Injury forces Dan Hardy off UFC on FOX 7; Jordan Mein now meets Matt Brown

Dan Hardy’s callout of Matt Brown will have to wait for another day.

An injury has forced Hardy (25-10 MMA, 6-4 UFC) out of a welterweight fight with Brown (16-11 MMA, 6-5 UFC) at UFC on FOX 7 next month. Stepping up to fill the void will be Jordan Mein (27-8 MMA, 1-0 UFC), fresh off his UFC debut win over Dan Miller.

UFC officials announced the changes overnight.

UFC on FOX 7 takes place April 20 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. The main card will be broadcast on FOX following prelims on FX and Facebook. Headlining the event is a lightweight title fight between champion Benson Henderson and final Strikeforce champ Gilbert Melendez, plus a heavyweight fight between former champ Frank Mir and Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix champ Daniel Cormier.

The 23-year-old Mein looked impressive in his UFC debut less than a week ago at UFC 158 in Montreal, stopping Miller with a first-round TKO for his third straight victory. The Canadian went 2-1 in Strikeforce, then earned a quick knockout win over Forrest Petz for Score Fighting Series while waiting for another Strikeforce fight that didn’t happen before that promotion merged with the UFC.

Brown has won four straight and five of his past six fights. In December at UFC on FOX 5, he starched Mike Swick with a second-round knockout. Prior to that, he stopped Luis Ramos with a second-round TKO, beat up Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson for three rounds and stopped Chris Cope with second-round punches.

The five wins in six fights were a stark reversal of a three-fight skid in 2010 that had him suffering three straight submission setbacks – and had him on the verge of a pink slip from the UFC. But he survived with a decision win over John Howard and after a submission loss to Seth Baczynski at UFC 139, he started his current tear.

Hardy was going after his third straight win. In September, the Brit made it two in a row with a unanimous decision win over Amir Sadollah in front of his hometown crowd in Nottingham, England, at UFC on FUEL TV 5. In May, Hardy snapped a four-fight skid with a “Knockout of the Night” win over Duane Ludwig at UFC 146.

Hardy had called out Brown during a Q&A session with fans in Australia this past December, and the next month the fight was made. The UFC offered no details on his injury or a time table for his return.

For more on UFC on FOX 7, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Jordan Mein)