Tag: UFC 153

Was Taking the Aldo Fight a Smart Move for Frankie Edgar?

Once again another injury has plagued a main-event fight and taken Erik Koch out of his title fight with Jose Aldo for the Featherweight championship. Stepping in to take his place is none other than former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. Edga…

Once again another injury has plagued a main-event fight and taken Erik Koch out of his title fight with Jose Aldo for the Featherweight championship. Stepping in to take his place is none other than former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar.

Edgar and title fights have been hand in hand these past years, involving the New Jersey native in the past six title fights in the Lightweight division. Between a draw and rematches, Edgar has decided to move down to 145 in hopes of finding new success. It is a weight class many feel that is more fit for the size of Edgar, but because of his success at Lightweight, not much evidence was being shown that a move down was necessary.

After losing his past two fights to now current Lightweight Champion, Benson Henderson, he will venture down to possibly attain a second UFC title in his career. Edgar was not originally slated to get an immediate title shot, but due to Koch’s injury, an opportunity has presented itself.

The question is, was taking the immediate title shot the best decision?

Edgar lost his last fight with Bendo mid-August and will now be fighting mid-October. Roughly two months gives him a decent amount of time, but he has had quite a bit more time for camp for all but one of each of his fights in his career.

The last time he had this short of turnaround was after his first pro fight. Now taking on one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world in a new weight class on a “short” notice, it leaves to question if it will be adequate time to prepare for such a dangerous opponent. 

Jose Aldo has been winning dominantly in his weight class, and has shown a ferocity that is something to admire. Edgar has shown heart and speed in his underdog story of a career, and managed to come out on top most of the time. But Edgar’s speed was one advantage he had in the lightweight division; his ability to get in and get out and foot movement helped him deal with bigger and stronger opponents.

Now he faces a man who possesses the same advantage, speed and movement. Styles make fights, and for Edgar, he may be walking into a fight where his advantages are met, or even surpassed.

On the other hand, Edgar dropping in weight could also produce an even quicker fighter, who then may be able to avoid Aldo and his deadly leg kicks and other Muay Thai strikes. On top of that, Aldo is coming off an injury, which could work in favor of Edgar’s chances.

Edgar has shown that even after taking a beating, he can push himself through it and fight to the end, and that may be what wins him this fight. Aldo has had some issues with weight cutting, and Edgar will dictate this fight if Aldo’s tank doesn’t stand up to his. Edgar has the ability to move and strike at the same pace from the first round to the fifth, and if he can survive the onslaught of Aldo, he has a good chance of winning. 

The opportunity to challenge oneself and get a crack at a new title is a great thing, and Edgar has the chance to put himself back into the top tier of the pound-for-pound greats. If he can win this fight, he becomes known as one of the best P4P fighters, and people will excuse any losses at Lightweight using the logic of Edgar now being at the weight class he was meant to be fighting at. He then has the opportunity to take on other big-name fighters that will help boost his stats if he can manage to stay on top.

However, the danger of taking this fight is the other side of the coin. If Edgar loses his fight with Aldo, it could do a lot of harm to his career. He is not in any danger of being cut, but regardless if you think he won his fights with Bendo or not, he still will be on a three-fight losing streak. After that, he will need to fight a few more people in hopes of getting back to a title shot.

If he loses along that path, it may be a while, if ever, we see him back in a title shot. Edgar is open to big fights at either Featherweight or Lightweight, which will help counter any losses he takes, but he will only be given big-fights if he can keep winning.

Losing to Aldo doesn’t ruin his career, but it certainly is a big setback. Yes, he would have lost to one of the P4P best in his home country, but if he gets finished by Aldo, who knows that the UFC will want to do as far as getting Edgar back into a shot in a timely manner?

While his confidence is high, and he possesses the ability to win this fight; taking on a fighter like Jose Aldo in less than two months of training could put a mark on your record that could take some work to erase.

