UFC 136 will feature the long-awaited third bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Edgar and Maynard battled to a five-round draw on January 1, a decision that allowed Edgar to retain his UFC lightweight title and Maynard to remain unbeaten…
UFC 136 will feature the long-awaited third bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Edgar and Maynard battled to a five-round draw on January 1, a decision that allowed Edgar to retain his UFC lightweight title and Maynard to remain unbeaten.
The main event from UFC 125 will go down as one of the best fights of 2011 and to think that Edgar and Maynard have the chance to go after it again in Houston, TX, should bring a smile to the face of even the most jaded, been there, seen every UFC pay-per-view since UFC 1 fan.
In the opening stanza at UFC 125 Maynard put the champion to the ground on more than one occasion and absolutely battered him for almost the entire five-minute round. In the second round Edgar let Maynard, the only fighter to ever defeat him, know that he would not go gently into the Vegas night as he came back, punctuating his comeback with a powerful slam takedown near the end of the round.
The last three rounds were fairly evenly matched and alas, when the scores were read, the result was the dreaded draw, something both fighters will surely look to avoid when they face each other at the Toyota Center.
A second UFC title fight will be the co-main event of the evening. Jose Aldo, a fighter that is widely recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world will put his UFC featherweight title on the line against Kenny Florian. Florian, who has come up empty in two previous title defenses will be looking to see if the adage “the third time’s a charm,” will hold true for him.
Not only will fans get two title fights on October 8, but they will get to witness what may very well be a middleweight title fight eliminator, as top-ranked Chael Sonnen faces off against the surging Brian Stann.
Bleacher Report MMA will be your source for news, analysis and opinions on all the fights on the upcoming fight card.
Check back often as the fight card nears for all the UFC 136 information you need.
With both fighters having only one loss on their records, a super fight between Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz seems like a brilliant idea. Each man is a great fighter with exceptional skill, drive and determination. The idea isn’t too far-fetched, …
With both fighters having only one loss on their records, a super fight between Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz seems like a brilliant idea.
Each man is a great fighter with exceptional skill, drive and determination. The idea isn’t too far-fetched, either. In a recent interview with ESPN, Cruz, a former featherweight, said he wouldn’t turn down a shot at Aldo’s title if it were offered.
Aldo wouldn’t be able to drop down to bantamweight, but Cruz certainly wouldn’t have a problem fighting at featherweight.
How would a super fight between these two champions break down? Read on to find out
This Saturday, the UFC is putting on yet another double-header card that is stacked with great fighters from top to bottom.But this is not just another night of fights. This card brings some interesting perspective to the UFC divisions, and after the n…
This Saturday, the UFC is putting on yet another double-header card that is stacked with great fighters from top to bottom.
But this is not just another night of fights. This card brings some interesting perspective to the UFC divisions, and after the night is over, the UFC rankings and standings will have changed.
With every fight card, there is always a shift in rankings, since one fighter moves closer to a title while the other doesn’t. UFC 136 is composed of many very significant fights that will seriously affect the course of their respective divisions.
To start with the obvious, there are two titles on the line. The UFC Lightweight Championship and the UFC Featherweight Championship will be up for grabs on the same night. Gray Maynard, once again, will be coming to definitively win over Frankie Edgar, and Kenny Florian will attempt to steal the belt away from Jose Aldo.
Frankie Edgar is the phenom that exploded onto the championship circuit with his two victories over former champion BJ Penn. The only man to have given him significant trouble was Gray Maynard. This is the third time they will meet and will be the final decision of who is the better fighter in the LW division.
If Maynard wins, it brings a whole new dynamic to the division to have Frankie back in the hunt. It also brings about an 11-0 record for the challenger. If Edgar retains the title, he hands Gray his first loss of his career and begins moving into the upper echelon of the best in the world.
Now with Melendez coming over in the near future, an LW superfight may be in the works. With Melendez against Maynard, however, the hype isn’t as great.
Jose Aldo has been put at around the No. 3 or 4 slots on the “pound-for-pound” lists for some time. He has defended his WEC in the past, and now the UFC belt once. He will try to add another win to his championship run. The fight makes for a better statement for Jose Aldo on the P4P lists if he rises victorious.
The co-main event is much more significant for Kenny Florian, however. Kenny has notoriously been considered a “gatekeeper” in his fights at lightweight and most certainly doesn’t want to become one in his new weight class.
