A war is going down in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada this Friday night.
In the main event of Score Fighting Series 7 – which takes
place tomorrow evening at Hamilton Place Theatre and which airs live on
theScore in Canada and AXS TV in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET – Strikeforce fighter
Jordan Mein clashes with
former UFC welterweight Forrest Petz in what is sure
to be an action-packed brawl, with the winner likely getting a contract to
fight in the UFC.
place tomorrow evening at Hamilton Place Theatre and which airs live on
theScore in Canada and AXS TV in the U.S. at 10 p.m. ET – Strikeforce fighter
Jordan Mein clashes with
former UFC welterweight Forrest Petz in what is sure
to be an action-packed brawl, with the winner likely getting a contract to
fight in the UFC.
Considering both fighters’ go-for-broke styles and the fact a
job with the top fighting promotion in the world may be on the line, Mein vs.Petz could wind up being a “Fight of the Year” contender when it’s all said and
done.
job with the top fighting promotion in the world may be on the line, Mein vs.Petz could wind up being a “Fight of the Year” contender when it’s all said and
done.
Lethbridge, Alberta’s Mein is a 23-year-old phenom who is
already 25-8 in his young career, with signature wins over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (TKO via standing elbows), Marius Zaromskis (unanimous decision) and Joe Riggs (KO via punches). Of his 25 victories, he’s finished 20 fights, 13 times
by knockout and seven times by submission. He also has a 2-1 record in
Strikeforce, with the one loss coming to top wrestler Tyron Woodley.
already 25-8 in his young career, with signature wins over Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos (TKO via standing elbows), Marius Zaromskis (unanimous decision) and Joe Riggs (KO via punches). Of his 25 victories, he’s finished 20 fights, 13 times
by knockout and seven times by submission. He also has a 2-1 record in
Strikeforce, with the one loss coming to top wrestler Tyron Woodley.
So what is he even doing in SFS, you might ask.
Well, as we’re all well aware, Strikeforce is on its last legs.
With the two recently-canceled events by the promotion, there are just too many
fighters under contract, and not enough spots on the rumored-to-be-last Strikeforce card in January for all of them. So matchmaker Sean Shelby was kind
enough to lend Mein out for this fight with Petz, although if he loses it will
still count as a loss against his Zuffa record, basically, since Petz is a
legitimate opponent.
With the two recently-canceled events by the promotion, there are just too many
fighters under contract, and not enough spots on the rumored-to-be-last Strikeforce card in January for all of them. So matchmaker Sean Shelby was kind
enough to lend Mein out for this fight with Petz, although if he loses it will
still count as a loss against his Zuffa record, basically, since Petz is a
legitimate opponent.
“The Meat Cleaver,” who is an Ohio native, was involved in one
of MMA’s best fights of 2012 back in March when he fought Sergej Juskevic at
SFS 4, in the exact same arena he’ll do battle against Mein on Friday. After
surviving an early assault in the first, Petz rallied for a come-from-behind
victory in the second round, when he hurt Juskevic so badly along the cage that
referee Dan Miragliotta had to stop the fight due to a rare standing TKO. But
knockouts are nothing new to Petz, as the brawler, who holds a 25-9 record, has
12 career victories via T/KO, and five more by submission.
Petz fought in the UFC back in 2006-2007, defeating Sammy Morgan and Luigi Fiorvanti but losing to Josh Burkman, Marcus Davis and
Kuniyoshi Hironaka, which prompted his release from the organization. He worked
his way back to the big show in 2010, but again, losses to Daniel Roberts and
Brian Foster prompted his exit from the organization. Petz – 2-5 overall in the
Octagon – wants another shot in the big time, and should he get past Mein – who
many are calling the next great Canadian welterweight, in the vein of UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald (who,
coincidentally, defeated Mein in his very first MMA bout) – he may get that one
last chance he craves so badly.
Kuniyoshi Hironaka, which prompted his release from the organization. He worked
his way back to the big show in 2010, but again, losses to Daniel Roberts and
Brian Foster prompted his exit from the organization. Petz – 2-5 overall in the
Octagon – wants another shot in the big time, and should he get past Mein – who
many are calling the next great Canadian welterweight, in the vein of UFC
welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre and Rory MacDonald (who,
coincidentally, defeated Mein in his very first MMA bout) – he may get that one
last chance he craves so badly.
With Mein and Petz both always being aggressive, both always
moving forward, and both always going for the finish, the crowd in Hamilton has
an extremely exciting main event awaiting them tomorrow night. In addition, the
card features an intriguing co-main event matchup between lightweights Ryan Healy and Jesse Ronson, and four other main-card bouts too, making it an
underrated event to help us get our MMA fix until the next UFC card on December
8.
moving forward, and both always going for the finish, the crowd in Hamilton has
an extremely exciting main event awaiting them tomorrow night. In addition, the
card features an intriguing co-main event matchup between lightweights Ryan Healy and Jesse Ronson, and four other main-card bouts too, making it an
underrated event to help us get our MMA fix until the next UFC card on December
8.
Watch Mein vs. Petz tomorrow night. I’d be shocked if you walk
away disappointed.
away disappointed.
