Top 5 Featherweights We Want to See Jose Aldo Fight

Jose Aldo has been so dominant at featherweight that there are those out there who have already been clamoring for him to make a divisional jump.  By successfully defending his title multiple times, who would not be interested in Aldo taking trans…

Jose Aldo has been so dominant at featherweight that there are those out there who have already been clamoring for him to make a divisional jump.  By successfully defending his title multiple times, who would not be interested in Aldo taking trans-divisional superfights against other stars?

The better question, however, is has he really cleaned out his division already?  

The answer is no.  Contenders could get knocked off at any time, but if you are looking at the division as a whole, there are sill some very compelling matchups for him against rising stars.

Up next, Aldo takes on fellow striking specialist Erik Koch at UFC 153 in Brazil. Koch presents some interesting challenges of his own by fighting fire with fire, and even if Aldo triumphs again, there is plenty of hungry talent banging at the door…

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Ranking UFC Champs from Least Hated to Most Hated

There’s so much hate in MMA. In recent days, yet another volley of hate was flung at Jon Jones, this time for his refusal to fight Chael Sonnen. It got me thinking: How well-liked are today’s UFC champs, really? Being a well-liked champion isn’t e…

There’s so much hate in MMA

In recent days, yet another volley of hate was flung at Jon Jones, this time for his refusal to fight Chael Sonnen. It got me thinking: How well-liked are today’s UFC champs, really?

Being a well-liked champion isn’t easy. They live under surveillance—no mistake goes unnoticed. When a champ makes a public action, it’s bound to be scrutinized by hordes of UFC message boarders. And by God, their fights better not disappoint.

In fact, message boards are a nifty place to feel the pulse of the fan community. Any Sherdogger has a true sense of which fighters are favored and which are hated. It’s especially easy to tell which fighters are hated, since Sherdog is barbed with spiteful words. I guess there’s no thrill in praise.

Herein is a ranking of UFC champs from least hated to most hated. It’s subjective and you may disagree. The rankings are based on my experiences digging through message boards, along with my time in drunken crowds during pay-per-views. If you’ve been to a bar on fight night, you know that uninhibited hate flows as freely as the booze.

Some of the more hated champs also enjoy many fans, but this list doesn’t consider that; haters only.

Check it out and post your rankings below:   

 

Begin Slideshow

Ranking UFC Champs from Least Hated to Most Hated

There’s so much hate in MMA. In recent days, yet another volley of hate was flung at Jon Jones, this time for his refusal to fight Chael Sonnen. It got me thinking: How well-liked are today’s UFC champs, really? Being a well-liked champion isn’t e…

There’s so much hate in MMA

In recent days, yet another volley of hate was flung at Jon Jones, this time for his refusal to fight Chael Sonnen. It got me thinking: How well-liked are today’s UFC champs, really?

Being a well-liked champion isn’t easy. They live under surveillance—no mistake goes unnoticed. When a champ makes a public action, it’s bound to be scrutinized by hordes of UFC message boarders. And by God, their fights better not disappoint.

In fact, message boards are a nifty place to feel the pulse of the fan community. Any Sherdogger has a true sense of which fighters are favored and which are hated. It’s especially easy to tell which fighters are hated, since Sherdog is barbed with spiteful words. I guess there’s no thrill in praise.

Herein is a ranking of UFC champs from least hated to most hated. It’s subjective and you may disagree. The rankings are based on my experiences digging through message boards, along with my time in drunken crowds during pay-per-views. If you’ve been to a bar on fight night, you know that uninhibited hate flows as freely as the booze.

Some of the more hated champs also enjoy many fans, but this list doesn’t consider that; haters only.

Check it out and post your rankings below:   

 

Begin Slideshow

Frankie Edgar Faces Reality, Will Drop to Featherweight for Next Fight

(Props: fueltv)

Following his second heartbreaking decision loss to Ben Henderson, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has made the decision to drop to featherweight. The news was broken by Ariel Helwani yesterday on FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight. Since he reportedly walks around at less than 160 pounds, it’ll be a much more competitive division for Edgar, who has generally been out-sized in the Octagon, sometimes significantly. Of course, when Edgar began his UFC career in February 2007, featherweight wasn’t even an option.

