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UFC 144 Fight Card: Frankie Edgar Will Grind out Another Victory

Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson could be the Fight of the Year.Edgar comes into the fight as one of the toughest and most determined fighters in the UFC. Henderson has the style to create problems for Edgar.Edgar (14-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) has won six of h…

Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson could be the Fight of the Year.

Edgar comes into the fight as one of the toughest and most determined fighters in the UFC. Henderson has the style to create problems for Edgar.

Edgar (14-1-1, 9-1-1 UFC) has won six of his last seven fights. After battling Gray Maynard to a draw in January 2011, Edgar knocked him out in Round 4 during their rematch in October.

But Edgar’s strength doesn’t lie in his knockout ability. He’s had three knockouts in 16 career fights. Edgar’s strength has always been his wrestling and his ability to grind out round after round and turn them into wins.

Henderson (15-2, 3-0 UFC) has the size and grappling ability to pose problems for Edgar. It’s part of the reason why he’s going to be such an interesting challenger for Edgar. But his striking ability isn’t great, and he’s not the wrestler Edgar is.

But it’s about more than X’s and O’s when it comes to Edgar. He simply seems to will himself to victory each and every fight.

Henderson noted, via the Vancouver Sun:

“Against Frankie, what I’d be most worried about, is maybe losing each round by a hair. Frankie does a great job of doing just enough — not just enough, I don’t want to say it like that — but just winning that round… So, at the end of the fight, you’re down five rounds to none. Not really too beat up or too damaged, but you lost all five rounds to Frankie Edgar.”

I think Edgar deserves a little more credit than that (he has beat up quite a few opponents), but Henderson is right about Edgar outlasting his opponents. Sometimes it feels like he doesn’t tire at all.

In the end, I see Edgar winning via decision in what should be yet another great fight for UFC fans.

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UFC 144 Weigh-in Reaction and Results

The Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to the former Mecca of MMA at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with a highly-anticipated UFC 144 fight card.The Saitama Super Arena has hosted some of the greatest fights in MMA history under the Prid…

The Ultimate Fighting Championship travels to the former Mecca of MMA at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with a highly-anticipated UFC 144 fight card.

The Saitama Super Arena has hosted some of the greatest fights in MMA history under the Pride Fighting Championships banner.

Now, the arena will host the UFC lightweight championship bout between Frankie Edgar (154) and Benson Henderson (154).

Despite having scored monumental victories over BJ Penn, Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk, Edgar tends to play the role of perennial underdog, which is a role that he generally excels at. Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a more dramatic performance than his past couple of bouts against Maynard.

Edgar was able to survive an early onslaught in both bouts and turn the tide on his opponent. While their January 2011 meeting ended in a draw, Edgar solidified his position atop the lightweight division by stopping Maynard in the fourth round via strikes in October 2011.

Edgar now meets Henderson, a former WEC champion. As champion, the level of difficulty continues to rise with every challenger, but Edgar feels that he is more than ready to impose his will and put forth his third successful UFC title defense.

“Ben’s a tough dude. It was a good camp to prepare for him. New face, new name, let’s do it!” said Edgar at the official UFC 144 weigh-ins on Friday.

After losing his WEC lightweight title to Anthony Pettis in December 2010, Henderson has taken his entire fight game to another level. Since joining the lightweight ranks in the UFC, “Bendo” has secured three lopsided unanimous decision wins over Jim Miller, Clay Guida and Mark Bocek.

“It’s a huge opportunity. I’m excited to fight Frankie. He has a great chin and a great heart. It’s gonna be a huge challenge for me to take the belt from a champion like that,” said Henderson.

The co-main event features a light heavyweight tilt between former UFC champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (211) and “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 8 winner Ryan Bader (205).

This bout represents somewhat of a homecoming for Rampage, who spent the early portion of his career power-bombing foes and wooing the Japanese fans under the Pride banner. Coming off a submission loss to Jon Jones, Rampage hopes an impressive win will help him climb back into title contention.

Meanwhile, Bader hopes to reemerge as a top-10 light heavyweight. After losing back to back bouts to Jones and Tito Ortiz, “Darth” fell out of the light heavyweight rankings and onto the UFC chopping block. He dug himself out of the 0-2 hole at UFC 139, where he scored a first round knockout over Jason Brilz.

