The "Dean" was a little too "mean."

As former UFC fighter Keith Jardine approached the cage to take on Trevor Prangley at Shark Fights 13 this past weekend, referee Steve Armstrong stood waiting to conduct the usual pre-fight inspection. But for some reason or another, Jardine shoved Armstrong aside as if to say, 'Don't touch me.' He likely mistook the referee for a fan, a mistake he would soon regret.

That kind of behavior isn't part of Keith's character outside of the cage, and as you'd expect, he quickly apologized for the incident once he realized exactly who he was pushing around.

But what was done was done, and "The Dean of Mean" had an indefinite suspension handed to him on the part of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Mr. Armstrong commented on the situation, where he said though he believes the whole thing was just a misunderstanding, it was surprising that a veteran of the game like Jardine would have this lapse in judgement.

"I think he was zoning. He was fixing to fight a big fight. I was trying to stop him, and he smirked and pushed me. I said, 'You push me again, you're DQ'd.' Then he patted my shoulder like he realized what was going on. I think he got caught in the moment... He's got a lot of fights, he should know better. There's no excuse but I didn't want to see him get suspended indefinitely. I just wanted to know, 'Hey, do you have a mouthpiece and a cup on?' In every fight that's checked, so this is nothing new to Keith. We're always going to look at your gloves and do those checks. That's all very standard, going through that checkpoint."

The above quotes and video of the incident, which can be viewed after the jump, are courtesy of MMA Fighting.



