Author: By Thomas Gerbasi

After a closely-contested five round battle with UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in the UFC 136 co-main event on Saturday, veteran contender Kenny Florian is going to rest up a bit before making any decisions on his fighting future.

“Everyone is asking what is next for me,” said Florian in a statement issued Monday afternoon. “The only response I can give right now is that I’m going to take some time. I want to rest, spend some time with my family and friends, and then evaluate all of my options. I’ll speak with (UFC President) Dana (White), and my manager, Glenn Robinson, and we will figure out my next move. When I make that decision, my fans will be the first to know. One way or another, you haven’t seen the last of Ken-Flo!”

The 35-year old Florian, who has competed in four weight classes in the Octagon (everywhere from 185 pounds to 145) has fought for UFC titles three times, coming up short against Sean Sherk, BJ Penn, and Aldo. On Saturday, Aldo pulled out the unanimous decision win, but many of the rounds were won by razor-thin margins, proving that Florian still has what it takes to fight it out with the best in the game.

“I’d like to thank Jose Aldo for giving me the opportunity to compete for the featherweight title last Saturday,” said Florian. “I gave the fight my all, but Jose won that night. I would also like to thank the UFC, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta for their continued support.”

Considering his two shots at the lightweight belt and his recent featherweight title fight, Florian’s road back to the top may be a long one, something that has never deterred him after the losses to Sherk and Penn. And judging by Monday’s statement, he hasn’t lost that love for the sport.

“I am passionate about mixed martial arts, and I love being involved in this sport,” said Florian, a true ambassador of MMA, who owns his own school in Massachusetts and is also a commentator on ESPN’s MMA Live. “It is incredible to see how much MMA has grown and that, today, there are millions of people who enjoy the UFC as much as I do.”

HOUSTON, October 8 – Highly-touted heavyweight prospect Stipe Miocic made a successful Octagon debut in UFC 136 prelim action at Toyota Center Saturday night, keeping his unbeaten record intact by delivering a three round unanimous decision win over ultra-tough Joey Beltran. See post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Miocic, who improves to 7-0; Beltran falls to 13-6.

Wearing trunks similar to those worn by his fistic hero, Mirko Cro Cop, Miocic had a solid opening round, as he used his reach, a steady diet of leg kicks, and the threat of a takedown (one of which he scored in the first) to keep Beltran at bay and from putting together any offense.

“The Mexicutioner” came out with a single-minded determination to get back in the fight in the second though, even getting Miocic on the mat for a spell before the Ohio native got back to this feet. Beltran continued to press, tagging Miocic with a hard left hook and some body shots, but Miocic took everything well, responding with a ground and round assault that put more points on the board. Beltran fought to get back up, and the two traded thudding shots to the bell.

Entering the third round for the first time in his career, Miocic didn’t self-destruct as the stanza began. In fact, he pressed the action and got Beltran to the mat early on. After the two rose and locked up, it was back to standup exchanges, with both fighters showing the wear of the fight on their faces. With 90 seconds remaining, Beltran stumbled to the mat and Miocic followed, scoring with short strikes from the side control position and then from Beltran’s back, locking up the hard fought win.

MAIA vs. SANTIAGO

All three judges saw it 30-27 for Demian Maia, who ups his record to 15-3; Jorge Santiago falls to 23-10. See post-fight interview

More than willing to exchange with the heavy-handed Santiago, Maia took some shots in the early stages of the bout before taking the fight to the mat. Santiago, a jiu-jitsu ace in his own right, was able to use his defense to get the bout standing again, but after a couple more exchanges, Maia got his second takedown. This time, the busy Maia kept him there, but was unable to get his foe in any trouble before the bell.

After the second opened with some sloppy standup work from both fighters, Maia tried his luck on the mat, yet again, Santiago’s airtight defense wouldn’t allow Maia to improve his position, and the stalemate on the ground brought boos from the Toyota Center crowd.

The war of attrition turned into just attrition in round three, with Maia getting Santiago to mat, but the defense of “The Sandman” nullifying everything the former title challenger did. As for Santiago, there was little to no offense from his end of things, making the end result a mere formality.

