UFC 136 is in the books, and just as expected, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard lived up to the hype. Their third bout nearly played out like a repeat of their second Maynard had Edgar hurt badly in the first round again. Edgar not only fought his way ba…
UFC 136 is in the books, and just as expected, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard lived up to the hype.
Their third bout nearly played out like a repeat of their second Maynard had Edgar hurt badly in the first round again.
Edgar not only fought his way back in the fight, but won it by tko in the fourth round.
Following the win, UFC president Dana White claimed Edgar was the No. 2 pound for pound fighter in MMA.
Although may will debate Edgar’s ranking, there’s no denying that he is well on his way of becoming the greatest lightweight in MMA history.
The stacked card that was UFC 136 is finally in the history books. A multitude of questions were answered and several lessons were learned.Frankie Edgar proved too much for Gray Maynard, winning by stunning TKO victory and bringing their series to 1-1-…
The stacked card that was UFC 136 is finally in the history books. A multitude of questions were answered and several lessons were learned.
Frankie Edgar proved too much for Gray Maynard, winning by stunning TKO victory and bringing their series to 1-1-1, and Kenny Florian again proved that he can’t win in big situations, dropping a decision to Jose Aldo.
However, there were many other fights that taught the MMA community lessons. What were they and what lessons did they teach? Read and find out!
HOUSTON — Three championship tries in two weight classes finished in frustration for Kenny Florian.
After a strong first round which he won on all three judges’ scorecards, Florian was shutout the rest of the way by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, dropping a unanimous decision.
Afterward, a dejected Florian sat at the UFC 136 press conference, his head hung low. The normally eloquent Florian was also short on words, and when asked if this might be it for his career, he seemed unsure of what might be next for him.
“No, not right now,” he said. “I haven’t really thought past this fight. We’ll see what happens.”
Florian said his struggles in the wrestling aspect of the fight — he was 2-for-14 according to Compustrike numbers — was the deciding factor. Aldo also out-landed Florian 39-9 in power strikes.
“Kenny Florian went in there tonight going after it,” UFC president Dana White said. “He wanted that belt. Everybody’s talked about how dominant Jose is, but Kenny went out took him the distance. He fought a great fight.”
But you have to wonder if Florian has exhausted his title opportunities. The first one he got, back in 2006, was probably premature, and Florian lost a decision to Sean Sherk. Three years later, his game had matured a bit, but he could not withstand BJ Penn’s power, and the Hawaiian legend finished him with a fourth-round rear naked choke.
Against Aldo in the lower division, he did not have the explosive takedowns to make the fight a grind and take away Aldo’s explosiveness.
White, who once famously labeled Florian a “choker” in big fights, had nothing bad to say this time around. But he said Florian had reached a point where he had gone through a few divisions and hadn’t accomplished his goal. White noted that Florian had options outside of fighting and needed to figure out his future on his own.
Florian couldn’t bring himself to think about it. Not with the overwhelming feeling of the night. At least for the moment, it felt like the end.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” Florian said. “I fought very hard. I trained extremely hard and wasn’t successful. That’s it.”
HOUSTON — Three championship tries in two weight classes finished in frustration for Kenny Florian.
After a strong first round which he won on all three judges’ scorecards, Florian was shutout the rest of the way by UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo, dropping a unanimous decision.
Afterward, a dejected Florian sat at the UFC 136 press conference, his head hung low. The normally eloquent Florian was also short on words, and when asked if this might be it for his career, he seemed unsure of what might be next for him.
“No, not right now,” he said. “I haven’t really thought past this fight. We’ll see what happens.”
Florian said his struggles in the wrestling aspect of the fight — he was 2-for-14 according to Compustrike numbers — was the deciding factor. Aldo also out-landed Florian 39-9 in power strikes.
“Kenny Florian went in there tonight going after it,” UFC president Dana White said. “He wanted that belt. Everybody’s talked about how dominant Jose is, but Kenny went out took him the distance. He fought a great fight.”
But you have to wonder if Florian has exhausted his title opportunities. The first one he got, back in 2006, was probably premature, and Florian lost a decision to Sean Sherk. Three years later, his game had matured a bit, but he could not withstand BJ Penn’s power, and the Hawaiian legend finished him with a fourth-round rear naked choke.
Against Aldo in the lower division, he did not have the explosive takedowns to make the fight a grind and take away Aldo’s explosiveness.
White, who once famously labeled Florian a “choker” in big fights, had nothing bad to say this time around. But he said Florian had reached a point where he had gone through a few divisions and hadn’t accomplished his goal. White noted that Florian had options outside of fighting and needed to figure out his future on his own.