With many other fighters at featherweight who are looking for their shot, a loss in yet another championship fight would be very difficult for Florian and his career.
If Florian wins, however, he pulls a huge upset and drops the young Brazilian from the top of the lists.
Arguably just as anticipated as any other fight on this card (maybe even more), Chael Sonnen will be facing off against Brian Stann. This is the return of Sonnen since his loss to champion Anderson Silva in August of 2010.
One of the most called for rematches of all time is between Silva and Sonnen. Due to their last fight, many feel Sonnen is the best 185 lbs. shot at dethroning the P4P king, but his welcome-back party is hosted by one dangerous Marine.
Brian Stann is in a very interesting situation, since if he wins against Sonnen, he himself becomes the forefront of title contention talks. If he loses, he will have to wait a while for the shot again. If Sonnen loses, he immediately loses his chance at his rematch against Silva. Many fans are cheering for Sonnen, not against Stann, because they want to see the rematch.
If Sonnen wins, the media will instantly call for Silva vs. Sonnen II.
On the rest of the card, you have great fighters like Melvin Guillard. Guillard is a fighter that has dominantly been making a statement for a title shot for some time now and is very deserving of it. If he wins against Joe Lauzon on Saturday, he undeniably makes his point.
With a future addition of Melendez and other LWs already in the division, he may sit on the backburner a little while longer, though. If he loses, he most certainly will be in that spot.
Nam Phan is on thin ice with this fight as well. He has lost two in a row so far, and if history has taught us anything, it’s that Phan will likely be gone by Monday if he loses. His opponent, Leonard Garcia, will be looking to show he definitively is the better of the two and avoid taking a second loss in a row.
With the undercards, Demian Maia will be fighting to retain his relevance in the Middleweight division, and Jorge Santiago will be looking to bounce back from his loss to Brian Stann. Both need a win to stay in good terms with their division.
Lastly, Anthony Pettis will be looking to re-establish his hype on Saturday. His loss to Clay Guida brought upon some tarnish to the shiny fame he had from his “Showtime” kick on Ben Henderson. His hype came quickly, prematurely to some, but wants to show that he isn’t a one-hit wonder. He will be looking to stop Jeremy Stephens’ two-fight winning streak and remake his image in the UFC.
After the night is over, the different divisions featured on the card will have changed drastically. Each fighter mentioned is in a position where a win is not just another win, but a crucial part of their career paths. There will certainly be a great deal of media following UFC 136 and has the potential to give the MMA universe two new champions and the biggest Middleweight rematch of all time.
Widely regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts, Jose Aldo looks to cement that claim with a dominant performance against Kenny Florian at UFC 136 on Saturday, October 8.Aldo, coming off a victory against Mark Hominick …
Widely regarded as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts, Jose Aldo looks to cement that claim with a dominant performance against Kenny Florian at UFC 136 on Saturday, October 8.
Aldo, coming off a victory against Mark Hominick at UFC 129, has torn through his opposition in the featherweight division. Boasting a resume against the likes of Mike Thomas Brown and Urijah Faber, the Brazilian displays a combination of speed and knockout power that makes him an imposing figure.
While Florian also comes off an impressive win in his featherweight debut over Aldo’s teammate, Diego Nunes, Aldo said he has more experience than Florian.
“I definitely don’t think Florian has the same strength as a featherweight,” Aldo said during a UFC 136 pre-fight interview.
“I also think I’m a much more explosive fighter.”
Aldo has won the past seven of his nine bouts by knockout, and he sees the outcome being no different against Florian.
“I’m going to go in there and push the pace,” he said. “Whatever opportunities present themselves, I will take them and finish the fight. I will beat Kenny Florian.”
UFC 136 is live this weekend from the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
UFC 136 is less than a week away, and it will feature a replay of one of the leading candidates for 2011’s fight of the year between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.Edgar has yet to defeat Maynard, who is the only man to beat hi…
UFC 136 is less than a week away, and it will feature a replay of one of the leading candidates for 2011’s fight of the year between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
Edgar has yet to defeat Maynard, who is the only man to beat him in his career. Their second fight from UFC 125 ended in a draw and leaves much unfinished business between the two.
In the co-main event, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo defends his title against former lightweight title challenger Kenny Florian.
Both made their UFC featherweight debuts earlier this year. Aldo defeated Mark Hominick at UFC 129 while Florian beat Diego Nunes at UFC 131.
