Mixed martial arts fans are in for a treat on Saturday night, with a fight card on tap for UFC 135: Edgar vs. Maynard III that is as deep as any we’ve seen this year and, as such, has as much potential for heart-pounding, bone-crushing entertainment as…
Mixed martial arts fans are in for a treat on Saturday night, with a fight card on tap for UFC 135: Edgar vs. Maynard III that is as deep as any we’ve seen this year and, as such, has as much potential for heart-pounding, bone-crushing entertainment as any UFC event in 2011.
First and foremost, we have the main event between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. These two nemeses have enough history between them that this bout could be a headliner even without the benefit of waist wear.
Of course, they’ll be duking it out for the UFC Lightweight Championship, so the stakes will be that much higher. This isn’t the first time they’ve met to decide a title, though. Edgar and Maynard last met in the Octagon at UFC 125: Resolution on New Year’s Day.
Ironically enough, not all was resolved that day, particularly between Edgar and Maynard, who fought to a draw. That allowed Edgar to retain the title but did little to make up for his loss to Maynard at UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon back in April of 2008.
As exciting as the latest edition of Edgar vs. Maynard will be, it won’t be the only fight with championship implications this weekend. Jose Aldo will also be at the Toyota Center in Houston, but certainly not as a spectator. Rather, he’ll be climbing into the Octagon, Featherweight Championship and all, to take on former lightweight contender Kenny Florian.
Aldo has been as dominant as any fighter in his respective division, though this will mark only his second career UFC bout. Florian, meanwhile, will be taking his third, and perhaps final, shot at a title after twice losing championship bouts as a lightweight.
But wait…there’s more! The third fight on the main card, between top 10 contenders Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann, could very well determine who gets the next crack at Anderson Silva‘s seemingly unbreakable hold on the Middleweight Championship.
Sonnen last climbed into the Octagon 14 months ago, when Silva forced him into submission to claim the title belt at UFC 117. Sonnen would’ve had a shot at an immediate rematch had he not been suspended for elevated levels of testosterone and mixed up in a money laundering scandal.
Sonnen has been rather flippant in his approach toward tomorrow’s bout, telling USA Today:
“This is the most unsophisticated and un-well-thought-out thing you need to do in life. Two half-naked men are going to get into a steel cage and fight for the applause of a drunken, rowdy crowd. … We don’t need to plan for this.”
But while Sonnen may not be so inclined to planning ahead, MMA fans should be, at least in so far as making sure they catch all the championship-caliber action at UFC 136.
All 22 fighters at UFC 136 will step onto the scale at the UFC 136 weigh-ins Friday afternoon, and we’ll carry the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.
UFC 136 features two title fights, with lightweights Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard needing to weigh in at the 155-pound limit, and featherweights Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian needing to make 145 pounds.
The UFC 136 weigh-in begins at 5 PM ET and the video is below.
All 22 fighters at UFC 136 will step onto the scale at the UFC 136 weigh-ins Friday afternoon, and we’ll carry the live video right here at MMAFighting.com.
UFC 136 features two title fights, with lightweights Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard needing to weigh in at the 155-pound limit, and featherweights Jose Aldo and Kenny Florian needing to make 145 pounds.
The UFC 136 weigh-in begins at 5 PM ET and the video is below.
On Saturday night at UFC 136, Gray Maynard, a man who has yet to lose to Frankie Edgar, will do everything in his power to walk away with what he believes to be his belt.The entire card for UFC 136 is stacked and will culminate with what could very wel…
On Saturday night at UFC 136, Gray Maynard, a man who has yet to lose to Frankie Edgar, will do everything in his power to walk away with what he believes to be his belt.
The entire card for UFC 136 is stacked and will culminate with what could very well be the best fight of the year.
Any hardcore UFC fan already knows they don’t want to miss this fight, but for some newcomers it may seem underwhelming. It won’t be.
Read further to see how Edgar and Maynard stack up.
This weekend will host UFC 136, one of the most anticipated cards of the year headlined by a third bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and No. 1 contender Gray Maynard.They last fought to draw at UFC 125, where Edgar looked to be all bu…
This weekend will host UFC 136, one of the most anticipated cards of the year headlined by a third bout between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and No. 1 contender Gray Maynard.
They last fought to draw at UFC 125, where Edgar looked to be all but out in the first round after a barrage of punches from the challenger.
Edgar survived, getting dropped three times to fight back and earn a draw while retaining his title.
Edgar is 0-1-1 against the challenger, and they will fight for the third time this Saturday.
It has been a while since the UFC has featured a third bout between two fighters. Some of the more famous trilogy fights the Octagon has hosted include Chuck Liddell vs. Randy Couture and the third bout between Quinton Jackson and Wanderlei Silva.
These are four trilogies we would like to see in the near future.
Filed under: UFCWith UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a litt…
With UFC 136 just a day away, oddsmakers have made their picks and more or less dared you to disagree with them. You going to stand for that? I didn’t think so.