Time will tell if taking the fight was a big mistake, or the greatest decision Frankie Edgar ever made. Aldo will present a big problem for him, but then again, Edgar is “The Answer” after all.

Join the MMA Facebook Page and follow the @FightersCreed on Twitter!

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153: Frankie Edgar Is More Than Deserving of a Fight with Jose Aldo

Most of the immediate reaction toward the announcement that former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar would be replacing Erik Koch in a featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo was that of enthusiasm for what is sure to go down as the most high…

Most of the immediate reaction toward the announcement that former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar would be replacing Erik Koch in a featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo was that of enthusiasm for what is sure to go down as the most highly anticipated 145-pound fights in MMA history.

On the other hand, there were also some dissenting opinions stating that Edgar was not deserving of a title shot after losing to lightweight titleholder Benson Henderson in his past two appearances.

In a way, these opinions are logical, but they need to be silenced.

 

Frankie Edgar Earned This

Even after picking up just one win in his past four fights, Edgar is more than deserving of a featherweight title shot. He’s certainly more deserving of a spot in a championship bout than Vitor Belfort, who will be competing for the light heavyweight belt at UFC 152, and Edgar should be praised for taking the fight that was offered to him. Afterall, it’s more than can be said for top 205-pound contenders Lyoto Machida and Mauricio Rua, who both recently turned down a short-notice title shot against champion Jon Jones.

Simply arguing that Edgar doesn’t deserve a title shot because he has lost his past two fights is an oversimplification of the former champion’s standing. He may have come out on the wrong end of those decisions, but Edgar certainly performed better in both of his fights against Henderson than any top featherweight contender would, as many believed he had done enough to win back the lightweight championship at UFC 150.

 

If so many think Edgar is the rightful owner of the 155-pound title, then what does he really have to prove at 145 pounds in order to be deserving of a shot at the featherweight belt? 

Edgar has already proven himself more than any featherweight contender ever could. In his seven years as a lightweight, “The Answer” became one of the division’s greatest fighters of all-time. In the past three years alone, Edgar earned three victories over former UFC champions in B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk, and he also defended the lightweight title on three occasions. What current 145-pound fighter could match that resume?

 

There’s Nobody More Deserving

With Koch out of the picture, some may have pointed to Chan Sung Jung as a logical replacement for a bout against Aldo. Jung is coming off of impressive wins over Dustin Poirier, but does any type of victory over an opponent like Poirier really make a Jung as deserving of a title shot as a fighter who competed to a controversial decision against the world’s best lightweight?

That was a rhetorical question, but let’s delve deeper into it just in case you were one of the few who answered it with a yes.

Jung’s submission win over Poirier was excellent. It came in a main event and concluded one of the most entertaining fights of the year, but it didn’t make him a more worthy candidate for a title shot than Edgar.

 

Having beaten Max Holloway, Pablo Garza, Jason Young, Josh Grispi and Zach Micklewright, Poirier was on a five-fight winning streak heading into his bout with Jung. That made Poirier a very bright prospective contender in the featherweight division, but it shouldn’t make him the type of fighter that an opponent can earn a title shot by beating. Some of the aforementioned fighters Poirier has defeated have bright futures in their own right, but none of them are currently considered contenders.

Some may now dig deeper to Jung’s three-fight winning streak as reasoning for him being more deserving of a title shot than Edgar, but that logic also falls a bit short. 

In his UFC debut, Jung submitted Leonard Garcia with a twister, which was cool and all. Though, the submission came against a fighter who hasn’t won a fight without controversy since November 2008. After his win over Garcia, Jung scored a lightning fast knockout against Mark Hominick, but Hominick’s career has taken a turn for the worst since that fight, losing his following fight against the almost unknown Eddie Yagin.

Don’t get me wrong. Jung is a really good fighter and a real title threat in the featherweight division, but a cool nickname and exciting fighting style have earned “The Korean Zombie” a little more credit than he’s due in this case. Jung’s just not as deserving of a title shot as Edgar, who some believe should be on a three-fight winning streak of his own in fights against Henderson and Gray Maynard.

