A lot of people think Chris Weidman is the #1 contender right now. If Rashad made a move from 205 down to 185, it’d be safe to say he’s now #1. If Rashad won on Saturday night and wanted to go to 185, we would consider that.
As much as I’d like to use this opportunity to get on my soapbox about the UFC’s recent insistence on matching up their champions with challengers from entirely different weight classes based solely on name value, I’d rather like to applaud Dana for actually considering Evans here. For starters, he would at least be theoretically coming off a win in this scenario, and that in and of itself is more than the UFC has been capable of delivering in recent times.
On the other hand, can you imagine how humiliating this must be to the fighters of the middleweight division? These poor bastards just don’t seem to have it in them to string together enough wins/talk enough trash to get their own champion on board for a title fight, to the point that the president of the promotion has been forced to find guys who would damn near kill themselves making weight just to fill in the void.
(Dear God, can you imagine how funny this is going to look when Silva puts his creative spin on it?)
A lot of people think Chris Weidman is the #1 contender right now. If Rashad made a move from 205 down to 185, it’d be safe to say he’s now #1. If Rashad won on Saturday night and wanted to go to 185, we would consider that.
As much as I’d like to use this opportunity to get on my soapbox about the UFC’s recent insistence on matching up their champions with challengers from entirely different weight classes based solely on name value, I’d rather like to applaud Dana for actually considering Evans here. For starters, he would at least be theoretically coming off a win in this scenario, and that in and of itself is more than the UFC has been capable of delivering in recent times.
On the other hand, can you imagine how humiliating this must be to the fighters of the middleweight division? These poor bastards just don’t seem to have it in them to string together enough wins/talk enough trash to get their own champion on board for a title fight, to the point that the president of the promotion has been forced to find guys who would damn near kill themselves making weight just to fill in the void.
And if you don’t find this whole situation hilarious enough as it is, just wait until you hear what Rashad Evans has to say about all this (via MMAJunkie, emphasis mine):
I’m not a good matchup for him. I’m sure he’s not chomping at the bit to fight me. He doesn’t really have anything to gain from fighting me, so I don’t know if he would even want to fight me. I don’t know why he would go out of his way to fight somebody like me.
Besides that, I love Anderson. He’s a great guy outside of the cage, and he’s one of my favorite fighters to watch inside the cage. To me, to fight him would be a little bittersweet because I know I would beat him. I know I would beat him.
You just have to appreciate that kind of confidence when it’s delivered by a guy who did little more than serve as a punching bag to Jon Jones in his last title fight.
Of course, Evans’ performance against Antonio Rogerio Nogueria will say more about the direction in which he’s headed than anything else. And based on the current betting lines, we’re going to guess that he’ll come out of that one just fine. While there’s no doubt that he could pose some problems for Anderson — he’s basically a more experienced Chris Weidman with better hands — are any of you Taters enticed by this potential matchup?
Calling a mixed martial artist “tough” is as cliché as a hipster wearing horn-rimmed glasses while sipping on a latté in some nondescript, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.We get the picture already.Every MMA fighter, man or woman, has some l…
Calling a mixed martial artist “tough” is as cliché as a hipster wearing horn-rimmed glasses while sipping on a latté in some nondescript, hole-in-the-wall coffee shop.
We get the picture already.
Every MMA fighter, man or woman, has some level of “toughness” buried within them. They sort of need to be hardened, both physically and mentally, considering that broken bones, bruised knuckles and bloodied faces are the norm, not the exception, in this profession.
However, there are some warriors who have the ability to endure an absurd amount of punishment that would force any sane human being to wave the white flag. Case in point—Frankie Edgar.
The diminutive former UFC champion has made a career out of defying the odds – defeating opponents he wasn’t supposed to defeat in a weight class he wasn’t supposed to be in – all while coming back from brutal beatdowns that would break lesser men.
But Edgar is not a brawler, well, not in the typical sense anyways.
He’s not like Forrest Griffin, the kind of guy who gets amped up after eating a bunch of strikes. Nor is he like Leonard Garcia, actively looking to turn fights into barnburners. In fact, if you ask “The Answer” himself, he’d probably cringe at the thought of fighting in another all-out war.
While Edgar’s otherworldly chin is certainly impressive, what interests me the most about the man is his mental fortitude, his ability to rise to the occasion even if the cards seemed to be stacked against him.
Even at the genesis of his career, Edgar had to battle against the odds, making his debut in an underground fight league in New York, a state that still bans professional MMA. And if just finding a place to fight wasn’t hard enough, “The Answer” had to make the tough career choice of fighting in a weight class that, honestly, he doesn’t belong in.