Middleweight title challenger Chael Sonnen also returns to the cage since losing against Anderson Silva in July, 2010. He takes on Brian Stann, a former Marine who packs a lot of power in his punches.
Other main card bouts include Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard and Leonard Garcia vs. Nam Phan.
The PPV will begin at 9 p.m. ET and be broadcast live from the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.
The undercard will be streamed on Facebook and Spike TV.
Spike TV will broadcast Demian Maia vs. Jorge Santiago and Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens.
Filed under: UFC, NewsJose Aldo has had little trouble with any opponent the last three years, but Kenny Florian thinks he might have a solution for the UFC featherweight champ.
Florian, fighting for just the second time at 145 pounds after a long st…
Jose Aldo has had little trouble with any opponent the last three years, but Kenny Florian thinks he might have a solution for the UFC featherweight champ.
Florian, fighting for just the second time at 145 pounds after a long stretch at lightweight – and stints at welterweight and middleweight before that – challenges Aldo on Saturday for the featherweight title at UFC 136 in Houston.
But through a career filled with many ups, and a few downs that include a pair of losses in UFC lightweight title fights, Florian believes it’s his longevity that will give him the edge against the Brazilian, who is widely regarded as one of the top three or four pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
“I think, generally, he hasn’t faced a guy who’s as well-rounded and experienced as I am,” Florian (15-5, 12-4 UFC) said Friday during a media call for UFC 136. “I’m going to bring well-rounded skills, experience and just see where the mystique lies. That’s it.”
The Aldo mystique has been in full force since he stormed the WEC with five straight knockout wins, including an 8-second KO of Cub Swanson with a flying knee. The standup prowess seemed to fly in the face of the generality that Aldo, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who trains with the famed Black House team, should be devastating on the ground.
But his perfect WEC start earned him a shot at Mike Brown‘s featherweight belt, and once he got that shot, he continued his tear, dispatching Brown in the second. Urijah Faber took him to his first decision in nearly three years, but was never real a threat – Aldo outstruck Faber 138-27, according to FightMetric, and stuffed all nine of his takedown attempts.
After knocking out Manny Gamburyan to defend his WEC belt a second time, Aldo became the UFC featherweight champion and was given his stiffest test as champion from Mark Hominick in April. Hominick dominated Aldo in the fifth round, outstriking the clearly gassed champ 62-3.
Florian who survived a close fight against Diego Nunes in June in his featherweight debut to get his shot at Aldo. And while he didn’t say getting into the later rounds with Aldo gives him an advantage, Aldo’s fifth round against Hominick might give him hope that the Brazilian is beatable – especially if Florian can weather the early storm.
“He’s pretty unique and a very fast, explosive guy,” Florian said. “His dangerous weapons are his legs and excellent footwork. He’s very, very fast and, I think, dangerous on the ground. He’s definitely a unique opponent, and I had to prepare differently for him for sure.”
Florian’s title fight experience comes from a unanimous decision loss to Sean Sherk at UFC 64 for the then-vacant lightweight belt, then a submission loss to BJ Penn in the fourth round at UFC 101 when he got another crack after a six-fight winning streak.
After losing to Gray Maynard in a top contenders fight at UFC 118, giving Maynard a shot at Frankie Edgar, Florian dropped to featherweight. He competed on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a middleweight, quickly dropped back to welterweight after the show, then moved down to his long-time lightweight home.
But through all the weight classes, Florian said one thing has been the same – constant improvement.
“I think every fight is always going to be different,” Florian said. “You’re always going to have a different mindset based on your training camp, based on your opponent. I’ve always learned from each previous camp, win or lose. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I’ve tightened some of those mistakes. My goal is to try and make each training camp better and better each time, and to try and increase my work load capacity and improve my skills, and I think I’ve done that every training camp.
“I’ve trained my ass off for this fight, and I’m looking forward to going out there and competing hard.”
Florian and Aldo fight in the co-main event of UFC 136 at the Toyota Center in Houston. The main event is the lightweight title rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Also on the card is a middleweight contenders fight between former title challenger Chael Sonnen and Brian Stann.
UFC 136 will feature the long-awaited third bout between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Edgar and Maynard battled to a five-round draw on January 1, a decision that allowed Edgar to retain his UFC lightweight title and Maynard to remain unbeaten.