PETTIS vs. STEPHENS

The fireworks between lightweight Anthony Pettis and Jeremy Stephens never materialized, but “Showtime” did do enough to pull off a razor-thin split decision victory over Iowa native Stephens. See post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 twice, and 28-29 for Pettis, who earned his first UFC win in improving to 12-2; Stephens falls to 20-7.

After trading kicks to open the bout, Stephens went on the offensive but Pettis was gone before any of his haymakers landed. In response, Stephens shot for, and got, the takedown, but Pettis quickly got back to his feet. After a brief break for a low blow by Pettis, the two re-engaged, with little of note being landed before the fighters locked up against the fence. With 1:15 left, Stephens took the fight to the canvas again, but it was Pettis who got the most cheers when he tried a flashy kick at the end of the round that came up short, prompting a rebuke from a finger-wagging Stephens.

Pettis got his own takedown early in round two, and “Showtime” did some solid work on the mat before Stephens rose. Once he got upright though, it was only for a moment, as Pettis delivered three more quick takedowns of his now bloodied foe. The third time around, Pettis took Stephens’ back, but was unable to finish, instead getting reversed and caught with a couple hard shots before the bell.

Stephens took the takedown route to start off the final round, putting some more points on the board. The two quickly rose, with Pettis slipping on his own takedown attempt and winding up on his back before he got out of trouble and stood, pinning Stephens to the fence before getting two proper takedowns. And though Stephens ended the bout with his own takedown, it wasn’t enough to sway the judges.

ELKINS vs. ZHANG

Indiana featherweight Darren Elkins handed China’s Tiequan Zhang his first UFC defeat, outgrappling his foe on the mat throughout their bout en route to a three round unanimous decision win. See post-fight interview

Scores were 30-27 twice, and 30-26.

After catching some early heat from Zhang, Elkins shot in for a takedown and almost got caught in his opponent’s trademark guillotine choke. Elkins broke free and fired off ground strikes, staying busy and eventually taking the back of “The Wolf.” Yet even a long stretch in this position didn’t allow Elkins the opportunity to finish, as Zhang’s defense was enough to get him through the round.

The takedown-guillotine attempt scenario kicked off the second round, with Elkins using some slick maneuvering to escape and take Zhang’s back again. With nothing open there, Elkins moved into side control and then rose back to his feet, starting again with another takedown. Zhang had no answers for the top game of Elkins, who put a second round in the bank.

Not one to give up on his best maneuver, Zhang hoped that the third time was the charm with the guillotine in round three, but Elkins was ready for it, easily sliding free and getting back into the dominant top position before taking his opponent’s back and finishing out the 15 minute bout with a series of strikes.

With the win, Elkins improves to 14-2; Zhang falls to 18-2.

SIMPSON vs. SCHAFER

Aaron Simpson earned his third consecutive victory in middleweight action, putting a thorough three round pounding on a game, but overpowered, Eric Schafer, sailing to a shutout win. See post-fight interview

The unanimous decision read 30-27 on all cards.

Schafer almost didn’t survive the opening minute of the bout after getting hurt and dropped by a left hand, but the Milwaukee product made it back to his feet, only to catch a hellacious array of power shots from Simpson, who dented, but couldn’t break, his opponent’s chin.

There was little change to the pattern of the fight in round two, with the only difference being Schafer getting dropped at the end of the round by a right hand instead of by a left at the beginning of the frame. And while Simpson wasn’t able to finish his gutsy foe, he did put another round in the bank in the third, capping off another victory.

With the win, Simpson ups his record to 10-2; Schafer falls to 14-6-2.

MASSENZIO vs. CANTWELL

If you told Steve Cantwell that he would be able to keep the fight standing against wrestler Mike Massenzio for the majority of their middleweight bout, he probably would have welcomed such news. But what he didn’t count on was the improved striking of “The Master of Disaster,” who scored a clear-cut three round unanimous decision win over the former WEC champion, who was making his 185-pound debut. See post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 twice and 30-27 for Massenzio, who improved to 13-5; Cantwell, who has lost four in a row, falls to 7-5.

