...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
Who wins the Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber main event at UFC Fight Night 66, and how? What do you expect is next for each of them after that fight?
DAYNE FOX, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Even though I'm excited about this fight, my expectations for it are tempered by what appears to be age catching up to Faber his last few bouts. He has walked out of his fights with Alex Caceres and Francisco Rivera with victories, but not in a manner that leaves one confident that Faber will ever be in the thick of the title chase again. Perhaps he will come out looking fresh as he won't have to cut 10 extra pounds in this one, but as opposed to Faber looking flat his last few outings, Edgar has never looked better. His wins over B.J. Penn and Cub Swanson are looking less impressive as time goes by, but it doesn't take anything away from how good he looked in my mind. He won't dominate Faber in the same manner, but Edgar should take a comfortable decision.
As for where they go, Edgar is either on a collision course with Chad Mendes or getting another shot at the title. It largely depends on how quick Jose Aldo wants to fight again. Of course that is dependent upon if Edgar wins and if Aldo wins, but that is the future I foresee. Faber is a bit more difficult to predict. He has faced almost everyone at 135 lbs. and isn't in a hurry to challenge teammate T.J. Dillashaw for his belt. Maybe his rematch with Raphael Assuncao will finally take place, but I anticipate he'll face Bryan Caraway if he loses here. If health permits, I expect rumors of a rubber match with Dominick Cruz to heat up once again, too, and that would be the option everyone prefers.
FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
I'm expecting a fantastic fight here. I think you can make a convincing case for either fighter. I'm leaning towards Faber in an extremely close decision. But there's a part of me that leans Edgar in a close decision. Either way, I think it's a close fight. Maybe even a controversial one because it's so close and people are divided on how to score it. If Edgar wins, there's no question that he gets a featherweight title shot. If Faber wins, he's certainly in a position for a bantamweight title shot and he could even lobby for a featherweight shot if he really wanted. That would be harder to get, but his track record is pretty damn good. A loss by either man is just a setback. I wouldn't consider it to be too big a deal, given their opponent in this fight. I think they can easily bounce back from a loss here.
BRAD WALKER, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Listen, I understand all the hype behind this fight, two of the greats from the lower weight classes coming to clash at once, but it's a lot simpler than that. Faber is a great fighter, absolutely one of the best, but Edgar is a former champion who can out-wrestle and out-power a smaller fighter with great ease. Edgar is likely to out-work and out-pace Faber, possibly even finishing him much easier than any of us would have conceived. This is Frankie's fight to win or lose, but Faber is going to bring everything he can into this and let it all out in the cage. With that being said, I am taking Edgar by decision to win this fight and move into position to fight the winner of Aldo and McGregor. Faber will return to bantamweight to be the gatekeeper for T.J. Dillashaw.
TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR
Edgar vs. Faber is possibly, actually forget possibly, this is my favourite MMA match-up in the last few years. Here we have two guys who only know how to fight one way while giving an inch until they hear the final buzzer or are put to sleep. Edgar is now in a division which is probably more suited to him, and where he's fighting guys who are a similar size to himself without having to drop many pounds in the process. Faber will be moving back up a weight division from his normal home at bantamweight, and that should only help him by not having to cut all that extra weight, which in turn should aid him come fight night.
Edgar holds the advantage when it comes to the striking department, and will be able to stuff any takedowns that may or may not come his way from Faber. I'm not sure the same can be said for Faber; if Edgar chooses to go for the takedown the chances are high of him succeeding, though he will have to be very wary of any submission attempts that will undoubtedly come his way. For this reason I can see the fight predominantly staying on the feet with Edgar getting the better of the exchanges before attempting takedowns to secure any close round.
The odds might suggest this is a routine victory for Edgar, though I think this is anything but that; hold onto those beers tight as this is going to have you jumping off your seats!
Prediction: Edgar UD and FOTY
Frankie Edgar goes on to fight for the UFC Featherweight Title after his victory, whilst Faber returns to bantamweight where he will continue to pick off every fighter within that division who isn't named Cruz or Barao!
[Frankie Edgar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
DON'T GO YET... WE SUGGEST THESE MMATORCH ARTICLES, TOO!
Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
STAFF COLUMNISTS: Shawn Ennis - Jason Amadi
Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
Interested in joining MMATorch's writing team? Send idea for a theme to your column (for Specialist section) or area of interest (i.e. TV Reporter) along with a sample of writing to mmatorch@gmail.com.
