UFC 158 Winners Saving UFC on Fox 7

Matt Brown made an impact last time he fought
on Fox and would love to do it again.

On April 20th the UFC will be putting on its 7th show on Fox in San Jose, California.  This event is just a short 5 weeks after UFC 158 from Montreal.  Despite the quick turnaround, UFC 158 fighters seem eager to get right back in the octagon.

What could be considered a shattered card could arguably have gotten better thanks to injuries.  Chad Mendes lost his opponent for their UFC on Fox fight, SHOCKER.  Despite Guida being injured too afraid to fight Mendes, Darren Elkins decided to step up and take the fight on 4 weeks notice.  He is coming off of an impressive win but he is taking on the #3 featherweight just 5 weeks after contending with the less than scary Antonio Carvalho.  This is not looking great for him, but it definitely will win over the favor of his boss Dana White.  But wait, it did not stop there.

Just a few days later, Dan Hardy announced he was injured and could not fight Matt Brown.  No worries.  Jordan Mein will step in to face Brown following up his devastating finish of Dan Miller at UFC 158.  Again, he is only taking this fight on 4 weeks notice and only 5 weeks after his last fight.  Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, BAM.  Down goes Rivera.  T.J. Dillashaw has agreed to step in to face 7-0 Hugo Viana in California.

I do not know what is more amazing: the fact that 3 fighters on 1 card all got hurt (or scared) within a week of each other.  Or the fact that 3 men who made relatively big statements (as big as an undercard fighter can make) are willing to take another bout 5 weeks after their wins.  Win or lose, Elkins, Mein, and Dillashaw have moved up the ranks in the standings with their UFC 158 wins and also moved up Dana White's list of his favorite fighters.  Dana never claims to have favorites but certain people do anything for that guy, and vise versa.  COUGH COUGH give GSP the easiest title defense ever in Nick Diaz because he asked for it.

Much props to these guys for stepping up.  The UFC needs guys to do this because like all violent sports, injuries are common and even the bench players need to be warmed up and ready to go. However these 3 may have won in Montreal, but they are all taking a big step up in competition.  Dillashaw should be fine with Hugo, but Brown and Mendes are enormous steps up in competition for the youngsters Elkins and Mein.  The good news in all of this is that Elkins, Mein, and Dillashaw can be thanked for ensuring fans get as many fights as they were expecting.