Jose Aldo (25-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) and Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC) will battle it out for the interim featherweight title and the chance to unify the belt with the division’s current champion, Conor McGregor. Edgar will also be looking to avenge his unanimous decision loss to Aldo from early 2013.
Prior to his last fight, Aldo was on an absolute tear; he had won 18 fights in a row. Until he fought McGregor, that is. The belt that he had worked so hard for and defended for so long was taken away from him in a mere 13 seconds. With another victory over Edgar, he would earn the right to have a rematch with “The Notorious” Irishman. Having built up a resume that consists of victories over big names such as Edgar, Urijah Faber, Ricardo Lamas, Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes (twice), he has a good shot to do so.
Edgar has been on a hot streak of his own. He has won five fights in a row at featherweight. He hasn’t lost a fight since the first bout with Aldo for the Brazilian’s title. He has put together a nice streak with victories against Charles Oliveira, BJ Penn, Cub Swanson, Faber and Mendes. That’s not too surprising, as he is the former lightweight champion. Beating Aldo would be Edgar’s next step to becoming a two-division champion over his career.
When it comes to striking, Aldo and Edgar have put up very similar numbers over their respective UFC careers. Aldo lands 3.29 significant strikes per minute; Edgar lands slightly more at 3.51. Edgar absorbs 2.08 significant strikes per minute; Aldo absorbs slightly less at 1.96. Aldo’s accuracy and defense are both slightly better as well. The key difference between the two when it comes to striking is that Edgar specializes in boxing, while Aldo has some of the best leg kicks in the UFC.
One of the key differences between the two fighters is that Edgar utilizes his wrestling more often. He averages 2.71 takedowns per fight to Aldo’s 0.93. Aldo also has some of the best takedown defense in the UFC, as he’s stuffed a sparkling 91 percent of his opponents’ attempts. The offensive difference in their wrestling is that Aldo is more efficient with his takedown attempts; he has a 72 percent success rate compared to Edgar’s 38 percent.
The numbers would tell you that Aldo will likely keep the fight on the feet for most of the fight with Edgar being able to land a couple of takedowns. “The Answer” managed to land two of them in his first fight with Aldo.
The fight will come down to whether Aldo’s takedown defense holds up, and who the more effective striker will be. Aldo’s status may be questionable coming off of that knockout loss to McGregor. He’ll either be more motivated than ever, or it may show that he’s beginning to slow down a bit. Even though Aldo is still just 29 years old, he’s been involved in a lot of five-round wars. Edgar has as well, but he’s never looked better in his career than he does now.
The bottom line is, this fight has the potential to be an absolute war. It might very well be the toughest fight to predict out of the three events this weekend, let alone UFC 200. There are so many variables as to how each fighter will look. Just enjoy every minute that this fight lasts.
