Tonight: Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar

Photo Credit: Esther Lin.

Tomorrow night, Jose Aldo will step into the cage with his toughest opponent yet. That’s not meaningless hype or anything of the sort, Frankie Edgar is the best fighter Aldo’s been set to face.

Someone like Frankie Edgar has been criticized in the past for having close affairs, being hurt in his fights, etc. But he’s a guy who has fought at the top of what is generally considered to be the toughest division in all of MMA. He dominated BJ Penn in the rematch, kicking him out of the division. He came back from huge lows against Maynard to force a draw in their rematch and to KO him in Houston to complete their classic trilogy. He had a close fight with Henderson that he lost in Japan, but then came back to win the rematch against Henderson, only to be screwed by the judges. He’s fought tooth and nail with the best in the lightweight division, and he should be considered the current number one lightweight in the world at this point in time.

Stylistically speaking, Jose Aldo is a tough match for anyone and everyone. He’s looked dominant against everyone he’s fought in Zuffa owned promotions. Sure he’s had that bad round against Mark Hominick, but with that one exception, he’s been dominant for the most part. Also, it’s a perfectly legitimate thing to point out how Benson Henderson was able to land hard, nasty legkicks on Frankie Edgar, and how Jose Aldo is a much better muay thai striker. He’s also a way better striker than Gray Maynard, and we’ve seen what Maynard has been able to do in the first frames of their 2nd and 3rd encounters. But by that same token, Edgar is a much better fighter than Mark Hominick, Urijah Faber, and Kenny Florian. Those three fighters, all very good fighters, went the distance with Aldo, and they haven’t been able to accomplish what Edgar has in mixed martial arts. Another thing, I can’t get over the fact that people are overrating Aldo’s recent finishing prowess. In the past 3 years, Aldo’s finished Manny Gamburyan and Chad Mendes. Edgar could finish Gamburyan too, so could Maynard and Henderson. The Mendes finish was spectacular though. No disputing that my friends.

I expect the fight to go the full five rounds. It’s perfectly possible that we might see a finish at some point, but personally speaking and judging from their last fights, the chances for a decision are higher in my mind. I expect a high level, exciting fight between the man I consider the best lightweight in the world and the best featherweight in the world. This is a huge fight for me personally, and I’m super exited for this fight. Maybe I’m blinded by Frankie Edgar overcoming the odds and his resiliency. Maybe it’s cause I can sympathized with Edgar on some level, but I think Edgar is going to prove to the world that he is one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts history.