Don’t Sleep on Frankie Edgar Vs Jose Aldo – UFC News

By JM “Shade” Daguio

By all intents and purposes, the Nate Diaz versus Conor McGregor bout is scrapped. After a whirlwind week where McGregor announced to the world via twitter that he is retiring and retracting his statement thereafter, the UFC scrambling to get a decent fight after it got rid of the main event, finally the whole card or at least the main event has been set.

The world is looking towards the heated rivalry between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier but as well as Miesha Tate’s first title defense against Amanda Nunez, however most people are overlooking the fight involved in the McGregor sweepstakes, the fight between Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo.

Sure, the first fight wasn’t a barnburner but it was still an exciting competitive match between to great former champions. I scored the bout personally for Edgar however I cannot argue if one sees it the other way for Aldo. The former featherweight king punished Edgar with brutal kicks and punches but Edgar retaliated with great boxing and perfectly executed takedowns, the judges gave Aldo the nod which somewhat derailed Edgar’s rise to the two-division title.

The second fight though would surpass the first one, not just because of the stylistic matchup but also McGregor’s shadow looms from afar.

McGregor is the current featherweight champion but was suppose to fight Nate Diaz at welterweight (170 limit), the UFC had to scrap his title defense against Edgar since McGregor wants to avenge his loss to Diaz. Edgar was left with no opponent and title hopes seem to dissipate but Jose Aldo is very much capable to fight and repeat his winning ways against Edgar despite his previous quick KO loss to McGregor.

The UFC is playing with a lot of narratives here because the actual fight of Edgar and Aldo is exciting but the result would also change the paradigm of the featherweight division and the future of the fighters involved, the narrative is as follows:

1. Edgar, known to be McGregor’s antithesis because of his wrestling, pace and striking skills, was denied of a title shot versus McGregor, since the interim title is on the line, a win versus Aldo (especially in the best way possible) would vault Edgar into the stratosphere, not only will it solidify peoples assumption that he could beat McGregor but he will bypass McGregor to the rarefied air of a two-division champ.

However, a loss to Aldo would mean that he also lost at a shot at McGregor and the two-division chase, a second loss to Aldo (especially a close one) would be devastating to Edgar’s already stellar record.

2. For Aldo, winning versus Edgar would put doubt in the minds of McGregor fans and Edgar fans alike. If Aldo comes out victorious, that would mean he has Edgar’s number and that his loss to McGregor might be a fluke; a result of a lucky flash knockdown. A loss to Edgar would mean 2 straight losses and it may mean he can never avenge his last loss to McGregor. A devastating loss to Edgar may relegate Aldo to mid-tier fighters or a shift to lightweight to find greener pastures due to the fact that he lost to both Edgar and McGregor.

So the Edgar-Aldo fight has A LOT a stake, both pride and honor. Both fighters will certainly go at it. Given Aldo’s first loss in 10 years, will he be invigorated and motivated to be champion again or is he over the hill?

Given Edgar’s recent resurgence with exciting stoppages against perennial featherweights Chad Mendes and Cub Swanson, Edgar will look to capitalize his momentum. Is this the resurgence of Frankie Edgar, the former lightweight champion? Frankie Edgar the Dynamo? The Answer? Or is Edgar’s time as a champion had ran it’s course?

Time will tell and we shall see.

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