Massenzio did an excellent job of striking with the strike in the opening round, tagging Cantwell on a number of occasions with flush shots. Cantwell eventually found his range though, stunning Massenzio with right punches to the head followed by kicks to the same target. The shots prompted Massenzio to go back to old reliable tactically, as he sought a takedown, but the defense of ‘The Robot’ was solid, and he was able to keep the fight standing.

Cantwell got off to a slow start in round two, and while his takedown defense remained strong, he ate enough of Massenzio’s shots on the way in to again cause a dilemma on the scorecards, and as the round went on, the New Jersey middleweight seemed to get stronger and more confident with his hands, bloodying Cantwell in the process.

In the third, Massenzio finally got Cantwell to the mat, albeit briefly, which actually turned out to be a good thing for him, as he was able to continue drilling Cantwell with hard shots straight down the middle. And while Cantwell remained game and kept throwing, he was outmatched throughout the bout by the surprising standup attack of Massenzio.

HOUSTON, October 8 – You can’t kill Frankie Edgar. If there’s a nuclear war, you would want the fighting pride of Toms River on your side. So after he survived another hellacious first round beating at the hands of Gray Maynard in their third bout Saturday night at Toyota Center, you just had an inkling that he would come back.

And he did, scoring a fourth round stoppage of Maynard in the UFC 136 main event that allowed the UFC lightweight champion to finally settle the score with the only man to ever defeat him.

“Maybe I wanted to make it exciting, who knows,” smiled Edgar, who lost to Maynard in 2008 and drew with him in January of 2011.

He did. And he had some help from Maynard, a man who will likely be linked with long after their careers are over.

Both fighters bounced around the Octagon throughout Bruce Buffer’s introductions and referee Josh Rosenthal’s pre-fight instructions, clearly waiting for the opening bell and round nine to begin. But there would be no reckless energy burning off, as the two carefully approached each other, Edgar landing a stiff left hook in the early going before being turned back on a takedown attempt. Midway through the round, Maynard rocked Edgar with an uppercut, dodged a takedown, but then got caught with a flush right himself. With 1:40 left, a quick right from Maynard sent Edgar to the mat, and Maynard stalked with bad intentions as the now bloodied Edgar got up and looked to survive. A vicious knee sent Edgar down again, with more crimson coming from his nose, and though he got up quickly again, this time Maynard calmly put together his shots, not gassing himself out like he did when he had Edgar hurt in the first round of their January rematch.

Confidently moving around the Octagon, Maynard looked like a man just waiting for the one shot that would allow him to claim the belt. Edgar pressed the action, now forced into the role of aggressor to make up for the previous round, and he was able to land some punches in brief flurries. After doing some good work to get back in the fight, Edgar looked to up his fortunes even more with a takedown in the final two minutes, but Maynard wasn’t having it. The relative lack of activity from “The Bully” may have cost him the round though.

Maynard got back to his first round workrate in round three, and with Edgar staying busy as well, it appeared as if the fight was starting fresh again. It was Edgar landing the harder shots throughout the frame, even if they were only coming one at a time, and Maynard started to look flustered by his foe’s constant movement for the first time.

Edgar continued to potshot Maynard early in round four, and impressively he wasn’t getting frustrated by not being able to take Maynard down. Maynard saw his first takedown attempt stuffed as well, and with Edgar continuing to throw leg kicks into the mix, he looked to be gaining confidence with each passing moment. And amazingly, it was on another missed takedown attempt that Edgar hit paydirt, rocking Maynard with a right uppercut. As Maynard staggered to the fence, another big right landed, and another, sending the challenger to the mat. A follow-up barrage finished matters, with Rosenthal halting the bout at 3:54 of the round. Edgar’s finish earned him not just the belt but a Fight of the Night award of $75,000.

With the win, Edgar, who retained his title for the third time, improves to 14-1-1; Maynard falls to 11-1-1, 1 NC.