Back before the UFC had the 145 lb. and other smaller weight classes, there were few choices for a lighter weight fighter to make if they wanted to advance in their careers. They could either fight in a heavier division, hoping for a shot in the big leagues, or they could roam the regional scene and less popular promotions in order to face similarly sized opponents.
For Edgar, the lure of the UFC’s lightweight belt was too much to pass up. He made the difficult decision to put his body on the line against guys much bigger than him, and the gamble eventually paid off when he ripped the lightweight title from BJ Penn‘s hands at UFC 112.
But beyond becoming the champ, Edgar’s “toughness” has never been on display more than during his current string of title fights and championship rematches.
“The Answer” could have taken the easy road during his lightweight reign. He could have chosen not to grant Gray Maynard a rematch after their first title fight tussle ended in a draw. Hell, it took Anderson Silva almost two years before he finally gave ChaelSonnen another crack at the belt after their first war.
Edgar also could have decided to take the immediate drop to featherweight after his first loss to Benson Henderson.
But Edgar’s not the type of guy to give up, especially when his lifelong goals are on the line.
The New Jersey native took the hard road, mentally and physically straining himself while repeatedly taking beatdowns from guys much bigger than him, all just to prove that he’s the best.
Now with his UFC 156 bout against champ Jose Aldo just a day away, Edgar is again putting himself in the line of fire despite dropping down to his more natural weight class. Sure, the former lightweight king could have taken a warm-up fight or two, especially after back-to-back losses, but that’s not the type of guy “The Answer” is.
Edgar doesn’t like the easy road and would rather be immediately thrown against the best of the best than take a give me fight. It’s this constant yearning to be the top fighter in the world coupled with his granite chin that makes Edgar one of the toughest guys to put away.
Even if Edgar is not victorious Saturday night, the fact that he’s been willing to put his body on the line against championship caliber opponents for almost three years straight makes him the toughest man in MMA today.
LAS VEGAS—Bleacher Report lead writer Jeremy Botter and UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier bring you the Bleacher Report UFC 156 Preview Show from the Las Vegas Fight Shop at Planet Hollywood.Botter and Cormier break down each and every one of the ma…
LAS VEGAS—Bleacher Report lead writer Jeremy Botter and UFC heavyweight Daniel Cormier bring you the Bleacher Report UFC 156 Preview Show from the Las Vegas Fight Shop at Planet Hollywood.
Botter and Cormier break down each and every one of the main-card fights, from Benavidez vs. McCall all the way to Aldo vs. Edgar.
Cormier also discusses the influx of Strikeforce stars that begins with this very same event, comments on his April 20 bout with Frank Mir on Fox and discusses a potential future bout with Jon Jones.
Oh, and Bellator light heavyweight (and TNA wrestling rookie) King Mo makes a surprise appearance.
Tomorrow night, one of the biggest cards in recent memory will go down at UFC 156 in Las Vegas. Headlining the event will be featherweight king Jose Aldo as he looks to defend his crown against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.There is no shor…
Tomorrow night, one of the biggest cards in recent memory will go down at UFC 156 in Las Vegas. Headlining the event will be featherweight king Jose Aldo as he looks to defend his crown against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
There is no shortage of buzz surrounding the event as the young Brazilian phenom attempts to solidify his pound-for-pound greatness by defeating one of the most resilient champions in UFC history. On the flip side, the perpetual underdog will once again look to do what has appeared to be impossible and, if successful, will elevate his legacy to new heights.
The UFC has labeled the match-up a “super fight” and no matter what words you use to describe the bout, it is a crucial match-up in the careers of both men.
That being said, when examining the scales of gain and loss, it becomes clear Edgar is in a unique situation—a paradox of sorts, if you will. Should he upset Aldo at UFC 156, he will join Randy Couture and B.J. Penn as the only men to ever hold titles in two different weight classes.
However, if he is unsuccessful tomorrow night, a once great champion will find himself in the strangest of positions where his name alone will dictate headline worthy fights, but his hopes of getting another title shot will be somewhere out in limbo.
There is no doubt Edgar is at a crossroads in his career. There is a lot at stake in his fight with Aldo on Saturday night, and which side of victory he emerges on will dictate the next path for Edgar to travel.
