In the main event of UFC 156, Jose Aldo successfully defended his UFC featherweight title by defeating former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar by unanimous decision. Aldo got off to a quick start, connecting with some stinging leg kicks and using his jab effectively enough to nullify any Edgar offense. The second round was more of the same, and it took Edgar until the middle of the third to get much going.
The second half of the fight was a lot closer, with Edgar clearly taking the fourth and putting in a claim on the fifth by landing more strikes. In the end though, a bloody Edgar lost a unanimous decision to the featherweight champion. The judges had it 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for the Brazilian.
What was the high point of the fight?
Probably when it went to the scorecards. Edgar fights are always close and many believed that the New Jersey native had done enough to claim two rounds, if not three. But it was not to be.
Where do they go from here?
Before the post-fight press conference, it appeared that either Chan Sung Jung or Ricardo Lamas were the leading contenders to meet Aldo next. But that all changed when Dana White announced that Anthony Pettis had just texted him and wanted to drop to 145 and face off with the champ. It’s premature to say that they’ll go in that direction for sure, but everyone seemed pretty positive about it.
Edgar’s future is wide open. Does he go back to 155 or stay at 145? I’d like him to stay at 145 and take on one of the top contenders there, but we’ll just have to wait and see what he wants to do.
Watch now, later, or never?
Now. The fight was full of action and the pace never really slowed. There are a lot worse ways to spend 25 minutes, that’s for sure.
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