bettering myself as a fighter and a person. I’ve matured a lot and have a new mental approach to fight now, and it’s a lot less stressful to me.”

Looking to get back on track, Jardine (9-3) will take on Daniel Roberts (14-5) at Titan FC 28 on April 25 in Kansas City. The bout will be a feature attraction on the live CBS Sports Network broadcast.

“Daniel is a very tough challenge,” said Jardine. “He’s going to be one of the tougher fights of my career. Obviously looking at his record, he’s a good grappler, so I’m sure he’s going to look to take me down and submit me. With that being said, I do not necessarily have to keep it on my feet.

“I do feel I have an advantage on my feet, but also on the ground it’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing. The only time I’ve been submitted was my last fight to a submission that had never been used in the UFC before.”

If there’s one area Jardine feels he has a clear-cut advantage, it is in his ability to go all three rounds and not tire.

“The one thing I bring into this fight is my conditioning and my pace,” he said. “That’s one thing I’ve always focused on: push the pace, try to wear him out and look for the finish.”

A win over Roberts could go a long way towards vaulting Jardine back into the UFC. And while that’s something he’d like, right now it’s more important for him to stay true to what motivated him to fight all along.

“I think the last couple years I got away from what was really important to me,” he said. “It’d be really nice to get back to the UFC, but what is really important is my daughter and keeping the lifestyle I have right now to teach and train at The Pit Elevated.

“I’m very happy and privileged to do this for a living.”