HOUSTON, October 8 – Middleweight contender Chael Sonnen picked up right where he left off from August of 2010, but this time he left the Octagon with the submission victory, dominating Brian Stann before finishing the “All-American” in the second round. But his fiercest attack was saved for the man who defeated him at UFC 117 last year, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Watch post-fight interview

“Anderson Silva, you absolutely suck,” said Sonnen, calling out the champion. “Super Bowl weekend, the biggest rematch in history. But we’re upping the stakes. I beat you, you leave the division. You beat me, I leave the UFC forever.”

Sonnen (27-11-1), who had been on the sidelines due to a California State Athletic Commission suspension and a legal issue, immediately closed the gap and locked up with Stann, bulling the Marine Corps vet to the fence. Stann fired off hard shots from close range and looked to be on the verge of escape before Sonnen regained control. Nearly a minute and a half in, Sonnen scored the takedown, landing in side control. In a scramble, Sonnen took Stann’s back and then moved into the mount position briefly, eventually settling into the top position, where he dominated with strikes until the bell sounded.

The deceptively fast Oregonian put Stann (11-4) on his back seconds into round two, again getting into the mount position as Stann tried to hold on and force a restart. Midway through the round, he got his wish, and even landed a hard right before getting slammed to the canvas by the swarming Sonnen, who quickly slapped on an arm triangle choke. Stann tried to resist, but Sonnen wasn’t going to be denied, and the tap out came at the 3:51 mark, prompting chants of “Silva, Silva” from the crowd, and a smile from the champion.

All that’s left is a rematch.

PHAN vs. GARCIA

It took two fights and six rounds, but Nam Phan got his win over Leonard Garcia, reversing the result of their controversial 2010 bout with a three round unanimous decision victory in a rousing 15 minute brawl that left Houston fans begging for more. Watch post-fight interview

Scores were 29-28 across the board for Phan, who improves to 17-10; Garcia, who decisioned Phan last December, falls to 19-8-1. The men earned Fight of the Night honors again for their war, these worth $75,000 each.

With three rounds already in the bank against each other, there was no need for a feeling out process, and Garcia and Phan immediately got to work, with Garcia working his jab and kicks well, and Phan scoring with hard combinations and a jab of his own that jarred his opponent. As the round progressed, there was a pattern similar to that first fight, as Garcia was busier, but Phan was landing with the more accurate and harder blows.

Phan’s power shots began to take their toll in round two, with Garcia beginning to get sloppy with his striking as he wildly moved around the Octagon off-balance. With under two minutes left, Garcia looked winded, with his fatigue undoubtedly helped along by Phan’s consistent body shots. Phan stayed cool though, calmly picking Garcia apart with his precision punching.

Showing an extreme sense of urgency, Garcia came out winging for round three, eventually hurting and dropping Phan in the second minute. Phan eventually cleared his head though, with a tie up against the fence buying him some precious time. And then it was Phan’s turn, as he started teeing off on the Texan before getting him down to the mat with under two minutes left.  With 1:20 remaining, referee Jacob Montalvo stood the fighters up, and Garcia even scored a brief takedown before the two stood and traded until the final bell, drawing another huge roar from the crowd in appreciation for one of the best fights of 2011.

“If we come back to Houston, I’ll do number three,” said Garcia.

LAUZON vs. GUILLARD

In the main card opener, Joe Lauzon bested Melvin Guillard in a battle of lightweight finishing artists, using his jiu-jitsu game to submit “The Young Assassin” in less than a minute, momentarily derailing Guillard’s title hopes. Watch post-fight interview

Guillard roared out of his corner to kick off the bout, but so did Lauzon, and after eating a couple of shots, “J-Lau” rocked Guillard with a straight left. Guillard backpedaled after taking the shot, but his legs still weren’t under him, and he stumbled to the mat. Lauzon pounced and furiously worked for the finish of his groggy opponent. Moments later, he sunk in a rear naked choke, and it was game over for Guillard, who tapped out at the 47 second mark.

