UFC 206: Jordan Mein Comes Out of Retirement, Fights Emil Meek

UFC welterweight Jordan Mein is back in action after a year-long retirement, and he will take on Emil Meek in Mein’s home country of Canada.

MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani announced the addition to UFC 206.

Many MMA fans were disappointed in August 2015 when then 26-year-old Jordan Mein announced his retirement from the sport after just five fights in the Octagon. However, Mein’s combat sports career dates back 15 years to when he was just 11, which is when he took his first kickboxing bout.

The Canadian’s amateur MMA career began three years later, then turned professional two years after that. After accumulating a 26-8 record before his 25th birthday, Mein stepped into the Octagon for the first time.

Mein’s UFC debut was an impressive TKO against Dan Miller, but the hype train came to a halt when he fought renowned pressure fighter Matt Brown in his second Octagon appearance. After recovering from the TKO loss with two straight wins (including a “Performance of the Night” against Mike Pyle) Mein took on Thiago Alves.

Mein battered the American Top Team product in the first round, but could not put him away. A brutal kick to the body in the second round sent Mein reeling, and Alves finished the fight, completing an incredible comeback. Several months later, Mein announced his retirement and now he’s back.

Emil Meek enters the Octagon with plenty of promise, with an 8-2 record and all wins coming via stoppage. The Nordic warrior burst onto the scene in May, brutally defeating the always dangerous Rousimar Palhares with elbows in the first round.

Meek was set to make his promotional debut two months ago, but was pulled from the card in order to comply with the USADA program due to certain medications Meek was taking. The compliance period is will end a few days before UFC 206, making it a perfect debut date for “Valhalla.”

UFC 206 will take place on December 10 from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The championship rematch between Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson will headline the card, with a highly anticipated featherweight bout between Doo Ho Choi and Cub Swanson occurring earlier that night.