Edgar is looking at December for his 145-pound debut, against an opponent to be named later. Though Frankie will likely have to win at least one fight before getting a crack at the title, featherweight champion Jose Aldo — who fights Erik Koch in October — is already laying the groundwork for a heated rivalry. As “Scarface” told Tatame:


(Props: fueltv)

Following his second heartbreaking decision loss to Ben Henderson, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has made the decision to drop to featherweight. The news was broken by Ariel Helwani yesterday on FUEL TV’s UFC Tonight. Since he reportedly walks around at less than 160 pounds, it’ll be a much more competitive division for Edgar, who has generally been out-sized in the Octagon, sometimes significantly. Of course, when Edgar began his UFC career in February 2007, featherweight wasn’t even an option.

Edgar is looking at December for his 145-pound debut, against an opponent to be named later. Though Frankie will likely have to win at least one fight before getting a crack at the title, featherweight champion Jose Aldo — who fights Erik Koch in October — is already laying the groundwork for a heated rivalry. As “Scarface” told Tatame:

“He said he wants to drop to the featherweight so I’m hoping he does that to end this story,” Aldo said. “He’s welcome here so that we shut him off and he goes to the lightweight or bantamweight classes.”

Not exactly a warm welcome to the division. Still, Edgar’s arrival into the featherweight division opens up some fantastic matchup possibilities. In the clip above, Kenny Florian mentions three great ones…

Chad Mendes: The former featherweight title contender recently rebounded from his January loss to Jose Aldo by body-shot KO’ing Cody McKenzie in just 31 seconds. Scrappy wrestler vs. scrappy wrestler?

Chan Sung Jung: The Korean Zombie’s last three fights have ended in highlight-reel stoppage victories, and Jung vs. Edgar sounds like a perfect #1 contender fight in the 145-pound division. Personally, I think Zombie’s already earned his title shot, but one more big win would clinch it.

Dustin Poirier: Unfortunately, “The Diamond” was the most recent victim of the Korean Zombie, but if the UFC wants to give Edgar a softer introduction into the featherweight class — rather than throw him in against one of their top two contenders — Poirier makes a lot of sense, and his aggressive fighting style would make for a great pairing with Edgar.

So who gets your vote? And do any of you not support Edgar’s decision to drop to 145?

Frankie Edgar Should Skip to the Front of the Line and Fight Jose Aldo

Bulging muscles, colorful outfits, strange and horrifying tattoos and hair cuts—there’s nothing normal about your typical mixed martial artist. Combine that with an ability to dish out and take enormous punishment and you have, well, a real-life …

Bulging muscles, colorful outfits, strange and horrifying tattoos and hair cuts—there’s nothing normal about your typical mixed martial artist. Combine that with an ability to dish out and take enormous punishment and you have, well, a real-life superhero.

Fans are drawn to fighters, the real-life tough guys who can do what we have all dreamed about at one time or another in our lives. They can look another man in the eye and know they will walk out of whatever may come with their heads held high.

These aren’t just athletes. They are inspirational. Aspirational. What they do in the cage, many of us can only imagine. The only thing missing is the cape.

It’s this desire to witness the extraordinary that has prevented the UFC from successfully promoting the little guys. The money is in your welterweights and above. Sure the smaller guys can kick butt too. But who really looks up to anybody 5’6″ or shorter? 

Hooters and Buffalo Wild Wings aren’t exactly packed when the featherweights fight. Time Warner doesn’t bring in extra operators to field pay-per-view orders. On the Internet, it’s a virtual ghost town.

Jose Aldo may be amazing—but he’s amazing in a vacuum. If Urijah Faber’s leg is kicked off and no one sees it, did it ever really happen at all?

There is, however, one exception. A fight that has, for whatever reason, attracted the interest of the casual MMA fan. Fans haven’t bought into Aldo, not completely. But they’ve bought into one match. 

Jose Aldo versus Frankie Edgar.

The former lightweight champion, Edgar has gotten by on moxie for much of his career. Going forward, that won’t be enough. Finally fighting where he belongs, Edgar won’t be an underdog feel-good story against Aldo. He’ll, for once, be the hunter instead of the hunted.

