FanPost

Jordan Mein: Child Fighter From The Shadows

Photo by Esther Lin for MMAFighting.com

We all know about Rory MacDonald, he is the Tristar prodigy. The one who has been patiently groomed for the title under the tutelage of Firas Zahabi and GSP himself. MacDonald is worthy of all his praise and accolades he has earned. Though, with two such large stars we can overlook another worthy and proven talent.

There is another grizzled Canadian who has been on the outside looking in until the last few years. That man is Jordan Mein.

To many fans' surprise Mein made his pro-debut's against Rory MacDonald back in 2006 in RITC - Rumble in the Cage 17, both at the age of 16. With MacDonald Submitting him 4 minutes and 4 seconds into the 1st round via a Rear-Naked Choke. Mein had a rough go, for his first 9 fights, earning a record of 5 wins, and 4 losses. Mein would earn a record of 24 wins and 5 losses with wins against Cyborg, Zarmoskis, Josh Burkman, Dan Miller, and Mike Pyle.

Both the current UFC Welterweights share a similarity in the sense that their bases are not really any single style. From their youth they did a mix of all the arts. With Mein he tends to prefer the striking game, but he can do it all just like Rory.

When I say they have been training from their youth, I also mean they have been fighting since their early teens. Here is an old video of Jordan fighting at 13 years old.

While he did lose, Jordan looked fantastic for a boy only thirteen years of age against a far larger opponent.

Here is footage of Mein kickboxing at thirteen years of age against a now professional kick boxer Wesley Neil.

Regardless of your feelings about children fighting, the case is clear Jordan has been in the fighting trenches for over ten years now. It shows in his style, he is one of the more refined strikers in the Welterweight division. Even with some of his losses they seem to come from a place of being overwhelmed or out pressured.

There are points that this may have caused more brain damage in comparison to him being a footballer (American) or a Hockey player. There is not definitive proof of such, but it cannot be overlooked. Regardless of that this all around and truly, 'mixed' martial arts training from an early age has molded a highly elite fighter in Jordan Mein along with his compatriot Rory MacDonald.

If Mein wins this weekend in convincing fashion and keeps climbing the ladder we may see a rematch nearly ten years in the making.

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Come back next time when we take a look at Mein's trailblazing use of the standing elbow.

Thanks for reading!

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