UFC 144 will air live on pay-per-view on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The main card is expected to feature seven bouts. Before the show goes live, fans can watch one preliminary bout between Zhang Tiequan and Issei Tamura on the UFC’s Facebook page at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

The other four prelims will air live on FX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

Facebook Preliminary Bout

Zhang Tiequan (146) vs. Issei Tamura (145)

FX Preliminary Bouts

Takeya Mizugaki (135) vs. Chris Cariaso (136)
Riki Fukuda (185) vs. Steve Cantwell (185)
Norifumi Yamamoto (136) vs. Vaughan Lee (135)
Takanori Gomi (155) vs. Eiji Mitsuoka (154)

Main Card

Anthony Pettis (155) vs. Joe Lauzon (156)
Hatsu Hioki (145) vs. Bart Palaszewski (146)
Yushin Okami (185) vs. Tim Boetsch (186)
Jake Shields (170) vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama (169)
Cheick Kongo (229) vs. Mark Hunt (264)
*Quinton Jackson (211) vs. Ryan Bader (205)
Frankie Edgar (154) vs. Benson Henderson (154)

*Quinton Jackson failed to make weight and will offer up 20-percent of his purse to Ryan Bader for taking the fight.

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Tito Ortiz Recalls His Bout Against Wanderlei Silva in Japan

As the UFC makes its return to the Saitama Super Arena this weekend, some of the company’s prominent stars shared some of their past experiences since the last time the UFC made a trip to Japan for UFC 25 and UFC 29.Competing on that was former UFC lig…

Competing on that was former UFC light heavyweight champion Tito Ortiz, who headlined the event against Wanderlei Silva.

Ortiz recalled his bout with Silva and said the atmosphere was different from fighting on his home soil in the United States. But the biggest difference to Ortiz was the Japanese crowd.

“You can literally hear a pin drop in between rounds,” Ortiz told ESPN.com. “There, everything was so quiet. I could hear my elbows bust off Wanderlei Silva’s face [at UFC 25].”

Ortiz would defeat the Brazilian to capture the 205 pound crown on that night, and would eventually go on to cement his legacy as one of the greatest light heavyweight champion’s of all-time.

Now, over 12 years later, the Japanese fans will get another chance to witness another monumental event in UFC 144, which will be headlined a lightweight title fight between Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson.

Ortiz also spoke on how the lifestyle might have an affect on some fighters, especially trying to adapt to the culture.

“The Huntington Beach Bad Boy” said he wasn’t too keen on Japanese cuisine at the time, but he said some of the food can be beneficial to a fighter’s health, especially when trying to prepare your body prior to the event.

“A lot of fighters may think they don’t want to eat sushi or Japanese food after they weigh in. I’d remind them that’s an option,” he said. “My weight got back up to where I wanted it to be, and my energy was through the roof — I think because the food was so clean.”

UFC 144 is scheduled for this weekend, live from the Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.

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UFC 144 Fight Card: How Much Will Size Factor into the Main Event?

Frankie Edgar is probably the smallest lightweight in the UFC, however he is the world champion. Frankie has been a fighter that has taken that factor to heart. The champ just doesn’t care if you are bigger than him, he just wins.Frankie’s only loss wa…

Frankie’s only loss was to Gray Maynard a few years ago, which he has more than avenged now. Although his opponent tomorrow night towers over him, “the Answer” is not blinking.

Edgar’s opponent is the calm, confident former WEC lightweight champion Ben “Smooth” Henderson. After losing his belt to Anthony Pettis at the finale event of the WEC, Henderson has demolished all three opponents he has faced in the Octagon.

A lot of people seem to think that both of these men possess similar skills, and I can see why. The champion and the challenger both succeed with outstanding wrestling skills and fast, calculated striking, slipping in and out of range quickly.

What this fight really comes down to is size in the end. At the press conference, Henderson looked like he outweighs Edgar by 20 pounds. It is really quite striking when the difference is right in front of you.

The real debate is whether the size will be a factor or not in this bout.

Gray Maynard was a much larger fighter in the Octagon than Frankie, however, in the last two bouts Edgar was able to survive an early onslaught and watched Maynard slow down in the later rounds while he was only getting stronger.

I can see Henderson getting physical with Frankie a bit and getting early advantages. I can see Henderson tagging Edgar with some good standing strikes. But, we must remember that Edgar is durable and can also use superior boxing to get in and out of range.

Yes, size will be a factor in this fight. It will keep Ben Henderson in the bout, however, it will not win it for him. I still see Frankie Edgar leaving the arena with the belt.

