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Wednesday, Jan 04, 2012

Jordan Mein On Tyron Woodley: “I Know His Style; What He’s All About”

Welterweight Eager to Face Top Strikeforce Contender Tyron Woodley

By Kelsey Mowatt

For some time now, Jordan Mein has been considered one of the welterweight division’s top prospects, due in large part to the Canadian fighter’s wins over noted vets like Joe Riggs, Josh Burkman and Marius Zaromskis. After stopping Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos in Mein’s Strikeforce debut this September, he’s been rewarded a January 7th bout with the highly regarded and undefeated Tyron Woodley. A win for Mein on Saturday in Las Vegas, could very well serve as the impetus for some to call the 21 year-old-fighter a ‘number one contender’, instead of a ‘promising prospect.’

“I was definitely really excited to be getting this opportunity,” said Mein, while discussing what a bout with Woodley means at this stage in his career. “I know his style; what he’s all about and all the guys he’s beaten in Strikeforce, so it’s a good chance to showcase my skills.”

While Mein was entrenching his status as a fighter on the rise in the Canadian circuit, Woodley was hard at work establishing himself as one of Strikeforce’s top commodities, by winning seven straight fights with the promotion. In fact, Woodley’s run has been so impressive, many observers believed he was next in line to challenge Nick Diaz before the former champion departed for the UFC.

“I guess I could look at that way, or they’re throwing me to the wolves,” Mein noted, when asked if he sees Strikeforce’s matchmaking decision as a reflection of the promotion’s confidence in his abilities. “I think it’s a great thing for me that Strikeforce and Zuffa are doing this for me; putting me in these situations where I can showcase my abilities and get my stock up there more, get some quality wins in Strikeforce against the top guys that are there.”

“I think if I win, I’ll definitely be up there for the number one guy in their division,” Mein furthered. “I don’t really know what Strikeforce will have for me, as I know Tyron has been fighting and winning; he’s been the number one contender and I’m sure he’s been hearing about title fights for the last couple. I’m not really expecting anything to come out of this fight. I’m just hoping for the best.”

Woodley went 2-0 in 2011. After working his way to a unanimous decision win over Tarec Saffiedine in January, the accomplished collegiate wrestler scored a UD victory over feared striker Paul Daley in July.

“Absolutely,” Mein said when asked if he agrees with the praise Woodley has received. “He’s a really talented guy. He’s 9-0, really athletic. He’s known for his wrestling, so I think he’ll be grinding for that, but by all means I’m ready for him to do things off his back, kicks, punches, everything, he’s a mixed-martial-artist. I’m ready for it to be a full fight against him. I know how good he is.”

The Woodley, Mein match-up was announced only recently, shortly after the news surfaced that Strikeforce and Showtime had come to agreement on a new broadcasting deal for 2012.

“We kind of thought that we might get matched-up against him, we thought it was an option, and I’m glad that I got matched-up with him,” Mein told FCF. “I really wanted to test myself up against him. Training wise, it’s just been about setting up my mind, different game-plans, and working on specific things.”

“I stayed in Lethbridge and also went to Calgary,” Mein added, while discussing his training camp. “I went to BDB Martial Arts there to train with some of the guys up there, Nick Ring, Brad Cardinal and the coach Brian Bird; they’re a great group of guys. I love going out there.”

And Mein’s take on how Saturday’s bout might play out?

“It would be awesome if it ended quickly in my favor, but I don’t really know how it’s going to go,” said the Canadian Martial Arts Centre fighter. “I’m just focusing on pushing hard the entire fight, whether it goes a minute or whether it goes fifteen.”

posted by FCF Staff @ 8:00 pm
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