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Edgar and Maynard trade punches. Eric Jamison/AP/Press Association Images
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Un-caged: UFC 136 is stacked from top to bottom

Edgar v Maynard, Florian v Aldo, Sonnen v Stann: this week’s card could well be one of the strongest ever.

WITH UFC EVENTS having come thick and fast over the last couple of weeks, some British and Irish fans may be starting to feel the time difference.

This weekend’s UFC 136 event taking place in Houston, Texas, has a card to make any fan stand up and take notice, and is well worth one final push through the tiredness barrier to watch live.

Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard will finally get the chance to prove who is worthy of the lightweight belt when they face off for the third time, Kenny Florian takes on Jose Aldo for the Featherweight Championship, while Chael Sonnen makes his long awaited return to action against Brian Stann.

Third time lucky for Maynard?

Despite having fought each other two times already, there is still a lot of debate over who is the better fighter, Maynard or Edgar. The former got the better of Edgar earlier in his career, but it has been the 29-year-old who has kicked on and succeeded in becoming a champion.

Their fight in January, when Frankie Edgar produced one of the greatest comebacks of all time to claim a draw, has led, inevitably, to a rubber match.

“The Answer” enters the fight as champ and slight favourite to win. His resilience got him through in their last contest and, although he won’t want a repeat of that night’s result, he’ll likely have to call upon it again. I fancy him to triumph over the undefeated Maynard via unanimous decision.

Kenny Florian drops to the fourth weight class of his UFC career to face arguably the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, Jose Aldo, in the second title fight of the evening.

Peruvian-American  has evolved into a relatively complete fighter since his defeat during the first series of TUF. Though he’s improved all aspects of his game, including his stand-up, I suspect he won’t  prove a match for Aldo.

That said, he does come into the fight the bigger fighter and will at least have an opportunity to use his leverage against Aldo’s famous takedown.  If he can’t succeed in making inroads, I fancy Aldo to overwhelm him and eventually knock him out.

The “most interesting man in the world” is back!

As if two title fights on one card weren’t enough to whet your appetite, the long awaited return of Chael Sonnen should be reason enough to watch UFC 136.

He faces off against the all-American hero, Brian Stann, in an intriguing match-up that wouldn’t look out of place as the main event on a weaker card.

Both men possess impressive athleticism, but while Stann has improved significantly with every fight, Sonnen could well prove too strong in the wrestling department. If that turns out to be the case, the southpaw should be able to control the fight and manufacture a win.

Should he emerge the victor, Sonnen could find himself on course for a re-match with the great Anderson Silva.

One of the most stacked cards ever?

On paper, this is one of the most stacked cards in UFC history. The explosive Melvin Guillard takes on Joe Lauzon, while Nam Pham and Leonard Garcia will look to re-create their previous three-round slugfest in a bout that many are already tipping for Fight of the Night honours.

Incredibly, Damien Maia vs. Jorge Santiago and Anthony Pettis vs. Jeremy Stephens don’t even qualify for the main card. This is, without doubt, an event well worth staying up for.

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