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UFC 144: Why Win or Lose, Frankie Edgar Should Fight Jose Aldo Next

This weekend, UFC lightweight kingpin Frankie Edgar will defend his strap against former WEC lightweight titleholder Ben Henderson. Edgar will have his hands full with Henderson in Japan in a fight that could go either way. However, regardless of the outcome Saturday night, Edgar has proven himself to be a top 10 pound-for-pound fighter, as he has fought the cream of the crop and has steadily improved with each and every fight. Win or lose, his next opponent should be of the same caliber.

The fight that everyone wants to see would be a scrap with current featherweight champ Jose Aldo.

Let’s face it, Edgar is a glorified featherweight fighting currently above his optimum weight and he is still dominating his foes. How long that continues to last will be determined Saturday night. Whether at 145, 155 or a 150 catch weight, Aldo-Edgar makes a ton of sense and would be guaranteed fireworks. Stylistically, the matchup is captivating, and it would be the biggest fight in the history of the lighter weight divisions.

It would be interesting to see if the power wrestling and speed of Edgar could force Aldo to the mat, wear him out and pound on him. Aldo has shown that he can stifle the wrestling of top grapplers like Chad Mendes and Urijah Faber with brutal leg kicks and a quick sprawl, but neither compare to Edgar—he took down BJ and guys roughly 20 pounds heavier than him for crying out loud.

Once on the ground, Aldo would undoubtedly have trouble dealing with the top game of Edgar. We all saw what Mark Hominick did to Aldo—albeit through exhaustion—on the ground in Toronto; imagine what Edgar could do.

If Aldo is to stuff the takedowns, we could see if Edgar’s speed advantage is the same against someone his own size. Edgar has been able to out-box nearly everyone in the lightweight division using exceptional movement and crisp counters and combos. However, Aldo is arguably just as fast and his brutal leg kicks could slow Edgar down to a crawl. Furthermore, Aldo’s power is downright scary—for those who need reassurance, look at the knockouts of Manny Gamburian and Cub Swanson. Would Edgar be able to withstand that? Edgar has been rocked on numerous occasions by fighters not as gifted as Jose. Could he take it on the jaw and keep moving? Could he survive much like he did vs. Maynard in both fights?

Wow, this fight is still but a fantasy, yet just talking about it has made the hair on my arm stand up.

Fans clamor for these types of super fights—where two top fighters from different weight classes meet—all the time and very rarely do they ever come to fruition. Only a few come to mind: St-Pierre-Penn 2, Silva-Griffin, Hughes-Gracie and Fedor-Henderson, and only one had title implications.

Edgar-Aldo is the perfect matchup because both fighters could easily be the champ or top contender in either division; if you think otherwise, you are kidding yourself. And both are in their prime. Two of the aforementioned fights had fighters well past their prime and it made for less than stellar fights.

This fight fills a huge void in the mega-fight discussion as the UFC is all but guaranteed to miss out on a proposed mega-fight between the two top pound-for-pound fighters in Silva and GSP. While this fight is not on the same level as a GSP-Spider matchup, it still would bring in millions of dollars in revenue for the UFC while also bringing a ton of attention to the often overshadowed lighter weight classes.

While the UFC lightweight division and featherweight division might be filled with great young talent, the UFC needs this fight—especially with UFC president Dana White refusing to bring consensus No. 2 lightweight Gilbert Melendez over from Strikeforce to challenge for the UFC strap. The lighter divisions need a showcase fight and this is about the biggest showcase fight the UFC could put on. Dana has said on numerous occasions that he makes fights the people want to see. Well, fans are clamoring for this one, not to mention the fighters have already expressed interest in a possible fight…Make it happen!

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Video of the Day: The Will Ferrell/Bruce Buffer Collaboration That Needs to Become a Reality

We gotta say, we are really digging these rogue movie parody advertisements for UFC events that have been popping up lately. First we were trated to G.I. Joe’s discussing all things horse related, then Nick Diaz scared us into locking our doors. Now it seems that perennial funnyman Will Ferrell has gotten into the mix of things, or at least his Anchorman character, Ron Burgundy, has.

Along with the classic Anchorman scene, the video combines clips from Buffer’s introductions with a recent appearance by Ferrell at a New Orleans Hornets/Chicago Bulls game in which he introduced the starting lineup. As with many Will Ferrell movies, the clip starts off strong before kinda pitter-pattering its way to the end. Enjoy, or don’t. It’s Friday, so wacky clips are kind of our thing today.

Join us after the jump for another mashup that will make you go into full montage mode.

(Props to Karma for the find.)

We’re not sure what the anonymous narrator is saying (something about linens?) , but goddamn it if this video isn’t inspiring. Will Frankie Edgar be able to pull of another victory come Saturday night? Discuss.

-J. Jones