Last August, Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein announced his decision to hang up the gloves. He did so at just 25 years old – though he’d competed in a whopping 39 professional fights, many of them quite gruelling.
On Tuesday, news broke that the ever-exciting welterweight has nixed those retirement plans, and is hoping for a UFC comeback as early as next month. This news was confirmed by Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting, who spoke with Mein’s father and coach, Lee Mein.
“I am happy he is enjoying training and wants to fight again,” the father said. “I feel he is one of the best out there.
“As long as he is having fun and feels healthy, I will support and help him any way I can.”
Mein entered the UFC at just 23 years old, winning his debut with a first-round walloping of Dan Miller. In his next bout, Mein was TKO’d by long-time contender Matt Brown, though he would rebound from this loss with defeats of Hernani Perpétuo and Mike Pyle. Finally, Mein wrapped up his UFC career with a TKO loss to Brazilian bomber Thiago Alves. He announced his retirement several months after this loss.
Over the course of his long career, Mein has fought some of the game’s biggest names. In addition to Brown and Pyle, he’s tangled with names Rory MacDonald, Tyron Woodley, Mike Ricci and Jason High, and defeated the likes of Joe Riggs, Joshua Burkman, Marius Zaromskis, and Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos.
He’ll return at a time when the welterweight division is more stacked than ever; ruled by the aforementioned Woodley and populated by dangerous contenders like Stephen Thompson and Demian Maia. He’s also not the only Canadian welterweight to float the idea of a comeback recently…
Who would you like to see the fan favorite Jordan Mein take on his comeback fight? Sound off, PENN nation!