Florian couldn’t bring himself to think about it. Not with the overwhelming feeling of the night. At least for the moment, it felt like the end.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed,” Florian said. “I fought very hard. I trained extremely hard and wasn’t successful. That’s it.”
UFC 136 is in the history books, and four fighters got rewarded with $75,000 for their performances Saturday night.Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan both pocketed an extra $75k for Fight of the Night. They went to war for 15 minutes, with Phan getting the be…
UFC 136 is in the history books, and four fighters got rewarded with $75,000 for their performances Saturday night.
Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan both pocketed an extra $75k for Fight of the Night. They went to war for 15 minutes, with Phan getting the better of Garcia for the first 10 of those minutes. Then in the last round, Garcia had Phan hurt badly, but could not close the deal. Phan would go on to win a unanimous decision.
Submission of the night went to Joe Lauzon for his rear naked choke victory over Melvin Guillard. After dropping Guillard with a left hook, Lauzon pounced, secured Guillard’s back, and secured the submission just 47 seconds in to the fight.
Knockout of the night went to Frankie Edgar for his unbelievable stoppage of Gray Maynard in the fourth round of their title fight. After once again surviving a first round beating, Edgar took control of the fight in the second round.
Then in the fourth round, Edgar connected with an uppercut that badly hurt Maynard. Edgar followed up with more punches until the referee stepped in to stop the bout.
UFC 136 has just come to a close, punctuated by Frankie Edgar successfully defending his UFC Lightweight Championship against Gray Maynard.Not only did Edgar win the fight, but he finished it in impressive fashion, knocking Maynard out in the fourth ro…
UFC 136 has just come to a close, punctuated by Frankie Edgar successfully defending his UFC Lightweight Championship against Gray Maynard.
Not only did Edgar win the fight, but he finished it in impressive fashion, knocking Maynard out in the fourth round.
Edgar has now defended his championship three consecutive times, but only against two opponents: BJ Penn—who is also the man Edgar won the belt from—and Gray Maynard.
When facing both these opponents, many people counted Edgar out and, in both cases, he proved his doubters wrong.
So, did Frankie Edgar look more impressive in defeating BJ Penn or Gray Maynard?
Let’s break it down.
When Edgar fought Penn for the first time, he was a HUGE underdog.
Penn had superman status at that point and nobody thought that anyone would be able to dethrone him anytime soon.
It meant a lot when Edgar managed to edge out that first decision against Penn and even more when he won the second fight in dominant fashion.
The second win, in particular, was huge because it solidified Edgar as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters on the planet.
Edgar’s win over Maynard was also a giant accomplishment for the champ because Maynard is the only man ever to defeat Edgar and now he has avenged that loss.
Both the victories are important for Edgar in different ways, but I believe beating Maynard was his most impressive performance.
Against Penn, Edgar was always in control and didn’t have anything to overcome.
In defeating Maynard, he was forced to display the heart of a champion, surviving the early onslaught.
Then you weigh in the facts that Edgar was avenging his only career loss and that he finished the fight in devastating fashion and it seems pretty clear cut.
Edgar’s second win over Penn was awesome, but he’s improved since then and his victory over Maynard tonight was definitely the UFC lightweight champions most impressive win to date.
Andrew Barr is a Featured Columnist for Bleacherreport.com. For updates on what’s happening in the world of MMA, follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/AndrewBarr8
Following the action of UFC 136 from Houston’s Toyota Center, UFC President Dana White announced the night’s bonuses at the post-fight press conference. The bonuses were worth $75,000 for each fighter. Taking home “Knockout of the Night” honors w…
Following the action of UFC 136 from Houston’s Toyota Center, UFC President Dana White announced the night’s bonuses at the post-fight press conference. The bonuses were worth $75,000 for each fighter.
Taking home “Knockout of the Night” honors was champion Frankie Edgar, who finished challenger Gray Maynard in the fourth round of their headlining title tilt. Edgar was forced to survive yet another first round barrage, but rebounded and finished Maynard with strikes. The loss was the first of Maynard’s career.
The “Submission of the Night” bonus went to lightweight Joe Lauzon. The Boston-based submission ace made short work of noted striker Melvin Guillard. Lauzon needed only 47 seconds to secure a fight-ending rear-naked choke and derail Guillard’s title hopes, possibly moving into the title picture himself with the win.
“Fight of the Night” was reserved for the fast-paced featherweight war between Nam Phan and Leonard Garcia. The rematch of their December 2010 fight lived up to the hype, as the two fighters gave their all in the bout. Phan came out on top with a unanimous decision win, avenging the prior loss.
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, you can follow Rob on Twitter @RobTatumMMA.
HOUSTON — Three championship tries in two weight classes finished in frustration for 