Let’s poke around and see where they might be wrong, this time with a little special help on the parlay from one of my MMA Fighting colleagues.
At last, a title defense where Edgar is the favorite, however slight. The last time these two met, the champ was a +115 dog. I know, because I went back and looked at my own betting odds picks for UFC 125, which means I am now sufficiently humbled. Let’s just say I didn’t exactly knock that one out of the park, though I did pick Edgar when many thought he’d simply get held down for five rounds. Now that he’s proven not only his mutant healing abilities between rounds, but also his wrestling prowess, I’m not surprised that oddsmakers are giving him the slight edge.
Still, the line is so close that you aren’t going to profit all that much from taking the underdog flyer on Maynard. For those of you struggling to understand what +110 means, imagine yourself putting down $100 on Maynard and then making $110 if he wins. Also imagine yourself being very, very sad if he doesn’t. Then at least you’ll understand what you’re letting yourself in for if he can’t shove Edgar around for five rounds to become the new champ. My pick: Edgar. He’s proven he can stay off his back against Maynard. If he can only stay out of the way of those power punches, he’ll be in business.
Florian is the kind of guy you want to root for, and by ‘you’ I mean me. He’s a diligent worker, a borderline obsessive student of the game, and a real thinking man’s fighter. One thing he’s not, at least so far, is championship material. Oddsmakers don’t seem to think that will change against Aldo, and I have to admit that I agree. Florian isn’t going to stand there and out-strike Aldo. Not without getting his legs turned to hamburger. He’ll have to put him down, but can he reliably do that, especially in the early rounds? I’m not so sure, at least not unless Aldo suffers through another brutal weight cut like the one he had before the Hominick fight. Florian’s best chance might come in the later rounds, but only if he can make it that long. Even then, he’ll probably be so behind on the scorecards that he’ll absolutely need to start finishing fights at 145 pounds. Easier said than done against the champ. My pick: Aldo. Honestly, it’s not even worth a parlay pick at these odds, but neither is Florian worth the underdog risk.
If you know me, you know I have to have at least one big/somewhat reckless underdog pick per event. If I don’t, I go crazy and try to bait strangers at the gas station into giving me 3-1 odds on whether I can jump over a moving car (turns out I can’t; lesson learned). This time around, I had to take a hard look at Stann, who needs only to keep from getting out-wrestled in order to have a very good chance in this one. Normally, I wouldn’t like his chances to do even that, but Sonnen has been off for a very, very long time. Much of that time was spent trying to convince the California State Athletic Commission that he doesn’t mean what he says, except for when he does, and distractions like that are rarely helpful. Cage rust affects different fighters in different ways, but if I had to bet (and it’s kind of the purpose of this whole feature) I’d wager that Sonnen will be not quite as sharp as usual, and it’ll cost him. My pick: Stann. I wouldn’t bet the house, or even the condo, but I will throw some small action on the real American hero this time around.
Back when he was an immature, though talented fighter who would beat himself more often than not when given a chance, Guillard was still a scary opponent. Now that he’s got his act together, dude is positively terrifying. Lauzon’s best chance is to get it to the mat and submit him, but the last time Guillard tapped out was in 2009, when he was foolish enough to shoot a takedown on Nate Diaz and get himself guillotined in the process. He’s a much smarter fighter than that now, so Lauzon better have a plan B. Matter of fact, he better have plans C-N, too, because I don’t see him shooting a double-leg and putting/keeping Guillard down long enough to submit him. My pick: Guillard. Again, it’s not even juicy as a parlay addition, but what are you going to do?
Quick question: do we have different judges for the rematch? If so, then you have to give Phan the edge. If it’s the same people who think haymakers, whether they connect or not, are enough to win a fight, then take your chances with Garcia. Garcia’s problem isn’t just that he likes to brawl — it’s that he doesn’t like to do anything else, such as defend his face. He’s a great guy — one of the nicest and most down-to-earth in this business, really — and when he finds a willing dance partner, his style is fun to watch. It’s also predictable, and when opponents can keep from getting sucked into it he runs into problems. My pick: Phan. This one might be more suitable as parlay material, but then you never know what those wacky judges will do.
Quick picks:
– Mike Massenzio (+125) over Steve Cantwell (-145). Massenzio will try to out-wrestle Cantwell, and Cantwell is susceptible to that. With these odds, Massenzio’s worth a small risk.
– Anthony Pettis (-285) over Jeremy Stephens (+225). You won’t get rich off of it, but this one is money in the bank.
The ‘For Entertainment Purposes Only’ Parlay: Just because he’s a wild riverboat gambler with dollar signs in his eyes, and because I respect that sort of self-destructive impulse, I’ll let my colleague Matt Erickson call it this time. Take it away, Matt.
“A 4-leg parlay of ‘dogs on Saturday that pays $473 on a $10 bet:
Maynard +125
Stann +200
Santiago +225
Elkins +120
I’ve already spent my winnings. That’s how sure of that mofo I am.”
