Flying under the radar in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight division, Matt Brown has slowly but surely climbed the ranks of the 170-pound weight class by winning his last four bouts, including three finishes over Chris Cope, Stephen Thompson and Mike Swick.
Looking to extend his streak to five, "Immortal" was scheduled to face former No. 1 contender Dan Hardy this weekend (April 20, 2013) at UFC on FOX 7 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. "The Outlaw," however, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to his health battle with Wolff-Parkinson White pattern, a condition that can eventually lead to rapid heart rate, low blood pressure and even heart failure.
Cue Jordan Mein.
The Strikeforce import was tapped to fill the void left by Hardy just a few weeks after making his impressive Octagon debut at UFC 158, one in which he handed Dan Miller his first career technical knockout (TKO) loss in the very first round.
And as far as Brown is concerned, "Young Gun" is a "more dangerous" fighter than Hardy because he's an "unpredictable up and comer," while the longtime UFC veteran, Hardy, is already talking about cashing in on his 401k.
Brown broke it down on his recent appearance on "MMA's Great Debate Radio" (via Bleacher Report):
"I see him as more dangerous than Dan Hardy in the sense that for one, he's more unpredictable. I don't know as much about him. I can get probably 15 or 20 fights on Dan Hardy right now if I wanted them. With Jordan Mein, I'm looking at maybe three or four fights. Like I said earlier, Jordan, he's an up and comer whereas Dan Hardy's talking about retirement. You've got a guy that's ultra hungry and probably trying to make a run for the title, where Dan Hardy has probably accepted that he's not going to be in the title picture and he's moved on in his career. So, those are two completely different mentalities that you're dealing with. It's not taking anything away from Dan Hardy, it's just a different mentality."
At the young age of 23 years old, you would think Jordan Mein is somewhat of a "spring chicken" when it comes to mixed martial arts (MMA), right?
Well, think again.
Mein has been fighting professionally since he was 16 years old, making his debut against current top welterweight contender Rory MacDonald at Rumble in the Cage (RITC) 17 way back in 2006.
Though he lost his first stint in cagefighting to "Ares," Mein stuck with it, racking up a 27-8 record during his seven-year career while notching wins over notables like Josh Burkman, Joe Riggs, Marius Zaromskis, and Evangelista Santos, among others, which eventually lead him to the big show.
With a resume like that, there's definitely more than "three or four fights" out there available to Brown for research.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that the bout will only be Mein's second inside the world-renowned Octagon, Brown knows he's going up against an "ultra hungry" competitor who is eyeing the division title.
Something Brown himself has in his sights after 14 fights with UFC.