Is Featherweight the 'Answer' for Frankie Edgar?

Frankie Edgar is a great fighter, there really is no doubt about this. After defending his title against the same opponents back to back, he lost to former WEC champ Benson Henderson last weekend via unanimous decision. If he wants another shot at getting his belt back, he may have to wait as Anthony Pettis may get the first chance to fight Benson, who he has beaten once before. Remember this kick?:



I'm sure most people do, but last weekend he scored a KO win over Joe Lauzon with a head-kick, and it may make him the number one contender in the lightweight division. There's also the upcoming fight between Jim Miller and Nate Diaz which has title contention written all over it.

Recently, Dana White says that if Edgar does move down to Featherweight, he would receive an immediate title shot against the dominant champ Jose Aldo. I think that would be a great fight, but Edgar wants to stay at lightweight, since he is still a force to be reckoned with at that weight, and wasn't completely overwhelmed by Henderson. It was a great back and forth fight, but the upkick he received really seemed to change the pace of the fight for a bit.

No matter what weight he fights at, Edgar will still be a great fight to watch and I hope he fights again this year.

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UFC 136 Results (Main Events)

Boy, were my predictions a bit off! Frankie Edgar is a great fighter and champion, and he was able to get the TKO win and end the trilogy with Maynard.





Edgar wins by TKO in Round 4.





For Aldo vs. Florian, The champ Jose Aldo utilized his kicks and speed once again to keep Florian at bay, while Kenny was able to work in close at moments to stop the speed of Aldo, but only for a small portion of time.





Aldo wins by Unanimous Decision.





Towards the end of Round 2, Chael Sonnen was able to continue his wrestling dominance on Brian Stann, and kept pushing until he was able to secure an Arm Triangle in Round 2.





Sonnen wins by Submission (Arm Triangle)




In Sonnen's Post Fight interview, he called out Anderson Silva once again and says that if he wins the fight, Anderson must leave the middleweight division, but if he loses, he says he will "leave the UFC forever".

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UFC 136 Personal Predictions (Main Events)

We're only a few day away from UFC 136, and I wanted to share my personal predictions on how I think some of the fights will go:

Edgar vs. Maynard-

Their second meeting inside the Octagon was determined a draw by the judges, but I don't think that will be the case this time. Gray Maynard almost finished the fight in the first round last time, but soon gassed after Edgar was able to keep going. Maynard has what it takes to finish, so I think he could win by TKO (Technical Knockout), perhaps in the second or third round as long as he paces himself. Edgar has to focus on his speed and submissions, so he could win by submission in the later rounds.

Overall I would say Maynard by TKO in round 2 or 3.

Aldo vs. Florian-

Jose Aldo is one of the best, and he has what it takes to finish Florian. His mix of speed, power, and aggression is top-notch, so I think this fight could be won by KO in Aldo's favor by the second or third round.

For Florian to win, he has to time his shots carefully, and take down Aldo and try to submit like when he fought Clay Guida. Florian has great timing on punches, but Aldo is a bit faster and a super tough guy.

I've gotta go with Aldo by KO in round 2 or 3.

I'm sure both of these fights will be awesome, and I can't wait to see the results. Don't forget that on Saturday before the Pay-Per-View starts, you can watch the prelims Live on Spike!

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UFC Fight Night Live Recap

Saturday's Fight Night Live event was pretty action packed, and the main event did not disappoint. Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson utilized his power and strong kicks to finish off opponent Brenneman, while Pat Barry was forced to submit to Stephen Struve after attempting a slam when trapped in a Triangle.



For the main event, Dominic Cruz and Demetrious Johnson went for the full 25 minutes of their scheduled rounds, although Cruz was mostly in control for the first three. Johnson was very keen on taking the fight to Cruz, which seemed to surprise him as he began to slow down just a notch.



He attempted a rear-naked choke on Johnson, but Johnson was able to get out of it. But Cruz is a great champion. He was able to perform two slams on Johnson and utilized his reach advantage to keep Johnson on the outside for the remainder of the fight. Cruz was able to hold off the great contender and won by unanimous decision, which means all three judges scored in his favor.

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Simple Overview of MMA (The Equipment)

The standard gloves for MMA are much small than boxing, which is made purely to allow for grappling and keeps the fingers available for submissions and blocks. Before each fight, a corner-man for each fighter will carefully wrap up the gloves, and then equip the gloves on. Next are the shorts.

Shorts are great for MMA since they allow the fighters quicker movement, and plenty of space for sponsors to add logos, and slogans. The fighters are paid for this, and it helps market to viewers, just like decals in Nascar.

Next up is the fight itself. After all of the preparation, everyone involved is usually relieved to relax and watch the fight they’ve been promoting for months.

There is much more to MMA, and now is the time to become a fan!

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Overview of MMA (Schedules & Promotions)

A fighter’s schedule before a big event consists of training, training, and more training. They will usually work at different venues on different techniques within their Martial Art of choice in order to be 100% come fight night. After all preparation is made, it is time to promote and market the fights.

You’ve probably seen a commercial for the UFC in which they show a brief highlight of two fighters as they head into their PPV, and see in the end of the commercial when the event is, and what the event will be.

Like any major sport such as Boxing, Football, and Baseball, Mixed Martial Arts utilizes promotion techniques very well, and has a slew of items available to better market themselves. The roughly 30-second clip gets a few things across to viewers, with the main being which fighters are competing, and when & where they will be fighting.

Other forms of promotions consist of interviews, press conferences, and becoming guest on various media outlets.

So far I’ve touched on techniques, preparation, and marketing, so let’s discuss the gear in the next post required for an MMA match.

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Simple Overview of MMA (Introduction)

Combat has been apart of our world since the very beginning.

Mixed Martial Arts has had a rocky start, but now the world has begun to fully accept it as a legitimate sport, with the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the flagship organization. Back in the 90’s during the UFC’s beginnings, rules were an after thought, and blood was everywhere. The brutality of it all overshadowed the fact that a MMA match was all about utilizing combat techniques learned from discipline, traditions, and safety, and something every practitioner should only use in a sanctioned match.

The most common forms of techniques fighters utilize are Karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Maui- Thai, Kickboxing, and Wrestling. With these techniques comes various advantages and dis-advantages, and the fighters try to study their opponents and find out what they can do to better prepare. These techniques are no Rock, Paper, and Scissors type choices, so no matter the technique, you’ll have to come fully prepared for a fight.

Next up is an overview of a fighter's schedule, and how MMA is promoted.

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