🥊🎬 From The Octagon To The Director’s Chair

Former UFC standout Keith Jardine is embarking upon the latest chapter of a career far away from the world of fighting. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider with Martin Rogers: Former UFC star Keith Jardine is seeking to take his most ambitious step yet and become a leading film director ... we take a look at why knocking Clemson off the top of the ACC will be a beast of a task .. and we are treated to a beautiful video featuring Angels OF Jo Adell. Keith Jardine never used to get nervous much, not even when he was about to face the most brutal, bombastic and fearsome punchers in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Yet a man who stepped into the octagon with the likes of Chuck Liddell (he won), Forrest Griffin (also won) and Rampage Jackson (lost) has plenty of butterflies these days, not that he’s complaining. “For all the things you can try to control with movies,” Jardine told me in a recent phone conversation, “there’s always a big punch that can land on you.” Currently, Jardine is embarking upon the latest chapter of a career far away from the world of fighting. Having successfully transitioned into a life of acting at the end of his years in mixed martial arts, he’s now seeking to take his most ambitious step yet and become a leading film director. [STORY IMAGE 1] Jardine, 45, recently wrapped filming on a small budget neo-noir 25-minute short titled “El Paso 11:55” in which he had to do “basically everything” and where factors like sunset and sunrise times were enough to set him on edge. With a hoped-for release date of September, the initial goal is to get the film shown at South by Southwest and Sundance, to grab the attention of both investors and the industry’s major players. “I built all the sets with Cowboy. I wrote, produced, acted, directed, helped with the edit,” Jardine said. “It is a lot of pressure but I absolutely love it.” “Cowboy” is Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone, one of the most experienced and beloved fighters in UFC history. Cerrone is a natural entertainer and an exceedingly proficient handyman. The pair worked for a week building sets, including turning a disused Subway store into a replica bus station, seeing Jardine’s creative vision come into effect. [STORY IMAGE 2] As the plot was set at night, the filming schedule would begin when the sun went down and would end at first light. “We got chased out by the sun every morning,” Jardine said. Cerrone also has strong acting chops, according to Jardine, who was able to land an impressive cast including Hollywood regular Brendan Fehr and fighter-turned-actor Tait Fletcher, who recently appeared in Disney’s “The Mandalorian.” Perhaps the reason Jardine has taken seamlessly to filmmaking can be found in the way he talks about the film profession, in which, like many fighters, he got his break thanks to stunt work. He fought during some heady years in the UFC, at a time in the mid-2000s when MMA stars were becoming genuine crossover celebrities. At the end of it – his last UFC fight was in 2010 and last fight anywhere was with Strikeforce in 2012 - movies provided a whole new challenge. [STORY IMAGE 3] “I wanted to learn the profession, show it respect, pay my dues,” Jardine said. “There are some similarities to fighting in that way. If you have a bit of a name it might get you a couple of roles, or a couple of fights, but you’ve got to put the work in and back it up.” Yet Jardine can’t leave combat sports behind altogether and his connection to it is as personal as it gets. His fiancée, Jodie Esquibel, will fight Liz Tracy on the main card of Invicta FC 44, the female-only fight company’s latest pay-per-view show. COVID restrictions mean there is no full corner, so it will just be Jardine and a cutman backing up Esquibel, who is back with Invicta after a stint with the UFC. “When it is someone close to you it is hard, harder than fighting yourself in some ways,” Jardine said. “I always ask Jodie if she wants someone else in the corner, but she always wants me there.” [STORY IMAGE 4] Pulling double duty has led to a frenetic schedule. Recently, a typical day has involved working out Esquibel in the morning, heading to a coffee shop to write new scripts in the afternoon, and hours of providing editing backup in the evening. “I’m busier now than I’ve ever been,” Jardine added. “But I’m fortunate. I didn’t want MMA to be the only thing I did and then just kind of drift away. “Movies are a different world, but I’ll fight just as hard to try to be successful.” [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Mike Chiappetta, [mmafighting.com]( “There are long odds on building a successful career in professional sports. Jardine beat them; to do the same in another wildly challenging venue is his next trick, and one he is fully embracing.” Keith Jardine, Film Director: “There’s a lot more people trying to be actors who went to school, that go to Broadway and chase different methods of learning. The talent pool is a lot deeper than it is in fighting.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - Knocking Clemson from the top of the ACC will be a beast of a task, [FOX Sports College Football Writer RJ Young writes](. - The bedrock of the Kansas City Royals, Salvador Perez, is accomplishing rare feats for a catcher. [FOX Sports MLB Writer Jordan Shusterman has the story](. - Daytona takes center stage as drivers duke it out for the final NASCAR playoff spots. [FOX Sports NASCAR Writer Bob Pockrass has the story.]( [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Here's a cold, hard fact about Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell ... he is a classy individual! Check out this video, which shows Adell deliver an autographed bat to a fan after accidentally knocking his drink down after tossing a ball into the stands at Camden Yards. It would have been so easy for Adell to ignore the mishap, but he made it a point to do the right thing and make the young fan’s day. Well done, Jo! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Little League World Series (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET) Ohio goes up against California in a Tom Seaver Bracket semifinal matchup. High School Football (ESPNU, 8 p.m. ET) Southlake Carroll (Texas) takes on Highland Park (Texas) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( 2021 ACC Football Champion Clemson: -650 North Carolina: +800 Miami (FL): +1000 Quick quiz question: When was the last time Clemson didn’t win the ACC title? You have to go back to 2014 to find the last time the Tigers didn’t hoist the conference championship trophy. That year, it was Jameis Winston and the Florida State Seminoles who won the ACC before losing to Oregon in the Rose Bowl of the inaugural College Football Playoff. In other words … Dabo Swinney’s program has been dominant in the conference for a long time, and don’t expect that to come to an end this year. The Tigers are heavy favorites to win the conference again this season, listed at -650. They are followed by Sam Howell and the North Carolina Tar Heels, who come in at +800, and then Miami (FL) at +1000. While taking Clemson at -650 isn’t a bet that’s going to pay out a ton of cash, it really is the safe and smartest bet to make here. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Belief is a powerful thing.” — T.J. Dillashaw [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2021 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. FOX Sports respects your privacy. Click [here]( to view our Privacy Policy. Fox.com Business & Legal Affairs - Manager Digital Media P.O. Box 900 Beverly Hills, California 90213-0900