As reported yesterday, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will no longer face young, up-and-comer Erik Koch, but will now step inside the Octagon against former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.MMA fans have been dreaming of this matchup since it w…
As reported yesterday, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will no longer face young, up-and-comer Erik Koch, but will now step inside the Octagon against former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.
MMA fans have been dreaming of this matchup since it was announced that the WEC had merged with the UFC. The realistic possibility of this “superfight” increased when it was announced just about a week ago that Edgar had decided to drop from lightweight to featherweight.
Now, with Koch out with injury, Edgar will step up and face the best featherweight fighter in the world in his debut at 145.
So how does this dream matchup look on paper? Let’s breakdown the dream-come-true bout between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
With due respect to featherweight contender Erik Koch, I breathed a sigh of relief when the news broke that he was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title fight with champion Jose Aldo.I don’t have anything against Koch, but there was a good chance I m…
With due respect to featherweight contender Erik Koch, I breathed a sigh of relief when the news broke that he was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title fight with champion Jose Aldo.
I don’t have anything against Koch, but there was a good chance I might be called in to do a radio shot or podcast appearance. And, shame of all shames, I have no idea how the semi-obscure challenger pronounces his last name.
Is it coke, like the beverage? Is he kin to former New York mayor Ed Koch? Does it rhyme with, um, clock? I’ve seen the man fight multiple times and can’t say for sure, which says something about his prestige level as a challenger, or at least, about my memory.
Frankie Edgar, though? He’s someone I know. Last night, I argued Edgar was one win away from a title shot at 145 pounds. It seems I was wrong. He’s no wins away. In fact, coming off consecutive losses, he was apparently negative two wins away from a shot at gold.
I have no problem with this.
Edgar may be on a losing streak, but those were close fights with lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Edgar doesn’t need to prove himself at featherweight. He’s proven plenty at 155 pounds, beating the legendary B.J. Penn on two occasions and dominant wrestler Gray Maynard on another.
The truth is, at least today, success at lightweight means more. It’s the more established division. A fighter like Penn is a good barometer for where Edgar stands in the MMA world. We are comfortable with Frankie Edgar. His reign as lightweight champion meant something, more than enough to qualify him for a shot at featherweight gold.
Aldo, for all his talents, is just building his legend. More than that, he’s been building a division that is relatively new to the UFC and its fanbase. For him, this fight has to be a godsend. Beating Edgar will do more than a dozen wins over unknown featherweights, no matter how talented. Beating Edgar will give instant credibility to a champion who needs a recognizable name on his resume.
Sometimes, injuries ruin a show. Look no further than the gone, but never forgotten, UFC 151. Here, an injury has boosted this card into a must-see event.
Jose Aldo has a chance to propel himself to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.
Edgar has a chance to reinvent himself as a featherweight.
And the fans? We get to sit back and watch what may be the best fight of the year on paper.
(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.
If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:
(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)
We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.
If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:
“Obviously, we’ve had a rough couple of weeks here at the UFC, and then sure enough, I walk in to work today, and Erik Koch is hurt. But Frankie Edgar, being the stud and the warrior that he is, steps up and accepts this fight…I’m pumped. I think that people are going to be very excited for this fight…Frankie has had a tough go the last couple of times with the judges, but a lot of people think he belongs at 145 pounds. Well, here we go — Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar. People have been wanting to see this fight for a long time.”
Despite his former reputation as one of the lightweight division’s elite, Edgar has only won one of his last four fights, including his most recent pair of decision losses to Ben Henderson and his split draw against Gray Maynard in January 2011. Meanwhile, Aldo is a 14-fight win streak, including three wins in the UFC and eight wins in the WEC.
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…
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…
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.
With due respect to featherweight contender Erik Koch, I breathed a sigh of relief when the 