Amidst a four fight loss streak, Dan Hardy is ready to return to the win column. He now knows who he’ll be returning to the Octagon with, as Hardy is now set to take on Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 146. The event is expected to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 26th.

Hardy (23-10-1) last fought at UFC on Versus 5 in August, losing to Chris Lytle late in the third round via submission. This extended his losing streak to four, which dates back to a loss to UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 111 in March 2010. His last victory came against Mike Swick at UFC 105 in November 2009.

While many fighters are let go after three consecutive losses, Hardy has been able to survive four consecutive losses due to a very important fan. Following his loss to Lytle, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta was quoted as saying “I ain’t cutting Dan Hardy. I love guys that go out there and have incredible heart, as well as great wars, fight-after-fight!”

Ludwig (21-12) has had a bittersweet start to 2012. While he was acknowledged by the UFC for officially having the quickest knockout in the organization’s history (his 6 second KO of Jonathan Goulet in January 2006), Ludwig was defeated by Josh Neer at UFC on FX 1 just days after the announcement.

Ludwig returned to the welterweight division in late 2010 after fighting almost exclusively at lightweight over the previous four years. He has gone 2-1 since his return to 170 pounds, with wins over Nick Osipczack and Amir Sadollah, and the loss to Neer.

UFC 146 is expected to be headlined by a UFC heavyweight championship matchup between champion Junior dos Santos and Alistair Overeem.

Other announced matchups include Jason “Mayhem” Miller taking on C.B. Dollaway and Evan Dunham facing off against Edson Barboza.

For complete coverage of UFC 146, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com