UFC 136 is one of the most anticipated cards of the year and for good reason. To put it simply, it is flat out loaded with good fights. It is one of those rare events where two title fights will be on the line and it doesn’t stop there.Aside from…
UFC 136 is one of the most anticipated cards of the year and for good reason. To put it simply, it is flat out loaded with good fights. It is one of those rare events where two title fights will be on the line and it doesn’t stop there.
Aside from the two title fights of Edgar-Maynard and Aldo-Florian, there are appearances on the card by former WEC champs in Anthony Pettis and Brian Stann, whom are still chasing UFC gold.
The gangster from Oregon Chael Sonnen is also making his highly-anticipated return to the cage on this card, as he squares off against Brian Stann in what is likely a No. 1 contender bout.
It doesn’t stop there. Fast-rising lightweight Melvin Guillard is taking on Joe Lauzon. Keep your eyeballs on this one, because if Guillard wins he could very well get a crack at the Edgar-Maynard winner.
Like I said before, there are good fights all-around, but what has people looking forward to this card are not just the fights, but there are some intriguing story lines and implications to these fights as well.
What follows is a list of the top five reasons fight fans are looking forward to this card. Whether it is the actual fight or the story lines surrounding the fight, this event has people buzzing.
At UFC 117 Chael Sonnen nearly did the unthinkable when he exposed the one glaring weakness UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has.Sonnen’s aggressive, hard nosed style took Silva to the limit before Silva reached down deep and secured a triangle…
At UFC 117 Chael Sonnen nearly did the unthinkable when he exposed the one glaring weakness UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva has.
Sonnen’s aggressive, hard nosed style took Silva to the limit before Silva reached down deep and secured a triangle armbar late in the fifth round to retain his title.
While Sonnen is far from a perfect fighter he was able to frustrate and control Silva unlike any other fighter in the UFC to date and he can do it again if given the chance.
UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will be coming into UFC 136 with a chip on his shoulder–but not because of his opponent.Set to face challenger Gray Maynard on Oct. 8 for the third time, Edgar looks to gain respect as the champion by stayin…
UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will be coming into UFC 136 with a chip on his shoulder–but not because of his opponent.
Set to face challenger Gray Maynard on Oct. 8 for the third time, Edgar looks to gain respect as the champion by staying on his winning ways and holding onto to the title for as long as possible.
“Respect’s coming man, it’s going to keep growing the better I do and the longer I keep this belt,” Edgar told Bleacher Report at the UFC 136 media conference call on Friday. “I try to come into every fight with a chip on my shoulder, not for any reason, I’m eager to win and having that chip on your shoulder helps you do so.”
Edgar and Maynard last squared off at UFC 125 in January, fighting to a draw in an exciting back and forth contest that took Fight of the Night honors.
The two lightweights previously faced each other in 2008, with Maynard taking the unanimous decision. This has been Edgar’s only professional loss to date.
Edgar does not seem put off having to prepare for the same fighter again, a situation he has been in before. Edgar previously faced former UFC Lightweight champion BJ Penn back-to-back in 2010, taking and defending the title at UFC 112 and UFC 118 respectively.
“For myself, it is a unique position to be training for a guy this long,” Edgar said. “I fought BJ back to back and had two back to back training camps for him so, I’m training for two guys the past two years, I guess I’m kind of used to it.”
What poses a problem to the champion is not staying motivated for the same opponent, but coming up with the right strategy to bring into the fight.
“The challenge is coming up with another game plan, another series of attacks and what not,” Edgar said. “It benefits too because he’s fresh on your mind, you have a lot of situations to base your training camp off of.”
The final act of the Edgar-Maynard trilogy was scheduled to take place at UFC 130 in May. However, injuries to both Edgar and Maynard has postponed the bout until now. Edgar seems ready to go, as the injury has not staved greatly affected his training going into next Saturday’s fight.
“I had to take some time off, rehab and everything to take care of my back, but I’ve pretty much had a full training camp before I had gotten hurt so it’s almost like I didn’t really miss a beat,” Edgar said. “I took the time off I needed to take off and then got right back to it.”
Now healthy and ready to take on Maynard, Edgar believes that he will be the best he’s every been, as he constantly strives to improve his game.
“I’ve just been improving on my overall skills, my biggest thing between every fight is trying to become a better fighter than I was my last time out and I believe I accomplish that,” Edgar said. “So as long as I can put it together things will go my way.”
UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will be coming into UFC 136 with a chip on his shoulder–but not because of his opponent.Set to face challenger Gray Maynard on Oct. 8 for the third time, Edgar looks to gain respect as the champion by stayin…
UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will be coming into UFC 136 with a chip on his shoulder–but not because of his opponent.
Set to face challenger Gray Maynard on Oct. 8 for the third time, Edgar looks to gain respect as the champion by staying on his winning ways and holding onto to the title for as long as possible.
“Respect’s coming man, it’s going to keep growing the better I do and the longer I keep this belt,” Edgar told Bleacher Report at the UFC 136 media conference call on Friday. “I try to come into every fight with a chip on my shoulder, not for any reason, I’m eager to win and having that chip on your shoulder helps you do so.”
Edgar and Maynard last squared off at UFC 125 in January, fighting to a draw in an exciting back and forth contest that took Fight of the Night honors.
