If you were upset that Frankie Edgar was forced to pull out of his scheduled featherweight title bout versus Max Holloway at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017, you won’t have to wait long to see it. UFC officials confirmed today that the surging “Blessed” will take on former lightweight champion Edgar in the main event […]
If you were upset that Frankie Edgar was forced to pull out of his scheduled featherweight title bout versus Max Holloway at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017, you won’t have to wait long to see it.
UFC officials confirmed today that the surging “Blessed” will take on former lightweight champion Edgar in the main event of March 3’s UFC 222 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Hawaiian Holloway turned heads in every corner of the mixed martial arts world throughout 2017, winning the official UFC 145-pound title from longtime former champion Jose Aldo via third-round TKO at June 2017’s UFC 212 and defending it by stopping Aldo in the third round once again at UFC 218 after “The Answer” was forced out with an orbital injury. The victories against the all-time great had Holloway high on many people’s “Fighter of the Year” list, and many thought he was indeed the best of 2017.
The win gave Holloway an unprecedented 12th in a row since his unanimous decision loss to former champion Conor McGregor in August 2013. He also won the interim featherweight belt against Anthony Pettis at December 2016’s UFC 206.
He’ll face one of the most grizzled veterans in the UFC in Edgar, who has exhibited toughness and grit uncommon even in the highest levels of MMA. “The Answer” was last seen dominating formerly touted prospect Yair Rodriguez at last May’s UFC 211 to earn his title shot, which will almost certainly be his last in the octagon without a win, as he’s dropped four straight bouts with a belt on the line.
But he’s also won his last seven non-championship fights and has been one of if not the most consistent performers in the UFC for many years. He won the lightweight title from legend BJ Penn in 2010 and defended it against longtime rival Grey Maynard before dropping two close bouts to Benson Henderson and moving down to featherweight in 2013.
Healed from his orbital issue, Edgar will now have his latest- and most likely last – chance to win UFC gold.
Can he stop the momentum of a surging freight train like Holloway?
UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway picked up his second third-round TKO over Jose Aldo in one year when he stopped the 145-pound legend in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. After the impressive victory, UFC president Dana White hinted at a rematch […]
UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway picked up his second third-round TKO over Jose Aldo in one year when he stopped the 145-pound legend in the main event of last night’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
After the impressive victory, UFC president Dana White hinted at a rematch between Holloway and former UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor, who beat a 21-year-old Holloway way back at 2013’s UFC Fight Night 26. Since then, he’s won an unheard-of 12 straight fights, becoming one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts in the process.
McGregor, on the other hand, won the lightweight title from Eddie Alvarez at 2016’s UFC 205, but was stripped of the 145-pound belt shortly thereafter and has not fought in MMA since after spending all of 2017 fighting Floyd Mayweather in boxing. Perhaps more importantly, he’s been involved in a series of concerning outside-the-cage incidents, jumping into the cage and pushing a referee at Bellator 187 before allegedly being involved in a bar fight with the Irish mob last weekend.
But that didn’t stop him from blasting Holloway after his win on Twitter earlier today as he posted a photo of “Blessed” after he defeated him:
McGregor has been tabbed for a potential title unification fight with interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson, but even White admitted the Irish megastar may never fight again, and also that the UFC is currently in negotiations with McGregor on a new contract, in which he reportedly wants his own promoter’s stake.
That makes McGregor vs. Holloway II an unlikely bout at this point in time, but it’s hard to argue with Holloway’s suggestion at the same time.
While it wasn’t necessarily loaded with tons of pre-fight bad blood or hype (although it most likely should have been) tonight’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 in the rearview mirror from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. In the main event, surging young featherweight champion Max Holloway took on decorated longtime former champion Jose […]
While it wasn’t necessarily loaded with tons of pre-fight bad blood or hype (although it most likely should have been) tonight’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 in the rearview mirror from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan.
In the main event, surging young featherweight champion Max Holloway took on decorated longtime former champion Jose Aldo in a rematch of their UFC 212 meeting which “Blessed” won by impressive third-round TKO. The surging Hawaiian champ repeated that feat by finishing the all-time great by TKO in the third round yet again.
The co-main event saw a passing of the guard at heavyweight when longtime top contender and former Strikeforce champion Alistair Overeem was knocked out stiff by hyped up-and-coming force of nature Francis Ngannou.
Finally, the main card saw another hyped rising contender in Justin Gaethje meet another former champion when he locked horns with Eddie Alvarez in a fight that was many fans and media members’ pick for a potential “Fight of the Year,” praise it did not fail to live up to when “The Underground King” stopped Gaethje in the third round of a war. There’s a lot to unpack and digest after a pay-per-view (PPV) event of such impact, so join us for the event’s post-fight press conference live after the main card right here:
There isn’t a much better way to start tonight’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, with the kind of all-out war that welterweights Yancy Medeiros and Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira just participated in. The bout is a clear “Fight of the Year” contender, with both landing some absolutely huge […]
There isn’t a much better way to start tonight’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, with the kind of all-out war that welterweights Yancy Medeiros and Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira just participated in.
The bout is a clear “Fight of the Year” contender, with both landing some absolutely huge shots and withstanding never-ending onslaughts from the other.