You heard the man. And if it doesn’t work out, you can let him know about it on Twitter: @MattErickson23
Filed under: UFCHOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightw…
HOUSTON — Frankie Edgar has spent the last year of his fighting life focusing on just one man: Gray Maynard. Being forced to return his attention to the same task over and over hasn’t driven him crazy, but even the mild-mannered lightweight champion has had just about enough.
“I’m sick of talking about how sick I am of talking about him,” Edgar said on Thursday, a wry smile on his face.
After Saturday, win or lose, he finally gets to move on.
But the fact is, a win over Maynard is important for Edgar’s growing legacy. It was a surprise when he won the championship over BJ Penn in April 2010, but whatever doubters remained were silenced when he romped past Penn in a rematch a few months later.
But Maynard (10-0-1) has been the one thorn in his side, a powerful puncher with a wrestling pedigree and a willingness to grind out opponents. The pair have fought twice before, with Maynard winning a decision in April 2008, and the duo scrapping to a thrilling draw on January 1.
Maynard’s success in the respective fights came via different means. In the first bout, Edgar (13-1-1) out-landed him on the feet barely, but Maynard controlled the fight with his wrestling, scoring on eight of 10 takedown tries, according to Compustrike.
In the second fight though, Maynard’s best moments came standing, rocking Edgar in the first round and nearly finishing. But his success ended there. Edgar effectively shut down his wrestling. After the 10-8 first round, Maynard managed only 1 of 11 takedown tries.
Here’s what we know about Edgar: he can fight forever. He’s shown it over and over. In the last fight with Maynard, for instance, he threw and landed more strikes in round five than any other round of the fight. Because of that endless stamina, he’s usually going to throw greater volume than his opponent.
In Edgar-Maynard II, he threw 53 more strikes than Maynard despite spotting him a 41-strike advantage in round one.
In close rounds with little discernible damage differential, volume wins rounds. Compounding Maynard’s problem, Edgar is historically more accurate than him, 42 percent to 34 percent, according to FightMetric research. If Edgar throws more volume and lands more, this fight will end up looking like Edgar-Penn II.
Maynard’s best way to slow Edgar down is to take him down. When he’s fresh, he seems to transition better into his takedowns. As he fatigues though, he loses effectiveness. So pacing will be important to Maynard here. If he takes Edgar down, it would be advantageous for him keep Edgar there for a while. Grind him out. Fighting Edgar in open space will always be difficult due to his speed and footwork.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Maynard win the first round or two this time around, but I expect Edgar to stay away from Maynard’s heavy artillery. As the fight goes on, Edgar’s quickness, movement and accuracy will begin to take over. It will be another close one, but this time, Edgar takes the decision, and the trilogy concludes with both men 1-1-1 against each other.
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian
The last time we saw Jose Aldo fight, he looked vulnerable for the first time in a long time, flat on his back for most of round five against Mark Hominick, relying on his early lead and holding on until the final bell for a decision win.
Aldo (19-1) says now that his weight cut went awry due to added muscle, and he was also impacted by a fight-week infection that was not divulged prior to the fight. During fight week in Toronto back then, he looked gaunt and depleted. Seeing him around this week, he looks healthy and energetic.
His offensive gifts are well known to most fans. He has a brilliant game which mixes power and speed. He flicks out chopping kicks with ease. He has black belt jiu-jitsu and wrestles like he’s been doing it his entire life.
If there are holes in his game, they aren’t very obvious.
That’s the puzzle Kenny Florian (15-5) is trying to solve.
Florian might not be as naturally physically gifted as Aldo (their power, for one, is not comparable), but he’s willed himself into a complete fighter. But here’s the real problem for Florian: nearly all the things at which he’s good, Aldo is better. That’s clear from a look at the stats.
Aldo lands more strikes per minute than Florian, is more accurate overall, has better striking defense and has landed takedowns at a higher percentage. And when it comes to takedown defense, statistically at least, Aldo has no peer among active UFC fighters. He’s stuffed 93 percent of attempts against him, a number that would rank him No. 1 if he had the required five UFC fights to qualify for the leaderboard (eight of his nine fights under the Zuffa banner were in the WEC).
I think Florian is smart enough to know he can’t fight Aldo in space for five rounds. He will try to either take Aldo down or grind him against the cage to take away some of his explosiveness. But in a 25-minute fight, that’s going to be a difficult proposition.
I don’t think Florian will get blown out by any means; he’s too solid a fighter to leave massive openings. But I do think Aldo’s attack will find its mark over time. Aldo at his best is a matchup nightmare for any featherweight, and judging from the smile he’s been carting around Houston, he’s brought his A-game.
Mixed martial arts fans are in for a treat on Saturday night, with a fight card on tap for UFC 135: Edgar vs. Maynard III that is as deep as any we’ve seen this year and, as such, has as much potential for heart-pounding, bone-crushing entertainment as any UFC event in 2011.
All 22 fighters at 
With 
HOUSTON —