Frankie Edgar started off the year of 2011 with a defense of his 155 lb. strap against the only man to have ever defeated him in his career in Gray Maynard. Through the first 5 minutes however, it looked apparent, almost as if imminent, that Edgar would lose his crown, as the man known as "The Bully" proceeded to knock the New Jersey native Edgar around the Octagon, having Edgar in trouble numerous times and posting the first "10-8" round of the year. For the succeeding 20 minutes however, Edgar showed the heart and sheer will of a champion, dominating with takedowns, footwork and crisp combinations. While it became subsequently apparent that Edgar would have his hand raised, the judges declared it a draw, being the first of a pair of main events that would end in controversial draws in consecutive months (UFC 127's main event between Jon Fitch and BJ Penn being the other).
Injuries to both fighters put the breaks on the end of their trilogy earlier on this year, with Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Matt Hammil taking their spot in the UFC 130 main event (and Hammil being the promotions second choice after Thiago "The Beast" Silva's urine sample fiasco prevented him from participating). Saturday night, almost 10 months to the day, Edgar and Maynard meet to complete their trilogy. For Maynard, its a chance to prove he has the champion's number and take his first reign as a UFC champion. For Edgar, its a chance to prove that like when he fought BJ Penn, he thrives (and will succeed) on being underestimated. We'll also see the return of everybody's favorite white collar criminal against a army hero, and whether or not a Sengoku veteran can bounce back after a devestating loss.
Onto my picks :
Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard - The Main Event as mentioned before features Edgar and Maynard concluding their epic trilogy. Also as mentioned before, Maynard threw his weight around for about 5 minutes before losing some zip in his step starting in round 2 at UFC 125. While there was an argument he took the 3rd round vs Edgar in that fight, the round itself was probably too close to call. The other 3 showcased Edgar's boxing, head movement, and speed.
I have no reason to believe the same won't happen this time. Edgar will be prepared for the big punch with Maynard, and I believe the underestimated 155 lb. kingpin's skills will be imposed on "The Bully" from the get-go, with Maynard's takedowns being stuffed by Edgar's elite NCAA-calibre wrestling. The succeeding 20 minutes however will showcase Edgar's boxing skills. By the time the final bell rings, expect Edgar, the "underestimated" Champion, to have his hand raised.
The Pick : Edgar by decision.
Jose Aldo vs Kenny Florian - The co-main event is for the Featherweight strap between current #1 145'er Jose Aldo and veteran Kenny Florian, who is also challenging for a title in 2 differing weight classes while fighting in his forth (his 2 other challenges came at the hands of Sean Sherk and BJ Penn at 155, which both ended in losses. He's also fought at 170 and debuted on TUF at 185. Phew! what a mouthful), while Aldo is making his second defense of his newly minted title, having defeated Canadian Mark Hominick at UFC 129 in April after being crowned the first featherweight champion in the promotion's history earlier this year.
I expect the youth of Aldo to overwhelm the experience of Florian. Hominick looked like he could finish Aldo in Toronto, but the champ was more or less gassed and had been fighting with various injuries at the time (apparently). Florian's 2 weapons are Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, which would be useful in most fights....except that Aldo is exceptionally strong for his size, athletically gifted and a black belt in Jiu-Jitsu. It might be only a matter of time before Florian is laying on the canvas in a rear naked choke, with no choice but to tap out.
The Pick : Aldo by submission.
Melvin Guillard vs Joe Lauzon - The Pay per view's main card kicks off with a tilt between lightweights Melvin Guillard and Joe Lauzon. Lauzon is coming off a submission victory at UFC on Versus 4 in June, while Guillard is carrying a 5 fight win streak and has won 8 of his last 9 fights under the UFC banner. This should be no doubt interesting, with the explosive punching power of Guillard taking on the slick submissions of Lauzon, who is carrying a record of 4 wins in his past 6 fights. Guillard's stand up and takedown defense are not to be taken lightly, and if the Brookline, Mass native Lauzon can't get "The Young Assassin" on his back early, I expect it to be very short night, with Guillard continuing his exponential rise to a possible UFC title shot.
The Pick : Guillard by TKO.
Demian Maia vs Jorge Santiago - Spike TV's preliminary fights starts with a matchup between former UFC title challenger and BJJ ace Demian Maia vs Sengoku vet and fellow Brazilian Jorge Santiago. Maia's standup has improved as of late, and Santiago's ground skills aren't nearly as versed as Maia's. Maia will take him to the ground, then dominate with positioning and finishing off with a slick kimura.
The Pick : Maia by submission.
-In other news, it appears that UFC 140 in Toronto has found its main event. After speculation the first UFC at the Air Canada Centre would feature a rematch between Antonio Rodrigo Noguiera and Frank Mir as its main attraction to the tease that Dana White tweeted (of a fight between Lyoto Machida vs Phil Davis, before saying a knee injury suffered by Davis wouldn't allow it to happen), comes the news reported by various outlets that the aformentioned Machida will challenge incumbent 205 lb. kingpin Jon "Bones" Jones on December 10th. Jones was reportedly to defend the belt versus another former champ, Rashad Evans, but a thumb injury has put the rails on Evans' title aspirations. In an article with MMAJunkie, Evans said he was "angry" about losing his shot, but "understood" the UFC's decision.
-All fighters for tomorrow's Bellator 53 have made weight, as reported by MMAJunkie. The main card will feature the semi-finals of the season 5 welterweight tournament, with the winner receiving a title shot between the victor of the 170 lb. title match between former UFC fighter (and season 4 winner) Jay Hieron and current kingpin Ben Askren. Speaking of Bellator, November 17th will bring Bellator 58, with middleweight champion Hector Lombard in action. The press release on MMAJunkie said that Lombard was "waiting for November to get here, so I can knock somebody out". Nice to know nothing's wrong with the Cuban's memory.
-Current Strikeforce 205 lb. champion Dan Henderson has predicted that Brian Stann will struggle to stop Chael Sonnen this weekend, as reported by ESPN UK. Henderson says that while Stann has power, he will "struggle to keep the fight standing". I can't imagine why Henderson is banking on Sonnen -- Maybe he's afraid of that devastating power possessed by the Army Veteran.
Questions? Comments? leave a comment at the bottom of the page or feel free to drop me an email at mmarmaggeddon@gmail.com you can also follow me on twitter, at twitter.com/mmarmaggedon.
Until next time, fight fans!
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