It all started with Medieros landing some huge shots in the opening frame that appeared to break Oliveira’s nose, but he somehow survived to drop his Hawaiian foe with some huge power punches of his own:
The second round saw more of the same as both appeared to be walking forward like zombies, with Medeiros eventually reversing a takedown from Oliveira with a perfect judo throw to land on top and finish the round with some absolutely massive elbows:
Alex Oliveira and Yancy Medeiros are putting their names in the hat for FOTY. So much respect. So much skill. #UFC218https://t.co/D8UwKMoMZo
Finally, Medeiros was able to reverse a disadvantageous position after having his back taken to get back to his feet and unload a fight-ending sequence on a clearly injured Oliveira, thus ending what may just be 2017’s ‘Fight of the Year’ so far:
WHAT A FIGHT! Yancy Medeiros with the TKO win over Alex Oliveira in a fight of the year caliber match! #UFC218https://t.co/8jeOSmU60n
In a few hours, longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will meet current champ Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 218 from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to determine the future of the UFC 145-pound landscape for the immediate future. Aldo somewhat fortuitously received a rematch of their first meeting where Holloway won […]
In a few hours, longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will meet current champ Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 218 from Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to determine the future of the UFC 145-pound landscape for the immediate future.
Aldo somewhat fortuitously received a rematch of their first meeting where Holloway won by TKO at June’s UFC 212 when former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was forced out of the fight with a broken orbital bone suffered in training. Many fans clamored for exciting veteran Cub Swanson to finally get his first crack at a UFC title, but in the end, there was no one else but Aldo who could replace Edgar, due to the simple he is arguably still the most decorated featherweight in MMA history.
The deserving MMA legend had a jaw-dropping undefeated streak from May 2006 to December 2015 spanning over nine-and-a-half years as he won the WEC title, defending it twice before the promotion was absorbed by the UFC and he defended that title an unprecedented seven times before losing it to Conor McGregor via shocking 13-second knockout at December 2015’s UFC 194.
Aldo then won the interim title by defeating Edgar by decision for a second time at UFC 200, and that title once again became the official belt when McGregor was stripped of it shortly after winning the lightweight title at 2016’s UFC 205. In his first defense, he lost to the clear future at featherweight in his first meeting with Holloway.
Jason Silva for USA TODAY Sports
This is obviously the way of the fight game, as young, talented top-level prospects eventually rise up and take out the once-great champions in every division. It is always merely a matter of time.
The ultra-impressive ‘Blessed’ has shown an uncanny ability to adapt and demolish during his unbelievable 11-fight win streak, something that was never before apparent when he clearly lost the first round to Aldo at UFC 212, may have lost the second by a much closer margin, and then stopped the arguable G.O.A.T. There’s now a strong case to be made that the budding Hawaiian star is now the strongest pick for that specific barnyard animal, however.
That’s what makes this fight so pivotal for Aldo because Holoway is his biggest rival. If he loses to the champion twice in a year, it’s going to be next to impossible for Aldo to get a third crack at “Blessed;” it just doesn’t really happen at the top level of pro-MMA all too much.
Nova Uniao’s star student isn’t necessarily old at 31, but he does have a ton of tread on his tires from repeated injuries that have forced him to pull out of multiple title fights. He’s also admitted to coasting to victory in during his long streak of defense in order to keep the cash rolling, yet he has nothing even close to that luxury tonight.
Lose and he could always pick his long-rumored move up to lightweight as his next move, but it’s almost as difficult to envision him getting a title shot anytime soon there, mostly due to the fact that McGregor is champion and a rematch with Aldo wouldn’t be an easy sell with two consecutive losses to the champ a weight class below. McGregor could unify the titles with interim champ Tony Ferguson, or he could face Nate Diaz, and then there are contenders like the winner of December 30’s Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Edson Barboza match-up who would all be ahead of Aldo in the crowded 155-pound rankings.
It makes the UFC 218 main event a must-win bout for the once-indestructible featherweight from Rio de Janeiro, who grew up on the streets with little to eat and is truly one of MMA’s great rags-to-riches tales. He’s shown he can damage Holloway, and even if he wins, a trilogy will most likely be imminent. With two knockout losses in his last three fights, the road back to supremacy is indeed a long one for Jose Aldo, but his time at the top will almost assuredly be over if he doesn’t win at UFC 218.
He will always be one of the sport’s greats, nothing will change that.
For many years now, there have been calls for longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo to move up to the lightweight division. And all the people saying that could have a strong case to make after what transpired today. It’s long known that Aldo cuts a lot of weight to make the divisional 145-pound […]
For many years now, there have been calls for longtime former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo to move up to the lightweight division.
And all the people saying that could have a strong case to make after what transpired today.
It’s long known that Aldo cuts a lot of weight to make the divisional 145-pound title fight limit, but the Rio native had never missed in a long streak of championship fights. Aldo will get an unexpected chance to immediately rematch current champion Max Holloway in the main event of tomorrow’s (Sat., December 2, 2017) UFC 218 from the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan after “Blessed” finished him in their first meeting back at UFC 212.
During today’s early weigh-ins, Aldo got onto the scale and made weight for his rematch with Holloway, but appeared to be extremely emotional due to another close call when he came in overweight with his shorts on and had to use the towel, which was simply the latest in a long line of weight-cutting issues in the UFC throughout the year.