The loss snapped Guillard’s five fight winning streak, dropping his record to 46-10-3 with 1 NC. Lauzon, who has finished all eight of his UFC wins, improves to 20-6, and earned a $75,000 Submission of the Night bonus to boot.

HOUSTON, October 8 – Jose Aldo wasn’t spectacular Saturday night at Toyota Center. Not by a longshot. But in the UFC 136 co-main event, the UFC featherweight champion showed that he could still find a way to win under any circumstance, retaining his crown for the second time with a workmanlike five round unanimous decision over Kenny Florian.

Scores were 49-46 across the board for Aldo, who improves to 20-1; Florian, who was challenging for a UFC title (two at lightweight) for the third time, falls to 16-6.

Florian fired off leg kicks to start the championship bout, with Aldo firing off flurries that came sporadically but evident intensity. 1:45 into the fight, Florian got Aldo to the mat for a moment, but the Brazilian shot up immediately, only to get pinned to the fence by the challenger, who was intent on getting the takedown. A couple more scrambles resulted in Aldo’s knee hitting the deck, but Florian stayed relentless. With 1:35 remaining, Aldo broke loose, but his attack was again smothered by Florian, who kept the champ idle for the rest of the round.

It was a war of nerves between the two in the first half of round two, with Florian slightly busier than Aldo, but the champion landed a couple flush leg kicks that got the crowd back into things. In the final 1:30, Aldo scored with a few more pinpoint accurate shots, forcing Florian to up his workrate in order to close things up, but to no avail.

A hard left uppercut put Aldo on the board in round three, and he appeared to be opening up his striking game more with 10 minutes already in the bank. Florian, bloodied on the side of his nose, started to stake more punishment from the champion, and a takedown attempt that left Aldo in the top position didn’t help matters. Florian’s defense on the mat was stellar, as he avoided any serious trouble before standing up, but he wasn’t able to do any scoring of his own before the end of the stanza.

Told by his corner that “this is it”, Florian tried to busy his attack to begin round four, but Aldo trudged forward, showing little fear of the challenger, and in response, he continued to potshot when he could before getting bulled into the fence. After a spell of relative inactivity, the two separated, Florian searching for takedowns, but Aldo not biting.

With five minutes remaining, Florian’s plan of attack was to again get the bout to the mat, but he was still coming up empty. A slip to the mat by the challenger allowed Aldo to get in some potshots and almost get his leg caught, but Aldo soon settled into his opponent’s guard and briefly took the mount position before the two rose, and a stalemate against the fence forced a restart from referee Dan Miragliotta. The two went right back to the fence, jockeying for position before breaking, with Aldo scoring with the last flurry just before the bell, something fight fans would have liked to have seen more of throughout the five rounder.

The pain’s gone by now for Frankie Edgar. Not from the bruises in training camp or from the injured back that has kept him on the sidelines since the beginning of the year, though those aches have faded too. No, it’s the pain that the UFC lightweight champion felt after going five grueling rounds with number one contender Gray Maynard at UFC 125 in January, only to get a draw.

If the old sports adage is that a draw is like kissing your sister, then the look on Edgar’s face after the verdict was rendered meant that his proverbial sister was 675 pounds with a mustache and a bad case of warts. In other words, he was inconsolable.

“I was just super disappointed,” said Edgar. “It was a draw and I was still the champ, but it felt like a loss to me. I hate losing. And I don’t think I really took into consideration the performance I put on after going through what I did in the first round, so I was proud of what I was able to do and how I was able to bounce back, but I didn’t win a fight. I may not have lost, but I didn’t win, and that’s always my main objective and the most important thing.”

Edgar had no right surviving that first round, let alone fighting back to get a draw in a bout many believed he deserved to get the nod in. In boxing terms, it was Juan Manuel Marquez bouncing back from three first round knockdowns to earn a draw with Manny Pacquiao in their first fight. But then again, Edgar’s legs were so wobbly after getting dropped by Maynard, that perhaps a boxing referee would have stopped the fight after delivering a count. Yet in mixed martial arts, a fighter can control his fate for the most heart, and with a mix of heart and determination, the scrappy kid from Toms River, New Jersey made it through the opening five minutes, righted his ship, and got back into the fight.