The two lightweights previously faced each other in 2008, with Maynard taking the unanimous decision. This has been Edgar’s only professional loss to date.
Edgar does not seem put off having to prepare for the same fighter again, a situation he has been in before. Edgar previously faced former UFC Lightweight champion BJ Penn back-to-back in 2010, taking and defending the title at UFC 112 and UFC 118 respectively.
“For myself, it is a unique position to be training for a guy this long,” Edgar said. “I fought BJ back to back and had two back to back training camps for him so, I’m training for two guys the past two years, I guess I’m kind of used to it.”
What poses a problem to the champion is not staying motivated for the same opponent, but coming up with the right strategy to bring into the fight.
“The challenge is coming up with another game plan, another series of attacks and what not,” Edgar said. “It benefits too because he’s fresh on your mind, you have a lot of situations to base your training camp off of.”
The final act of the Edgar-Maynard trilogy was scheduled to take place at UFC 130 in May. However, injuries to both Edgar and Maynard has postponed the bout until now. Edgar seems ready to go, as the injury has not staved greatly affected his training going into next Saturday’s fight.
“I had to take some time off, rehab and everything to take care of my back, but I’ve pretty much had a full training camp before I had gotten hurt so it’s almost like I didn’t really miss a beat,” Edgar said. “I took the time off I needed to take off and then got right back to it.”
Now healthy and ready to take on Maynard, Edgar believes that he will be the best he’s every been, as he constantly strives to improve his game.
“I’ve just been improving on my overall skills, my biggest thing between every fight is trying to become a better fighter than I was my last time out and I believe I accomplish that,” Edgar said. “So as long as I can put it together things will go my way.”
After 14 months away from the Octagon due to a variety of issues, Chael Sonnen, 25-11-1 (4-4 in the UFC) returns to action next Saturday at UFC 136. Sonnen, who last fought at UFC 117 where he was moments away from dethroning middleweight champion Ande…
After 14 months away from the Octagon due to a variety of issues, Chael Sonnen, 25-11-1 (4-4 in the UFC) returns to action next Saturday at UFC 136.
Sonnen, who last fought at UFC 117 where he was moments away from dethroning middleweight champion Anderson Silva before falling to a fifth-round submission, now faces the ultra tough Brian Stann (11-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC).
In addition to Stann’s top five ranking in the middleweight division, he’s a decorated war hero who was awarded a Silver Star (the nation’s third-highest award for valor in combat) in 2006 for successfully leading 42 Marines in, and out, of battle. Needless to say, Sonnen holds a high amount of respect for his opponent.
“Nobody wants to fight Brian, but somebody’s got to,” Sonnen today said during an UFC media call.
“Our paths have to cross. We’re just in the same weight class, it’s not that big of a pool and he keeps whipping everybody. If he quit beating everybody, I wouldn’t have to fight him. But he decided to go out and become one of the top guys. I’ve done my part and put my time in and I’m up there too, so our paths have to cross.”
Sonnen’s time away from competition certainly isn’t ideal for a fighter who’s widely regarded as the No. 2 middleweight in the world. But the upside off the layoff for Sonnen is that he has a newfound appreciation for the opportunity to compete.
He continued, “The happy part is, this is what I want to do and I got held out of it for a while. I’ve always been grateful for these opportunities, but I think I’m a little more grateful now. Appreciative would be a much stronger feeling that I’m having, to make up for the excitement.”
After all, who really wants to fight an American hero? Add in the fact that Stann has won back-to-back fights over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago and it’s easy to see why Sonnen holds a large amount of respect for his opponent.
It’s believed that the winner of the bout will be the next challenge for Silva. While Sonnen and Silva certainly do not see eye-to-eye, the champion’s second-round knockout of Sonnen’s teammate Yushin Okami this past August in Rio has earned him a bit of recognition.
“It’s getting harder and harder to deny he should be shown that appreciation,” Sonnen said. “He ducked Okami for years, but he did finally get in there and he made it look easy. So, I think you’ve got to look at that. If you’re asking if I’d ever concede that Anderson’s better than me, no. I would refer you to the tape (of their fight at UFC 117). I think he and I are vastly different and that I could come down a lot and still be ahead of him.
“I also think he ducks and dodges opponents constantly, but his wins and losses speak for themselves. The fact of the matter, whether I like to admit this or not, is he’s done a better job than anybody, done a better job than me, and he is the champion. It doesn’t mean I’m going to quit poking my finger in his chest, but at some point I think fairness needs to kick in, too, and you need to look at what he’s done and tip your hat to him a little bit.”
For additional information on UFC 136 follow Joshua Carey onTwitter.
UFC on Versus 6: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson weigh-in results: here. CagePotato pyschoanalyzes you based on your least favorite fighter: here. Chris Hominick talks about his upcoming bout with Chan Sung Jung and the.
UFC on Versus 6>: Dominick Cruz vs. Demetrious Johnson weigh-in results: here.
CagePotato pyschoanalyzes you based on your least favorite fighter: here.
Chris Hominick talks about his upcoming bout with Chan Sung Jung and the loss of his mentor and coach, Shawn Tompkins: here.
Watch Jose Aldo cut weight in a bathtub for UFC 136: here.
UFC Lightweight champion 