Whether those individuals who think Edgar won both fights with Henderson are right or wrong, the fact that people are even proposing that leads me to believe he is clearly more prepared for a fight with Aldo than Jung. Matching Edgar up against Aldo now also ensures that the few legitimate featherweight contenders like Jung won’t suffer an unnecessary loss against Edgar as he would have made his inevitable run at a title shot. 

 

 

Are You Not Entertained? 

Let’s just say, for arguments sake, you still don’t think Edgar is deserving of this matchup with Aldo before picking up at least one win at featherweight. Does that feeling really take precedence over your eagerness to see said fight? Because, try as you might, you won’t convince me there’s a more intriguing matchup out there to be made for the featherweight championship.

There’s a reason people had been trying to convince Edgar to drop down to featherweight even while he was the reigning lightweight champion. Even though he hasn’t been competing in the weight class, Edgar has been the second best featherweight in the world behind Aldo for years now, and we’ll finally get to see the two best fighters in the division stand toe-to-toe for what is sure to result in 25 minutes of non-stop action.

If anyone should be complaining, it’s the 145-pound contenders themselves, not the fans. So, unless you are Jung, Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson or the like, let’s keep quiet on whether Edgar deserves this fight or not so as to avoid ruining the build-up for the biggest featherweight bout of all-time.   

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC 153: Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar, Head to Toe Breakdown

As reported yesterday, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will no longer face young, up-and-comer Erik Koch, but will now step inside the Octagon against former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.MMA fans have been dreaming of this matchup since it w…

As reported yesterday, UFC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo will no longer face young, up-and-comer Erik Koch, but will now step inside the Octagon against former Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.

MMA fans have been dreaming of this matchup since it was announced that the WEC had merged with the UFC. The realistic possibility of this “superfight” increased when it was announced just about a week ago that Edgar had decided to drop from lightweight to featherweight.

Now, with Koch out with injury, Edgar will step up and face the best featherweight fighter in the world in his debut at 145.

So how does this dream matchup look on paper? Let’s breakdown the dream-come-true bout between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.

Begin Slideshow

UFC 153: Frankie Edgar Fight Is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Jose Aldo

With due respect to featherweight contender Erik Koch, I breathed a sigh of relief when the news broke that he was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title fight with champion Jose Aldo.I don’t have anything against Koch, but there was a good chance I m…

With due respect to featherweight contender Erik Koch, I breathed a sigh of relief when the news broke that he was forced to pull out of his UFC 153 title fight with champion Jose Aldo.

I don’t have anything against Koch, but there was a good chance I might be called in to do a radio shot or podcast appearance. And, shame of all shames, I have no idea how the semi-obscure challenger pronounces his last name.

Is it coke, like the beverage? Is he kin to former New York mayor Ed Koch? Does it rhyme with, um, clock? I’ve seen the man fight multiple times and can’t say for sure, which says something about his prestige level as a challenger, or at least, about my memory.

Frankie Edgar, though? He’s someone I know. Last night, I argued Edgar was one win away from a title shot at 145 pounds. It seems I was wrong. He’s no wins away. In fact, coming off consecutive losses, he was apparently negative two wins away from a shot at gold.

I have no problem with this.

Edgar may be on a losing streak, but those were close fights with lightweight champion Benson Henderson. Edgar doesn’t need to prove himself at featherweight. He’s proven plenty at 155 pounds, beating the legendary B.J. Penn on two occasions and dominant wrestler Gray Maynard on another.

The truth is, at least today, success at lightweight means more. It’s the more established division. A fighter like Penn is a good barometer for where Edgar stands in the MMA world. We are comfortable with Frankie Edgar. His reign as lightweight champion meant something, more than enough to qualify him for a shot at featherweight gold.

