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View Full Version : Jose Aldo, Frankie Edgar to fight



big in vegas
09-01-2012, 11:10 PM
Top-ranked featherweight Jose Aldo will put his UFC title on the line against former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on Oct. 13 in Rio de Janeiro.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the news, first reported by USA Today, to ESPN.com's Franklin McNeil.

Edgar (14-3-1) replaces injured 23-year-old Erik Koch (13-1). White told USA Today on Thursday that he learned Koch could not fight.

One call from White to Edgar and UFC locked down a long-talked about contest between two of ESPN.com's top 10 pound-for-pound fighters in mixed martial arts.

"Frankie told me the fans want a superfight like Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva," Edgar's manager Ali Abdel-Aziz told ESPN.com.

"The fans want this fight. I want this fight. The UFC wants this fight. Let's do it," Edgar told his manager.

Edgar held the UFC lightweight title from April 2010 until February of this year, when he lost a close decision to Benson Henderson. After a second tight decision loss to Henderson on Aug. 11, Edgar announced he would drop 10 pounds to campaign at featherweight.

Abdel-Aziz said Edgar has returned to the gym and was training in preparation for the move.

"He doesn't have much weight to cut," Abdel-Aziz said. "He walks around at 158, 157. He's not going to cut much at all."

With a win, Edgar would join Randy Couture and B.J. Penn as the only two-division champions in UFC history.

Edgar earned a reputation for fighting bigger opponents, and even though he's coming down in weight, he may face that scenario against Aldo (21-1). The young Brazilian champion has been a force in the division, winning each of his 11 bouts under the Zuffa banner at 145 pounds. After beating Manny Gamburyan in September 2010 to defend the World Extreme Cagefighting belt, Zuffa promoted Aldo to UFC champion. He has defended that title three times, the latest a first-round stoppage of Chad Mendes this January at the HSBC Arena in Rio, which will host his contest against Edgar.

Buffalo
09-02-2012, 10:32 PM
Man I like Aldo but Frankie is a badass.

big in vegas
09-03-2012, 10:43 AM
I think Frankie will benefit from moving classes, but Aldo is lightning fast