Aldo Successful In Vegas Title Defense Over Edgar

At the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, former 155lbs champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar planned to make history as a 2-division title holder heading into his title match for the UFC 156 headliner.
Unfortunately, standing in his way was UFC Featherweight Champion, Jose Aldo, who thwarted those plans as he captured a unanimous decision against Edgar following a vintage 25 minute Aldo performance. The Brazilian stood his ground in the middle of the cage and welcomed whatever attack his challenger pursued. If Edgar moved forward, Aldo answered by circling out and catching him with his over hand right. If Edgar chose to trade, Aldo slipped and moved away from the punches avoiding any serious damage. The former WEC featherweight ruler also implemented a lighting quick and very accurate jab that caused a mouse to develop under Edgar’s left eye.

The year-long layoff by Aldo posed the  question if his cardio would be an issue but it seemed irrelevant as he maintained a steady pace for all 5 rounds. Aldo really showed off his jab as the fight progressed, popping it making his foe’s head snap back. An Aldo leg kick in round 2 dropped his opponent when he connected on Edgar’s lead leg, sending him to the canvas. Luckily, Edgar expected the next one and used it to get a takedown but couldn’t keep Aldo on the mat long. Going into the 3rd round, Aldo struck the New Jersey native with a right front kick to the face, Edgar returned fire later in the round with a right uppercut on the inside that connected.

The championship rounds were the most competitive. In the 4th round Edgar secured a body lock on Aldo and used a belly to back slam to take him down. A right hand counter landed by Edgar on the inside as well once he managed to close the distance. The 5th round saw a spinning back kick from Edgar land in the midway point of the round. Aldo went back to his jab and footwork in order to rack up points. During the final moments of that stanza, Edgar used the clinch to land a knee. To close out the match Edgar went for a combination as he had the champ along the cage wall, Aldo stepped back and using one foot he propelled himself off of the cage, leaping forward, rocking Edgar with a Superman punch as the fans in the arena went crazy.

The official score cards read, (49-46) twice and (48-47) giving Jose Aldo his biggest win to date as he adds his first former UFC champion to his resume improving to (22-2). For Frankie Edgar, he now finds himself on a 3-fight losing streak dropping to (14-4-1).

Nogueira Spoils Evans Future Title Plans With Unanimous Verdict

Rashad Evans and Rogerio Nogueira handled the co-main event duties for the UFC 156 card in a match between a PrideFC legend and a UFC original. Evans was expected to possibly drop in weight in order to challenge middleweight king, Anderson Silva in the not too distant future once he got past Nogueira. Nevertheless, if Evans as a 5-1 favorite was expected to come in and walk all over the Brazilian star, the memo never made it to Nogueira’s desk.

He made a chess match out of the 205-pound battle, giving Evans no opportunity to find an opening or lane to attack in. The southpaw stance of Nogueira let him stuff takedown attempts, avoid his foe’s power punches and dodge whatever strikes the Blackzilian had in store. On a few occasions, he simply side stepped Evans’ looping shots and they just bounced off Nogueira’s shoulders or elbows.

As top light heavyweights, many expected a toe to toe affair but what materialized instead was a tactical chess match of footwork, jabs and looping right hands for 15 minutes.  Nogueira pulled off the upset with scores of (29-28) on all 3 cards.

“Bigfoot” Silva Tramples Overeem’s Octagon Return With Vicious KO

After a tentative 1st round where both giants clinched after they tried to find their range off of leg kicks and jabs, the 2nd round picked up when Overeem hip tossed Silva off of a clinch and instantly took side control. Silva was able to get to his guard but Overeem worked some ground and pound out of the Brazilian’s guard applying some serious damage. The action slowly became stale so the referee stood them up. Once the two heavies were on their feet, both stepped up the action for the last minute and traded heavy hands.

That was just an appetizer to the bombs that would explode in the final round. Immediately in the 3rd round both men went for a takedown and ended in a clinch. However, Silva closed the distance landing some fierce uppercuts that stunned Overeem, making him back up along the cage. Silva’s killer instinct kicked in as he rattled off a deadly combination of straights and upper cuts that made Overeem fold up like an accordion along the cage. The official time of Silva’s sensational TKO upset of Overemm was (0:25) of round 3.

Maia Puts On Grappling Clinic In Upset of Fitch

Demian Maia displayed his tremendous knack for wrestling and ground control keeping Jon Fitch completely disabled for the bulk of their welterweight scrap. Maia needed less than 30 seconds to take Fitch to the mat using a takedown in the 1st round. From there, he transitioned to his foe’s back as Fitch stood up attempting a rear naked choke. He kept the hold on for nearly half the round as the AKA product carried him on his back. Maia let go of his back only to trip him and take him down to the floor again. In the 2nd round, Fitch found his range with hooks and a jab but only momentarily kept his Brazilian foe away. Maia shortly thereafter went back to the game plan and with about 2 minutes left he got the rear naked choke again controlling Fitch’s movement.

In the 3rd round, Maia went for a single leg then changed levels to get the takedown on Fitch. Once again he searched for a rear naked choke but no luck yet kept control of his foe and landed some punches to Fitch’s head. Fitch managed to get back to his feet, but with about a minute left, Maia secured another take down and took his back almost effortlessly as he ended the round in triumph. Demian Maia further proves his move to 170 was the best decision he could make for his pro career, improving his win streak now to 4 in a row as he closes in on the top tier of the welterweight class. All 3 judges saw it (30-27) for Maia.

Benavidez Decisions Ian McCall

Joseph Benavidez and Ian McCall kicked the UFC 156 PPV off with a fast-paced flyweight fight. The two 125ers kept the majority of the fight standing by mixing up their attack using leg kicks as well as 2 and 3-punch combinations. However, the difference in power and speed went to Benavidez as his punches moved McCall backwards for most of the match. The Team Alpha Male member found a home for the right hand and landed it on McCall whether he led with it or used it in a combination.

McCall wouldn’t go quietly though as his offense opened a cut on the top of his opponent’s head. In the 2nd round Benavidez missed a shot and McCall was able to get top control momentarily, then almost took Benavidez’ back but did not lock in a submission. With about 2 minutes left in the 3rd McCall got a takedown on his foe, moved to side control but failed to capitalize on the position. Benavidez went back to his leg kicks, movement and right hands to close out the rounds on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

All three judges saw it (29-28) for Joseph Benavidez who heads in the right track with the win towards a future title fight rematch against flyweight champion, Demetrious Johnson.