UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will attempt to defend his belt a second time at UFC 125.
The rematch between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar (13-1 MMA, 8-1 UFC) and the only man to defeat him, Gray Maynard (10-0-0-1 MMA, 8-0-0-1 UFC) is perhaps not as hotly anticipated as one might expect given the history of the two fighters. Perhaps this isn’t totally unsurprising, as the prospect of Maynard holding the lightweight title doesn’t seem to appeal to very many people, but the bout is definitely the best lightweight title fight the moment has to offer. It’s reminiscent, a little, of Jon Fitch’s shot at the welterweight title, long awaited after (like Maynard) eight consecutive UFC wins. Of course, it’s a bit different, since it’s not as though the reigning champion had been among those victories, as is the case with Maynard. The problem here is the stylistic matchup that everyone seems to be anticipating: the technical boxing of Edgar making Maynard uncomfortable on his feet until he finally decides to shoot in on the champ. It seems that it will play out that way, but the test it poses for the wrestling of Edgar, and its use in conjunction with his boxing will be interesting to watch.
Chris Leben (25-6 MMA, 11-5 UFC) has got to be among the most exciting fighters in the sport, both with respect to his personality and his breakneck fighting style. Brian Stann (9-3 MMA, 3-2 UFC) will be looking for his second consecutive victory since dropping to middleweight, and he will be hard pressed to find it against Leben, who (since being suspended for testing positive for steroids in 2008) has put together a solid 3-1 record, winning his last three fights. Leben will push the fight wherever it goes, and since Stann has been displaying a strong ground game recently, it’s entirely likely that this fight may hit the mat and end there. However, I’m not alone in wanting this fight to stay standing. Strikers willing to throw leather the way that Stann and (especially) Leben do are rare, so it’s good to see them end up in the cage in a high profile fight, even if the bout is obviously a scramble to replace the first UFC featherweight title fight that was pulled from the card.
Brandon Vera (11-5 MMA, 7-5 UFC) was once the top prospect for the UFC, calling out then lightheavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and looking towards a possible heavyweight title fight after winning our consecutive bouts, including a defeat of former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Now, though, there’s a possibility that he may be cut from the UFC. He has lost two in a row, despite the profile of those fights, and a loss to Thiago Silva (14-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC) would put him at the water-mark of three straight losses, which is almost always an indication that a fighter is about to be cut. Vera has his back against the wall, but he also has a winnable fight against an opponent that might be willing to let him open up with his striking. If he can force Silva to stand and make it a kickboxing match, Vera could very well win this fight. If it hits the mat, though, the Lloyd Irvin brownbelt is in a lot of trouble, as he’s taking on a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu blackbelt who trains with (hardly arguably) the best team in the world to train with if you’re trying to build a dangerous grappling game. This is by no means a striker vs. grappler matchup, since both Vera and Silva are versatile enough to finish the fight anywhere, but it is a matchup that favors Vera on the feet and Silva on the ground.
After his successful welterweight debut (the Rory Markham fight was a catchweight bout after Markham missed weight) Nate Diaz (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) has started to set his eyes on gold in the welterweight division, and while that’s certainly a long way off in a division with a few solid contenders and tough gatekeepers, Diaz’s win over Marcus Davis showed that he is much better suited for welterweight and that his skill set is very dangerous, even for versatile welterweights. Dong-Hyun Kim (13-0-1-1 MMA, 4-0-0-1 UFC) is no joke, with four UFC wins and a No Contest that could very well have become a win after Karo Parisyan tested positive for banned substances. Kim is probably not on the brink of a title shot either, but as he has certainly built some credibility as a tough welterweight, a win (especially a decisive one) over Kim would be a huge step up for Diaz. This is a competitive fight, but it’ll be more exciting (as most fights are) if Diaz manages to pull it out with either his striking or his ground skills, or (as is most likely) some combination of the two.
Clay Guida (27-11 MMA, 7-5 UFC) is never boring. After back-to-back wins, Guida is continuing to build an argument that he is a perpetual main card level fighter because of more than just his three Fight of the Night performances. Takanori Gomi (32-6-0-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC) is coming off of a stellar knockout of Tyson Griffin and is looking for his second straight win after a tough debut in the UFC. Guida will be a tough test for Gomi, since the ground has always been a dangerous place for the explosive Japanese fighter, who was considered a strong grappler for a while, but is clearly not top tier in terms of the ground game. Guida is a juggernaut, though, and never stops moving forward, so if Gomi lands the strikes he has to stay working, continue delivering bombs. If Guida puts Gomi on his back, this could be a long, slow bout, but if Gomi and Guida trade blows, especially if Gomi tests the chin of Guida in any form or fashion similar to the way that Diego Sanchez did, it will be an awesome fight.
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Brandon Vera, Brian Stann, Chris Leben, Clay Guida, Dong Hyun Kim, Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard, mma, Nate Diaz, Takanori Gomi, Thiago Silva, UFC, UFC 125
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