UFC 156 Main Event Recap | UFC News

UFC 156 took place last night on Super Saturday and featured a plethora of incredible fights featuring some of the best talent in the world. Headlining the card was Jose Aldo defending his featherweight title against the former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Edgar is coming off of consecutive losses to Benson Henderson and subsequently dropped down to what most believe is his natural weight class of 145 pounds.

Round 1:

Both fighters came out extremely fast meeting in the center of the Octagon and proceeding to circle one another. Both fighters continued move while Aldo used a stiff jab to keep Edgar at bay. Edgar tried to close the distance while throwing combos as he rushed in. Towards the end of the round, Aldo landed a few hard leg kicks that made a sickening thud. Edgar wasn’t able to find his range or his timing as he was out-struck in the first and ended the round by being caught with a partially blocked head kick.

Round 2:

Edgar opened the round with a leg kick and immediately went to work throwing out jabs and quick two-punch combos. Aldo remained at a distance and landed solid shots as Frankie came forward. Aldo continued this strategy and landed a horrifying series of leg kicks that staggered and then dropped Edgar halfway through the round. Aldo slowed his pace up in the last two minutes of the fight while being dropped with a punch after Edgar caught a kick to the body and drove through Aldo. Frankie attempted several takedowns in the round but all but one, (previously mentioned). The round ended with Aldo landing consecutive jabs and missing a spinning back kick to the body that ad bad intentions as Aldo threw all of his power in to.

Round 3:

Aldo seemed slow coming into this round and was taken down early only to spring back up immediately. The two circled around and threw measuring shots for the first two minutes. The action picked back up when Aldo landed a front kick to Edgar’s face that immediately bloodied Edgar’s nose. Edgar successfully threw some leg kicks of his own, causing Aldo to seek a check for them to counter shots that clearly hurt the champion. Edgar’s success continues when he cracked Aldo with a huge punch with a minute remaining that stunned Aldo. Another shot came 30 seconds later in a round that Edgar seemed to pick up his pace, as Aldo slowed his own. This round was the closest round to score as the tide seemed to shift to Edgar’s corner.

Round 4:

Edgar’s confidence grew as he continued to land shots. Aldo remained dangerous with spinning back kicks and some timely counters. Edgar pushed on attempting takedowns and leaving exchanges with shots to catch Aldo off guard. Edgar looked great as he matched Aldo’s shots yet didn’t didn’t seem to inflict as much damage punch for punch. Late in the round Edgar became the first person to take Aldo down twice in a fight as he picked the champion up and slammed him hard to the mat. Aldo’s offense slowed considerably in this round as he threw sparse combinations that were quite literally hit or miss.

Round 5:

Aldo went into this round with his corner telling him he was up four rounds to none. With that added boost of confidence, Aldo stayed patient and accurate, utilizing his jab once more as he backed away from Edgar’s attack. Edgar, having the tremendous resiliency he is famous for upped his leg kick stats to a much higher number than Aldo was able to land. Edgar never tired even though he face had become the crimson mask we are all accustomed to in a Frankie Edgar fight. Both fighters continued to land sharp combos in the latter stages of the rounds as both mean pushed the fight until the closing second. At the final second, Aldo landed a superman punch after kicking off the cage. A flush shot that surely stuck in the minds of the judges.

Judges Scorecard: 49-46, 49-46, 48-47 for the winner and still the featherweight champion, Jose Aldo. While the first two scores of four rounds to one for Aldo were perhaps a bit inaccurate, it seemed as though Aldo did enough to win at least three rounds and thus, remains our featherweight champion. With the win, Edgar could have become the third person ever to win two UFC titles in two different weight classes (Randy Couture, B.J. Penn) It was a great night of fights for UFC 156, one that will surely come with its share of controversy and perhaps a rematch for Frankie Edgar who has fought only in title fights for the past two years, or seven consecutive fights.

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