UFC on FOX 7: April 20, 2013 HP Pavilion in San Jose, California UFC Welterweight Contender Jordan Mein (-270) Profile: Easily described as one of the “new breed” of MMA fighters, Jordan Mein (27-8) has amassed 35 total fights at the tender age of 23. At 17, he made his pro debut after a lifetime of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, kickboxing and muay thai shows under his belt growing up. Mein is easily one of the brightest up-and-comers to come out of the Strikeforce buyout after going 2-1 in the promotion with the lone loss coming against welterweight contender Tyron Woodley. Outside the Strikeforce cage, he amassed wins over MMA veterans such as Joe Riggs and Marius Zaromskis. Mein comes to fight every time, with deadly hands and good, but not great BJJ skills. He tends to stumble against upper-level wrestling, as evidenced by his losses to Jason High and Woodley, but he will always try to remain active and go for the finish. UFC Welterweight Contender Matt Brown (+190) Profile: Don’t let his record fool you, aside from his past tendency to get submitted, Matt Brown (16-11) is as tough as they come. Brown is one of those guys who will always make it a fight and never make himself an easy win for anyone. He has strong stand-up, an iron chin (he’s never been knocked out) and is savvy on the mat outside of the holes in his defensive grappling. Many used to wonder why the UFC kept Brown on the roster so long with him touting such a middling record. But Brown’s first four-fight winning streak of his career has silenced most of the critics, including consecutive knockouts of Luis Ramos and Mike Swick in his last two appearances inside the Octagon. Opening UFC on FOX 7 Odds Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Mein a solid -270 favorite (bet $270 to win $100) while Brown opened as a +190 underdog (bet $100 to win $190) at Several Bookmakers sportsbook. In typical Mein fashion, he stands in as a late replacement against Brown after Dan Hardy had to bow out due to a rare heart disease. This comes less than five weeks after Mein’s impressive first round stoppage of Dan Miller at UFC 158. While Mein looks to be one of the rising stars in the welterweight division, he will be facing a tough challenge here against an equally hungry opponent. Brown could not have been much more impressive than knocking out three of four foes during his current winning streak, and he has a lot more experience in the UFC with 14 bouts inside the Octagon (9-5). Mein may have more potential with eight more fights under his belt despite being nine years younger, but Brown is clearly in the midst of his prime with a 9-1 mark in his past 10. Like most bettors, MMA fans tend to remember what they saw last, which was Mein’s dominant performance against Miller in his UFC debut. However, it will be difficult for him to prepare for Brown on such short notice, making this a closer matchup than the line might suggest. Woodley was able to grind out a win against Mein, and Brown would be wise to try a similar strategy. Otherwise, Mein will likely look to pull out all the stops and go for another fantastic finish.