One of the Greatest of All-Time
When MMA fans and media types talk about the greatest fighters in the history of the sport, Edgar’s name doesn’t often appear in the conversation. There is no doubt defeating B.J. Penn during the peak of his reign as the world’s best lightweight—and then again in the rematch—put Edgar in a significant place within the Zuffa history books, but there has yet to be the moment that pushes him to MMA folklore status.
A victory over Aldo will provide this exact opportunity.
Despite leaving the lightweight division on back-to-back losses, Edgar was given the opportunity to step in for an immediate title shot in his new weight class. Edgar is passionate about being a champion and the chance to reclaim UFC gold is the ultimate motivation.
Should he have the keys to solve the Aldo riddle at UFC 156, not only will he once again accomplish the seemingly impossible, but he will place himself in the record books alongside “The Natural” and “The Prodigy” as the only men to ever hold belts in multiple weight classes.
For Edgar, this accomplishment has the potential to solidify him as one of the greatest fighters to ever compete in mixed martial arts. Fans can certainly argue there are more talented fighters as far as skill sets are concerned, but when it comes to showing and proving in the biggest moments, when the chips are stacked against him, there is no other fighter who can claim the resume Edgar possesses.
Up to this point in his career, Edgar is known for defeating Penn and tremendous displays of heart against Gray Maynard, but a victory over Aldo puts the former lightweight champion into a different conversation.
The Rich Franklin Zone
Before Anderson Silva came to the UFC, Franklin dominated the 185-pound weight class. But after losing his title at the end of “The Spider’s” knees—and then a rematch where he suffered a similar fate—the Cincinnati-native was pushed out in the darkness which exists somewhere between a title shot and the rest of the top fighters in the division.
It wasn’t a question of talent as Franklin was easily the next best fighter in his weight class. But after two punishing defeats against Silva where he showed no signs of having an answer to the middleweight king’s puzzle, the temperature on Franklin’s title hopes had gone stone cold.
The circumstance of the situation forced “Ace” to test the waters in the light heavyweight division.
Although he had some success, Franklin was never able to gain genuine traction towards competing for the 205-pound crown. For most fighters this would most likely bring a close to their careers, but Franklin had the right amount of name recognition and fight left in the tank to start off on a new chapter in his UFC career.
Rather than chasing a title, the 38-year-old would become the UFC’s “go to guy” whenever they needed a headliner for a card, and bouts against Wanderlei Silva, Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell were all interesting match-ups between fighters on similar trajectories.
At 31-years old the idea of Edgar being pushed into the realm of fan-friendly bouts may seem a bit of a stretch, but there are a few things to take into consideration.
Should he lose to Aldo tomorrow night, the Toms River-native will be 1-3-1 in his last five fights, all of which were for a UFC title. He is dropping down into a new division that is set to explode in 2013. With surging featherweights like Ricardo Lamas, Cub Swanson and Chad Mendes all racing for title shots, it would be difficult to imagine Edgar not taking a back seat in the featherweight division’s upper tier.
This is not to say “The Answer” couldn’t work his way back up to title contention, but with the amount of talent now residing in the 145-pound weight class, it would be a journey with no guarantee.
The idea of Edgar returning to the division he once championed comes with a similar scenario. After dropping back-to-back fights against Benson Henderson, the idea of Edgar getting another title shot at lightweight seems far fetched. When you include the ultra-competitive race to contention going on at 155-pounds, there is no way to justify Edgar leap-frogging anyone in the Top 5.
There is simply no need for it to be done and with no shortage of possible contenders, Edgar would find himself having to battle his way through the most competitive division under the UFC banner. Again, not to say it is an impossible task for the gritty New Jersey-product, but a difficult one nevertheless.
Joseph Benavidez came up just short in the first ever UFC flyweight title fight, suffering a split-decision loss to Demetrious Johnson.The Team Alpha Male fighter will now take on another competitor who gave Johnson a tough fight during the four-man to…
Joseph Benavidez came up just short in the first ever UFC flyweight title fight, suffering a split-decision loss to Demetrious Johnson.
The Team Alpha Male fighter will now take on another competitor who gave Johnson a tough fight during the four-man tournament to determine the 125-pound division’s first champion.
Ian McCall hasn’t fought since losing to “Mighty Mouse” in an immediate rematch that followed an unfortunate draw in the semifinals of that tournament. “Uncle Creepy” will now attempt to earn a rematch with Johnson by beating Benavidez at UFC 156.
As this potential title shot eliminator approaches, let’s take a look at whether Benavidez or McCall has a better chance at getting another crack at the current flyweight champion.
Calling a mixed martial artist “tough” is as