Aldo, for all his talents, is just building his legend. More than that, he’s been building a division that is relatively new to the UFC and its fanbase. For him, this fight has to be a godsend. Beating Edgar will do more than a dozen wins over unknown featherweights, no matter how talented. Beating Edgar will give instant credibility to a champion who needs a recognizable name on his resume. 

Sometimes, injuries ruin a show. Look no further than the gone, but never forgotten, UFC 151. Here, an injury has boosted this card into a must-see event.

Jose Aldo has a chance to propel himself to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings.

Edgar has a chance to reinvent himself as a featherweight. 

And the fans? We get to sit back and watch what may be the best fight of the year on paper.

Win. Win. Win.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Erik Koch Injured, Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo Booked for UFC 153 Title Fight [!!!]


(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:


(And he *still* looks like the smaller fighter. / Photo via MMAJunkie)

We had a feeling that dropping to featherweight would be Frankie Edgar‘s quickest path to another title shot — we just didn’t think it would happen this fast. As first reported by USA Today, Edgar will step in to face Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight title at UFC 153 (October 13th, Rio de Janeiro), after original challenger Erik Koch was forced to withdraw due to an undisclosed injury.

If Edgar is victorious, he will become just the third fighter in UFC history (after Randy Couture and BJ Penn) to win a belt in two separate weight classes. We feel awful for Koch — who has already been inactive for nearly a year due to injuries and postponements — but you have to admit that this is one of the rare times in which an injury to a main event fighter results in a more compelling matchup. Said UFC president Dana White of the booking:

“Obviously, we’ve had a rough couple of weeks here at the UFC, and then sure enough, I walk in to work today, and Erik Koch is hurt. But Frankie Edgar, being the stud and the warrior that he is, steps up and accepts this fight…I’m pumped. I think that people are going to be very excited for this fight…Frankie has had a tough go the last couple of times with the judges, but a lot of people think he belongs at 145 pounds. Well, here we go — Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar. People have been wanting to see this fight for a long time.”

Despite his former reputation as one of the lightweight division’s elite, Edgar has only won one of his last four fights, including his most recent pair of decision losses to Ben Henderson and his split draw against Gray Maynard in January 2011. Meanwhile, Aldo is a 14-fight win streak, including three wins in the UFC and eight wins in the WEC.

UFC 153 will also feature Quinton Jackson’s final UFC fight against Glover Teixeira, and Jon Fitch’s return against Erick Silva.

Frankie Edgar Replaces Erik Koch, Will Face Jose Aldo for UFC Featherweight Belt

Well, that didn’t take long. Just nine days after announcing his drop to featherweight, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar accepted a fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 153, replacing an injured Erik Koch.The news broke …

Well, that didn’t take long. Just nine days after announcing his drop to featherweight, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar accepted a fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo at UFC 153, replacing an injured Erik Koch.

The news broke very early Friday morning on MMAJunkie and in Friday’s edition of USA Today.

For UFC President Dana White, the replacement is a virtual reversal of the nightmare scenario that led to the cancellation last week of UFC 151. Whereas light heavyweight champion Jon Jones refused new matchups following the injury departure of challenger Dan Henderson, Edgar’s stepping up against Aldo actually improves the UFC 153 main event, at least from a name-recognition standpoint.

White alluded to the parallels in his comments.

“Obviously, we’ve had a rough couple of weeks here at the UFC, and then sure enough, I walk in to work today, and Erik Koch is hurt,” White said. “But Frankie Edgar, being the stud and the warrior that he is, steps up and accepts this fight.”

The 30-year-old Edgar (14-3-1) lost his last two fights at lightweight; both were title bouts with current champ Benson Henderson. This will be Edgar’s seventh consecutive fight for a UFC belt.

Aldo (21-1), who is only 25 but widely considered one of the three or four best fighters on the planet, has successfully defended the UFC featherweight championship three consecutive times.

Follow Scott Harris on Twitter @ScottHarrisMMA.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com