FRANKIE EDGAR LOVES fighting for championships. He loves them so much that he is dropping down in weight to face Jose Aldo in what will amazingly be his seventh championship fight in a row.
Having initially taken the crown off BJ Penn and defended it in the re-match, he fought Gray Maynard three times before losing to Ben Henderson twice with the championship at stake in all those battles.
Despite it only being February, this card could be one of the best of the year with UFC superstars doing battle in every bout on the main card.
Rashad Evans is looking another tilt at Jon Jones but must overcome UFC legend Antonio Rogerio Nogueira first while Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall scrap over the flyweight’s top contender position.
Jon Fitch and Demian Maia do battle as two rejuvenated welterweights looking to keep their respective momentum going while Alistair Overeem must produce an impressive display over Antonio Silva if he is to have any chance of facing Cain Velasquez in the future.
Edgar and Aldo first super fight of the year
It seems as if every fight that Frankie Edgar is in is fight of the year material. His two epic battles with BJ Penn were surpassed by his three legendary encounters with Gray Maynard before he endured two gruelling contests against Ben Henderson.
Having done all he could do at lightweight, he is now dropping down to featherweight to face the phenom that is Jose Aldo, in search of championship glory once again and this fight has the potential to top all that has gone on before this. Jose Aldo has only one defeat on his record and that happened seven years ago and although he has not looked as invincible as he did in his WEC days since joining the UFC nobody has beaten him yet. This fight will be fast paced from the outset, with Edgar making himself hard to hit with his non-stop movement, while Aldo will look to dart in and out of range with his usual lightening quickness and explosiveness.
Both men’s great cardio coupled with their durability suggests this will go the distance but Edgar’s tendency to take a lot of shots could prove fatal as Aldo will score a lot with quick punching and kicking combos.
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Overeem finally back in action
We waited a long time to see Alistair Overeem make his UFC debut back in December 2011 and although he retired an already ailing Brock Lesnar in spectacular fashion, we have had to wait over a year to see him in action again.
Having served out his enforced suspension due to elevated testosterone levels he has been forced to prove again that he is worthy of a title shot against Cain Velasquez as he takes on Antonio Silva. In his last fight, Silva showed his killer instinct by pouncing on Travis Browne, gaining his first UFC win, but Overeem should prove too strong for “Big Foot” here. Having spent so much time on the side-lines and having come so close to a title shot before, “The Reem” should have too much in his locker to see off Silva swiftly here.
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Perennial contender Rashad Evans will be looking put his loss against Jon Jones out of his mind with a win over “Little Nog.” While the Brazilian’s best days may be behind him he can still pose a threat although “Suga” should be able to see him off relatively comfortably.
Jon Fitch surprised everyone with his dominant win over the supposed “next big thing” Erick Silva last time at UFC 153. Fitch used his dogged resilience to pull out an impressive victory over the Brazilian and will have to be at his best to beat a Demian Maia high on confidence after choking out Rick Story in his last fight.
Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall face off in the flyweight division as both men hope to show that they are worthy of another shot at current champ Demetrious Johnson. Both have already lost to the champ but want another shot and a standout performance here could make that a reality.
