Both Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo have strong cases for a shot at champion Conor McGregor, but for now they’ll have to square off in a rematch to earn it. If it’s any consolation, the bout will be for the interim championship. The pair first met in 2013, with then-champion Aldo taking a close decision win.
Bet on UFC 200 odds at BookMaker.eu
Frankie Edgar -115
Jose Aldo -115
Over/under 4.5 rounds, over -120, under +100
Please note, the UFC odds at BookMaker are updated daily, so the lines you see here may have changed since this article was written.
CONSOLATION PRIZE
Most MMA fans seemed to want McGregor to face Edgar. Many even argued that Aldo was getting screwed as well -- as other former champions have been granted immediate rematches with far less impressive title runs. Unfortunately for MMA fans, a mainstream fight trumps the logical fight every time. This is a business, after all.
All politics aside, this is still an awesome fight. Aldo and Edgar are two of the three best 145-pounders in the world, and they’ll still be fighting for a title. We can argue all day about how much an interim title really means, but it’s still a shiny belt that you can carry around to press conferences.
What’s more, there’s history between these two. Their first encounter nearly three years ago was close, but it Aldo did enough to clearly earn the decision. Neither man is the same fighter. In fact, although Aldo’s star seems to be dimming a bit while Edgar has never shone brighter as a featherweight.
Yes, I know Aldo’s only loss came against McGregor. But his wins have been far less dominant than the straight-up murders he was committing in the WEC and his early UFC days. Five of his past eight bouts have gone to the final bell. Most notably, he struggled mightily against Edgar and Chad Mendes, laboring in the later rounds to make it to the final bell.
Meanwhile, Edgar has been mangling dudes to the tune of five-straight victories. His last win, a vicious first-round knockout of former No. 1 contender Chad Mendes was arguably the most impressive of his career. He’s never been known as a knockout artist, but if’s developed some pop to his superb boxing to go along with his elite wrestling, other featherweights need to be afraid. Very afraid.
EARLY PREDICTIONS
Honestly, this fight to me is a tossup. I understand the UFC odds at BookMaker, because Aldo’s only loss was a flash knockout and doesn’t indicate in any way that he’s declining. He’s still an athletic marvel, and his speed, power and takedown defense makes him a bad matchup for Edgar. For now, I’m leaning towards Aldo in a close decision, but ask me next week and that answer might change.
UFC odds: Jose Aldo UD Frankie Edgar
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