Lee Mein (left) holding the pads for his Jordan

By Kelsey Mowatt

Now that Jordan Mein has returned to the winning column, with a decision victory over Hernani Perpetuo in April, it remains to be seen when and who the rising welterweight will face next. Since the 24 year-old has gone 2-1 to date in the UFC, and is on the outside of the promotion’s top ten ranks looking in, his father Lee Mein reports they’re hoping to face a top contender.

“No, definitely he wants to fight a top ten, top fifteen guy if they’re available and it comes up,” Mein relayed recently on Full Contact Fighter Radio, while discussing his son. “He’s confident in his game in fighting those guys. We’ll take whatever comes our way, but, it should be good.”

“Joe Silva just told us he’d let us know when something’s set up, and anything in July or August, we’re preparing for that,” added Mein. “If they come up with a confirmation on a fight then we’ll jump on it.”

Prior to facing Perpetuo, Jordan Mein (28-9) was stopped by Matt Brown last April, which marked just his second loss since 2010. Since the memorable bout, Brown has gone on to record two more wins and is currently ranked #6 in the UFC’s 170 pound division.

“It’s one of those things where it’s great when someone who beats you goes on and does great things, and you had a great fight with them,” Lee Mein conceded about Brown’s ongoing success, before noting that he believes the welterweight could become champion. “Kind of raises your value a bit I think in people’s eyes. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to fight, you have to win again and do your thing.”

Lee Mein (left) and Jordan (photo via canadianmartialartscentre.com)

“I’m happy for him that he’s doing well,” the Canadian Martial Arts Centre head coach furthered. “Again he’s shown his grit and toughness, and keeps finding ways to win, even if he’s getting hurt a bit…that’s impressive.”

In Perpetuo, Mein faced a fighter who isn’t a household name in North American circles, but is a welterweight who had considerable momentum heading into UFC on FOX 11. Prior to the April 19th bout, the Nova Uniao member had gone undefeated in nine straights fights, and had secured the Shooto belt along the way.

“I didn’t know who he was either when they first offered the fight, and started doing some research on him and found out he was solid,” Lee Mein noted about Perpetuo, who Jordan defeated by split decision. “He’s a kickboxing champ in Brazil, Shooto champ, his last fight was five rounds, and he obviously trains with some great guys in Brazil there, so, we knew it was going to be a tough fight.”

And as Mein waited for the judge’s decision to be announced, was he confident that Jordan would be awarded his 28th pro victory?

“Yeah, I was confident and then when I heard split decision I was freaked out a bit, I couldn’t believe it was a split,” said Mein. “Of course then you’re panicking because you don’t know what the judges are going to do ever, so, I was happy he got the win.”

The fight marked the first time Mein had competed since his bout with Brown, as the Lethbridge fighter was sidelined with a broken orbital bone, and then a knee injury later in 2013.

“It was good…when we got back home he was right back into the gym, repping out things, and working on stuff,” Mein reported about Jordan. “He’s healthy and ready to fight whenever something gets confirmed.”