Jordan Mein squared off Saturday night against Mike Pyle in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 49. Pyle was ranked No. 13 going into the fight, while Mein was unranked. That didn’t matter in the end, as Mein scored a TKO in just 72 seconds and won Performance of the Night.
Mein is now 3-1 in the UFC, with two victories by TKO and a Fight of the Night bonus. Back in Strikeforce, Mein went 2-1 with a TKO over Evangelista Santos and a split-decision loss to Tyron Woodley. Woodley got a shot at the Strikeforce welterweight title in his next fight.
Mein will likely make the jump into the Top 15 rankings now, which opens up a whole wealth of potential fights for him. Let’s take a look at three possibilities.
Rick Story-Gunnar Nelson Winner
Rick Story is currently ranked No. 15 in the division, and Gunnar Nelson is ranked No. 12. These two are set to square off at UFC Fight Night 53 on October 4. Gunnar Nelson is 13-0-1 and is 4-0 in the UFC with three submission finishes.
Story has alternated wins and losses since June 2012 and is 4-3 in that time. He has scored two finishes and was only finished in one of his losses.
The winner of this fight will likely make a good matchup for Mein to test himself against, as both are established veterans.
Dong Hyun Kim
Dong Hyun Kim also fought on Saturday, although it was much earlier in the day. Kim faced off against Tyron Woodley and was knocked out in just 61 seconds. Before that, Kim had been on a four-fight win streak, including two in a row by knockout. In those two fights, he also earned a Fight of the Night bonus and a Performance of the Night bonus.
Kim was ranked No. 10 before his loss, so he will likely be in the bottom five of the rankings along with Mein. Both fighters enjoy striking, so this one would definitely be entertaining with a high potential for a knockout finish.
Rory MacDonald-Tarec Saffiedine Loser
In early October, top welterweights Rory MacDonald and Tarec Saffiedine will be headlining UFC Fight Night 54. MacDonald has won two in a row and is ranked No. 2 in the division. Saffiedine is ranked No. 9 and is the former Strikeforce welterweight champion but has had only one fight in the UFC, which came back in January.
The winner of this fight will likely be in contention for the next title shot, but the loser will be looking for a solid win to get back on track.
Adding extra intrigue to this potential fight would be the fact that Mein lost his professional debut to Rory MacDonald.
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