Former lightweight title holder Frankie Edgar (20-5-1 MMA) squared off with former featherweight champion Jose Aldo (26-2 MMA) for the promotions interim 145-pound title on tonight’s UFC 200 main card in Las Vegas.
Round one begins and Edgar opens things up with a leg kick. He presses forward and lands another low kick. Frankie is circling Aldo and lands another leg kick and another. Good jab from Frankie. Aldo fires a jab that is blocked. Edgar presses forward with shots and then lands a leg kick. Aldo with a jab. Frankie misses with a front kick but lands a nice follow up combo. Aldo with a nice right hand. Jose throws a combination. Frankie is moving well but Aldo seems to be finding his range now. Frankie shoots in for a takedown and gets Aldo down to one knee before Jose springs back up. Nice combination from Edgar. He is bouncing around and using a ton of movement. Aldo with a nice left and then a big right hand. Frankie eats it and presses forward. Aldo lands a nice knee to the body of Edgar. He throws a flying knee that partially connects. Aldo with another shot as that drops Frankie who was flying in. Edgar gets back up. Round one comes to an end.
Round two begins and Frankie presses forward with a combo that end in a leg kick. Lots of pressure from Edgar here. Jose is circling away. Edgar misses with a head kick. Aldo lands a jab. Frankie fires back with a crisp jab of his own. Nice counter left from Aldo. He lands a knee on Edgar. Frankie dives in for a takedown but it is not there. Edgar lands a nice right hand and then a follow up leg kick. Aldo with a right hand that partially connects. Frankie goes upstairs with a high kick that is blocked. Frankie eats a right but then lands a nice right of his own. Edgar is bleeding around his right eye. He continues to press the action. Aldo is circling waiting to counter. Frankie with a jab but Aldo lands a big combo. A nice return lands from Edgar. Aldo with another good right hand. Edgar lands a kick to the body. Nice jab from Aldo but Frankie answers with a kick. A nice knee from Aldo. He lands a left hand. Round two comes to an end.
Round three begins and Edgar lands a leg kick. He presses forward and lands another. Aldo with a nice right hand as Edgar moves in. Frankie tries a takedown but it is not there. Frankie presses Jose against the cage. He begins working some knees from the clinch. They break. Aldo with a front kick. Frankie responds with a jab. Huge right hand lands flush for Aldo. Frankie comes back with a jab. Aldo is landing the harder strikes. Frankie presses forward and tries for a takedown. Aldo lands a good knee to the body of Edgar. Frankie fires back with some leg kicks. Aldo with another nice knee. Round three comes to an end.
Round four begins and Edgar looks fairly busted up. Still the former lightweight champion presses forward with strikes. Edgar lands a leg kick and then another. Aldo with a nice jab. The fighters exchange jabs. Frankie lands a left and Aldo answers with back to back right hands. Jose with another nice combination. The former champions trade punches. Frankie is bleeding out of both eyes. Aldo looks fine. Jose lands a stiff jab. And then another that drops Frankie. He pops right back up. Round four comes to an end.
Round five begins and Frankie lands a leg kick to start. Edgar pushes forward with punches but none connect. Nice left hand scores for Aldo. Frankie responds with a low kick. Aldo with a high kick that partially lands. Frankie has the center of the octagon but Aldo is circling and countering as Frankie comes in. Nice left hand lands for Jose. He slams Frankie with a right hand. Edgar eats the punch and comes forward. Another huge right from Aldo. Frankie is all sorts of busted up. Frankie presses forward with shots but they all miss. Aldo looks terrific landing counter punches. Frankie finally lands a right jab. Nice jab from Aldo. Frankie takes the shot and presses forward. Edgar misses with a spinning high kick. Aldo circles away. Frankie presses forward but this fight has come to an end.
Aldo defeats Edgar via decision (49-46, 49-46 48-47)