So why, for the love of Shamrock, isn’t the UFC making this Aldo’s first fight after his defense against Erik Koch at UFC 153?

This is the fight people care about. Edgar has established his bonafides and then some at 155 pounds. Putting him in a perfunctory tune-up fight at 145 pounds is not just taking a huge risk that disaster may strike, it’s letting the steam evaporate while the fight is hot.

Fans haven’t been crashing down the UFC’s door to see Aldo or Edgar. This time, though, I hear them knocking. Time for the UFC to answer and give the fans what we want to see. 

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UFC: Featherweights Were Scoffed At; Now They’re Stealing the Show

When the UFC adopted WEC’s featherweights, the division lacked depth and lore. I’d shrug at the mention of the smaller weight classes.   Featherweight fighters were regarded as cute novelties. In suit, the Zuffa featherweight roster was consi…

When the UFC adopted WEC’s featherweights, the division lacked depth and lore. I’d shrug at the mention of the smaller weight classes.   

Featherweight fighters were regarded as cute novelties. In suit, the Zuffa featherweight roster was considered shallow, dull, and extraneous by many UFC fanatics. 

They were wrong. 

Less then two years after the merger, UFC featherweights are creating a huge splash that defies their little bodies. They’ve sparkled under the UFC’s prevailing banner. 

The UFC featherweight journey began in cinematic fashion: Jose Aldo and Mark Hominick put on a wild show; one of the year’s best fights. Yet the “Fight of the Year” candidate didn’t suspend doubts about the division’s future. The featherweight landscape would remain desolate for months.  

UFC casuals saw the featherweights as alien midgets, among them only a few recognizable names. I remember some “fans”even contested the entertainment value of fun-sized warriors to the point of refusing to watch them.  

Unknowns bred doubt. Questions swirled around the future of the newborn weight class.

Good thing it wasn’t aborted.

Time passed. Rightful contenders arose from the proving grounds. Upon proper exposure, several of the original featherweights plucked from the WEC gained hordes of fans and enough popularity to headline shows. Meanwhile, Dana White‘s hunt for free agents didn’t cease, as guys like Hatsu Hioki have kept the division fresh. 

The WEC merger needed incubation time. Indeed, a healthy product has hatched. Let’s bask in the triumph of the UFC’s featherweight division:

Aldo has proven himself an exciting and marketable champion. His reign over 145 is long and oppressive – casual fans remember his name. He’s etching out a shining star while directing attention towards featherweight MMA that only a dominant champ could demand. “Scarface” has been instrumental to the division’s appeal. 

Another important cog: “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung-Jung has bloomed into a fan favorite. The undead Korean brawls with no regard for life, so he’s garnered a legion of Zombie fanatics. His stardom has helped unlock international markets and lure attention to the Octagon and to featherweight MMA.  

The list of gems winds on: There’s Jimy Hettes, unbeaten submission wizard; Ricardo Lamas, imposing grappler and striker; Erik Koch, strike-first youngster with wrestling credentials; Chad Mendes, wrestler whose work ethic sparkles; Charles Oliveira, daring finisher whose guard could choke a mule; Cub Swanson, evolving and resurgent veteran; Dustin Poirier, cagey and polished in all areas; Dennis Siver, formidable kick boxer; and Hatsu Hioki, Japanese champ with UFC gold in sight. There’s plenty more worthy of mention, but you get it. A thick crop of talent is ripening.  

Another perk of the featherweight division: Small lightweights have found comfort in dropping down—ask Charles Oliveira and Dennis Siver. They were dwarfed by larger lightweights. Remember how each was rendered a mere plaything by Donald Cerrone? Now they’ve found sanctuary at 145.

 

Since the lightweight division is teeming with impatient beasts, we’ll keep seeing lightweights use the featherweight division as a restart button for their careers. I salivate at the buffet of cross-divisional fights within reason  (I’m waiting for you, Frankie Edgar). 

These are the formative years of 145. Aldo’s reign is clear, but the pecking order is a murky tangle beneath him. Time will clear it up—the division is still an infant. There are countless match ups yet to unfold between these dynamos; match ups I wish I didn’t have to wait for. 

Here’s to you, featherweights. Despite your stubby legs, you’ve come a long way in little time. 

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com