And what a fight it was, 25 minutes of high-level MMA from the two best lightweights in the division. It was almost fitting that the fight was a draw, because there were no losers in the Octagon in Las Vegas that night. Saturday in Houston, they do it again, and a fight that had little buzz around it in January is suddenly a hot ticket as Edgar and Maynard meet for the third time. And to think, they did it on the strength of their fists and their previous bouts, not on any trash talk or ill feelings. That’s the way Edgar likes it.

“That (trash talk) always gets the people going and it sells fights, but for myself, and being the kind of person I am, I’d rather do my work in the cage,” said the champion. “Gray’s a pretty reserved dude, and so am I, and I think our fight will speak for itself.”

It’s a trilogy that fight fans have been waiting to see resolved, one where Maynard holds a 1-0-1 lead after handing Edgar his lone pro loss in 2008, but the ones who want to see the two part ways more than anyone are the lightweight contenders waiting to get their shot at the belt after the title’s been held in limbo pending this weekend’s bout. Edgar knows that there’s a line of hungry fighters waiting to get at him should he successfully defend his crown for the third time, but he can’t worry about that now.

“You can’t help but notice the guys that are creeping on the door, but I try to not get distracted by that,” he said. “There’s always gonna be the next guy. No matter what I do, whether I win or I don’t, there’s always gonna be the next guy. I’ll worry about Gray and take it from there.”

And hey, if he wins, everything’s even. Do we see fight number four?

He laughs.

“Let’s just take this one first. We’ll take it from there.”

You can’t blame either fighter for wanting to be done with each other. As great as the second bout was, and as intriguing as this rivalry has become, there comes a point when you just want to move on. Edgar has heard nothing but Gray Maynard for over a year, and it’s the same with Maynard hearing about Edgar. Ask the champ if he’s watched film of the rematch, and he says with a chuckle, “if my coaches force me to sit there and watch it, I’ll do so.”

So at this point, expect both men to pull out all the stops to make sure the end result is a decisive one. For Edgar, that means building on all his skills and upping the intensity with each training session. In his favor, the 29-year old has gone the five round distance in each of his last three bouts, so he’s comfortable going into the championship rounds. Just don’t say going 25 minutes is easier each time.

“I don’t know if it gets easier; the preparation sure as hell doesn’t,” he laughs. “I think every camp’s gonna get harder and harder just because I know what it takes to get through a five round fight and become a winner and make sure that you’re still there and still able to push the pace in the fifth round. So if anything, the preparation gets harder, and I think it all matters on how the fights go whether it’s easier or not.”

“But I think I’m on the right track,” Edgar continues. “Nothing changes in between my fights. I just try to become a better fighter than I was the last time. If I know that I’m a better fighter than I was my last time out, I did my job and I improved in all areas. And again, I felt like I accomplished that. I feel like I’m better at jiu-jitsu, better at boxing, better at Muay Thai, and better at wrestling, and I’m better at putting it all together. It’s showing in the room and showing in my confidence.”

In fact, the only time the perennial underdog looks over his shoulder is when it’s brought up to him that in the MMA community, he is the top 155-pound fighter in the world. The whole world. How does that feel?

“It makes me nervous more than anything,” he said. “It makes me want to get up and train. I don’t get a bigger head from it; if anything, I get more nervous about getting knocked off, I guess. But it’s more motivation for me. Some people, I think once they get there they relax and that’s why they don’t stay there. For me, I’m definitely on my toes at all times.”

And ready to put the Gray Maynard chapter of his career to rest.

“I feel like I’m closing the gap,” said Edgar. “The first fight, he won a unanimous decision. The second fight he had a big, big first round but I was able to close the gap and make it a draw which could have gone either way. So hopefully I’ll keep closing that gap and I’ll be on top this time around.”