The hype has been building towards UFC 156 with other UFC events having taken place the past two weeks. It all kicked off with UFC on FX 7 where Vitor Belfort knocked out Michael Bisping and became a top contender for Anderson Silva. Then last week in UFC on Fox 6 Demetrious Johnson was able to handle John Dodson and keep his UFC flyweight championship. Those free cards were meant to drum up excitement for UFC 156 on pay-per-view and I believe they did just that. It also helps that the main card is stacked from top to bottom. The most interesting fight of the night will be the main event and the featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
Jose Aldo vs Frankie Edgar
Aldo has held the UFC featherweight championship since it was introduced to the UFC and hasn’t lost a fight at featherweight in his entire career. That said many people feel that Frankie Edgar will be his biggest competition to date and that it is about time that Edgar moved down to his more natural fighting weight of 135 lbs.
Here are the odds from 5Dimes.eu for the fight:
Frankie Edgar +190
Jose Aldo -210
Aldo is being given a lot of respect by the oddsmakers and rightfully so seeing as he has dominated this division his entire career. That said Frankie Edgar is a battler who has now fought in 6 straight UFC Lightweight Championship fights, winning or retaining the belt for the first four before losing two decisions to Benson Henderson (who has made short work of his other Lightweight opponents). So basically you can say that Edgar was the second best fighter in the UFC at Lightweight and that was fighting against opponents that would normally have about 10 pounds on him by fight night. Edgar will now have a normal cut to 135 so it will be interesting to see how he fares against a smaller fighter.
Aldo has a ton of weapons and one of the best take down defenses in UFC history (in all divisions). That said Frankie is one of the great boxers in MMA so even if he can’t take the fight to the floor he will have a fighters chance.
Edgar has a ton of heart and I like him in this fight. Aldo is extremely confident and he may be underestimating Edgar, who will no doubt be his most difficult fight to date.
Play: Frankie Edgar +190
Rashad Evans vs Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
5Dimes.eu odds for the fight:
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira +415
Rashad Evans -470
Evans is a huge favorite in this one and for good reason. I don’t see any way he can lose this fight to Rogerio. Evans is coming off a title fight loss to Jon Jones where he never really looked like he could win the fight, but he did go the full 5 rounds. Before that he beat the who’s who in the light heavyweight division, that majority of who are better than Rogerio. Antonio hasn’t fought in over a year and his last fight was a win over Tito Ortiz, who really shouldn’t have still been in the UFC. Before that he lost fights to Ryan Bader and Phil Davis, so he really hasn’t proven himself against a decent fighter in quite some time.
Play: Rashad Evans -470
Jon Fitch vs Demian Maia
Odds for this fight from 5Dimes.eu:
Jon Fitch -200
Demian Maia +185
People haven’t been giving Jon Fitch the respect he deserves. Look at the guys UFC record. He only has losses to Johny Hendricks, who most people consider the #1 contender, and Georges St. Pierre, the perennial Welterweight Champion. Maia is a bit of a wild card though considering he has won his two Welterweight fights in the UFC, although both against weaker opponents. This will be his first real test in this division and I expect Fitch to be too much for him to handle.
Play: Jon Fitch -200
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Frankie Edgar • Jose Aldo • Rashad Evans • UFC