If close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, Frankie Edgar will keep running into roadblocks no matter what weight class he chooses.
The former lightweight champion once again came up short in his bid for the featherweight title against Jose Aldo on Saturday night at UFC 156.
Despite the outcome, Edgar had a really promising featherweight debut. Aldo claimed Urijah Faber was his toughest fight at the post-fight press conference (via MMAWeekly), but the vast majority would agree that honor now belongs to Edgar.
Early in the fight, it seemed like it would be an easy night for Aldo, who utilized his speed advantage to pick Edgar apart with steady jabs, crosses and leg kicks. Edgar has been in early trouble on several occasions, but this was the first time he had ever faced such a superior technical fighter.
Still, there is always that glimmer of hope in every Edgar fight for a miracle or an epic comeback of some sort. In the third round, Edgar gave life to that everlasting hope as he stormed back against Aldo and turned a routing into a controversial unanimous decision.
“Close fight, I keep finding myself in these situations, it’s what it is. Congrats to Jose, he fought a great fight. I’m just going to go home and take some time, that’s all,” Edgar told UFC commentator Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview.
Edgar certainly deserves an “A” for his performance against Aldo.
Some will likely harp on the fact that he lost, but it’s hard to criticize a guy for coming up short against one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. After losing back-to-back lightweight title bouts to Benson Henderson, Edgar surely didn’t think things would be any easier against Aldo.
One could even make the case that Aldo is a more difficult challenge than anyone he has ever faced at 155-pounds. Edgar’s performance does present a level of excitement about a potential rematch somewhere down the road.
First things first, he has to hop back in line and string together some wins.
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