Should Edgar Get Immediate Rematch?

I guess I should preface this by saying that I’m a huge Frankie Edgar fan. I was one of the many that didn’t give him a chance heading into his first match-up with BJ Penn. From then on, I decided that all he did was win when he wasn’t supposed to, and until he lost I wouldn’t bet against him.

At UFC 144, my first impression was that many of the rounds could have gone either way, but only Benson Henderson had any rounds that were clearly his. At the end of the fight, if one were to look at the entire match as one body of work, Henderson clearly won. Whether or not Edgar outpointed him in some of the rounds could be argued either way. If you’re looking at it as a fight though, Henderson was more dominant. His strikes were more dangerous and impactful, and Edgar never seemed to have him in danger. Yes Edgar did catch almost all of his kicks, but they were still making solid contact before that.

After the fight, I think my bias crept in because I thought Edgar won. As the champion you have to clearly beat him to take his belt, but I was fine with the decision. Dana came out and said that he though Edgar won as well. Then he said he thought Pettis would get the next title shot, not Edgar. I was outraged. How can a champion who defended his belt 3 times after taking it from a legend who looked unbeatable at the time, and fought 2 back-to-back rematches, not be be granted one himself???

Then I looked at it again from Dana’s perspective. If Edgar were to win the rematch, then there would be an obligatory rubber match to decide the best of 3. That also puts us another year out to wrap that up, and also means that the title fights in 155 have been between 4 fighters for 3 years. That’s quite a stagnant and boring scenario. If Edgar were to lose, then it would eliminate another future title contender, and kill all the hype that would be behind Edgar when he does “earn” his rematch.

So it makes sense from the business perspective to me, but the fan in me hates it. I was thoroughly impressed with Henderson’s performance and attitude though. I can’t wait to see his next fights and hopefully one of them will be against Edgar in the near future.

Rankings Updated

Full weight class rankings for Light Heavyweight and Middleweight are now up. The deeper in the weight class we go, the more difficult it becomes. Also, these rankings are based on what a fighter has already done. They are not based on what a fighter will do or who we think will win versus another fighter.

Rashad Evans Fought Phil Davis with 3 Broken Ribs

Wow!! I have to admit that Rashad didn't look his sharpest in his last outing against Mr. Wonderful, Phil Davis. His overall approach just came across as overly conservative. In his round table discussion with CSSports (http://www.ufc.com/media/145-JONES-EVANS-CSS) Rashad dropped the little nugget that he had 3 broken ribs heading into his last fight. Prior to this, I thought Jon Jones would beat Rashad handily. Hopefully once he is 100% these two will put on the amazing showdown that we've all been waiting for. I still give Jones a slight edge, but Evans experience shouldn't be undervalued. With Rashad's tremendous wrestling background and dynamite in his hands, he will never be out of the fight. I can't wait.

And we're off

I've been a huge UFC fan since the late 90's when Ken Shamrock and Royce Gracie were battling it out. In the last few years I've become so enveloped with it, that other sports have lost most of their importance to me. Everything is team-based so you never really know who is the best. Eli Manning just beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl, or so they say. Nothing either did had a direct impact on the other's performance. MMA is the ultimate 1-on-1, let's find out who is better sport. And in MMA, the UFC is the pinnacle. I view the other organizations as the minors/college/D-league, and frankly, it's too hard to follow them all. Therefore, I've decided to devote my site solely to the UFC and any news that will impact it. The rankings will be updated real time as fights happen, and I welcome your comments and discussions. I love the UFC and I love talking about it. I keep a close eye on upcoming matches and potential match-ups. Let me know what you think.