UFC 146 Looks Big…Literally

UFC 146 is scheduled for May 26 at the MGM in Las Vegas, and it’s shaping into a big card figuratively and literally. To date, there are 4 announced Heavyweight fights. The most notable is of course the Heavyweight Championship fight between Junior Dos Santos and Alistair Overeem. There will also be match-ups between Cain Velasquez and Frank Mir to determine the next title challenger, Antonio Silva versus Roy Nelson, and Gabriel Gonzaga faces Shane del Rosario.

Heavyweight fights rarely go the full distance, so I’m expecting this to be an explosive card. Also featured this night is the fight between notorious Welterweight strikers Dan Hardy and Duane Ludwig. I can’t wait.

Edgar Wins His Bid For Rematch

Frankie Edgar announced last night on Twitter that the rematch with Benson Henderson is on. This is great news for UFC fans as many felt the decision could have gone either way in their last fight. Hopefully one of these amazing fighters will set themselves apart as the clear champion. I’m not sure what swayed Dana White to give Frankie the rematch. The fan outpouring that he deserved it surely came into play since after the fight Dana said that Anthony Pettis was probably next, then he followed up by saying the winner of Jim Miller and Nate Diaz would be next.
I have my own conspiracy theory. I think Dana desperately wants Edgar to fight at 145 pounds as there is not a clear top contender left to face Jose Aldo. Dana was open about his desire to get Frankie to fight Aldo, and Edgar was equally open about his desire for a rematch. As a last ditch effort, I think Dana told Frankie he would give him a rematch, but if he loses he must drop to 145. I have zero evidence or information to back this up. It’s just pure speculation on what would make sense for Dana to change his mind.
The rematch is being planned for this summer. Assuming that a new contender steps in 4-6 months later, that puts us at the end of 2012-beginning of 2013 before a new challenger is needed. I foresee that Pettis will face the winner of Miller/Diaz to decide who gets that next shot. This is unfortunate for Pettis because he was next in line for a title shot when Edgar and Gray Maynard fought to a draw and required a rematch. Pettis subsequently fought Clay Guida and lost the fight along with his top contender position.
The worst case scenario for Edgar/Henderson II is another close decision with Frankie as the victor. This would almost certainly dictate a rubber match and again put the Lightweight division on hold for another 4-6 months for the rematch and an additional 4-6 months before a new contender can step up. Nonetheless, I’m glad that Dana gave Edgar his rematch. After everything he has done for the UFC in line of rematches, he definitely deserved it.

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.