Dan Hardy celebrates after winning his first bout in five fights by stopping Duane Ludwig – Photo by Josh Hedges for UFC.com
Officials with the Ultimate Fighting Championship have announced an intriguing matchup at welterweight for the upcoming UFC on FOX 7 event, pitting former title challenger Dan ‘The Outlaw’ Hardy (25-10, 1NC) against Matt ‘The Immortal’ Brown (16-11).
The announcement was made official Tuesday night with this Tweet from the promotion (@UFC).
– Just when you thought @UFConFOX 7 couldn’t get any better, we’ve added Dan Hardy vs. Matt Brown – plus Bendo/Melendo & Cormier/Mir
UFC on FOX: Henderson vs. Melendez (aka UFC on Fox 7) is expected to take place on April 20, 2013 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. The event is headlined by a lightweight title match between UFC champion Benson Henderson and Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez, who competes inside the Octagon for the first time. Also confirmed is a heavyweight bout between former UFC champ Frank Mir and undefeated Strikeforce Grand Prix tourny winner Daniel Cormier.
Hardy has turned things around with two straight wins after a dismal four-fight slide. ‘The Outlaw’ earned a decision win against TUF 7 winner Amir Sadollah last September at UFC on FUEL TV 5, while finishing Duane Ludwig by knockout at UFC 146 in May. Previous to that, Hardy had lost four straight which started with a decision defeat against division champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111. The next three losses were to Carlos Condit at UFC 120, to Anthony Johnson at UFN 24 and to Chris Lytle at UFC on Versus 5.
Brown has begun to grab the attention of the 170-lbs division with four straight wins in 2012 including a second round knockout finish of Mike Swick last Month at the UFC on FOX 5 event. ‘The Immortal’ began his run last February by stopping Chris Cope via TKO at UFC 143, then moved on to beating Stephen Thompson at UFC 145 by decision, and then finishing Luis Ramos at UFC on FX 4 by TKO.