It has been confirmed that Benson Henderson will defend his title against former Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez. Also on the same card, Daniel Cormier will get his long-awaited shot against former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir. It seems Dana White wants to make sure that fight fans get guaranteed fireworks in the cage, so he has lined up former welterweight number-one contender Dan Hardy against the re-surging Matt Brown. UFC on Fox 7 takes place on April 20th, and it will be held in the former home of Strikeforce in San Jose, CA, at the HP Pavilion.

Hardy hit a big rut in his career after he lost his title shot to Georges St. Pierre. After that bout, he was knocked out by Carlos Condit, decisioned by Anthony Johnson, and submitted by Chris Lytle. He took a year away from the cage to rebuild and came back strong against Duane Ludwig in May of last year. He followed that up with a decision win over Ultimate Fighter winner Amir Sadollah. Brown will be his biggest test since his return to the octagon from sabbatical.

Brown was on the verge of being kicked out of the UFC after a run of 1-4, but he turned it around in 2012. Winning four straight bouts with three second-round finishes signaled a return to form for the native Ohioan. Among those four wins were a TKO over Chris Cope, a win over the hyped Stephen Thompson, and a TKO over Brazilian Luis Ramos. The biggest win for Brown came at UFC on Fox 5, where he finished Ultimate Fighter 1 alum Mike Swick. Whoever wins this fight will be taking a step closer to the top of the division – but only one can continue his climb.