On Saturday night, despite all the signs pointing that he would be unable to do so, Edgar did just that, knocking out the challenger in the fourth round to retain his UFC Lightweight Championship in the main event of UFC 136.

After fighting to a 5-round draw back at UFC 125 last January, Saturday’s bout had almost an identical start. Maynard caught Edgar with a big uppercut in the middle of the first round and pummeled the champion to a near stoppage.

However, Edgar managed to stay conscious and mobile, and survived the round despite losing it 10-8 on most cards.

After a break between rounds, Edgar seemed to get his stamina back and began working his game. He used his quickness to out-box Maynard and avoid another big punch, while Maynard looked flat on his feet and simply looking for the one-punch victory.

Come the fourth round, Edgar landed a big cross that dropped Maynard. The challenger got to his feet but ate a series of punches that eventually left him face flat in the canvas.

The win solidifies Edgar as a true star in the sport and he can finally cross Maynard off his list of opponents.

In the co-main event, Jose Aldo retained his UFC Featherweight Championship over Kenny Florian in a lackluster bout.

Neither man did anything too exciting, but Aldo landed the big kicks and avoided a number of Florian’s takedown attempts to do enough in the eyes of the judges.

In another big fight, Chael Sonnen made his return to the UFC after over a year off and submitted Brian Stann in the second round with an arm triangle.

Sonnen was his usual self, using his relentless wrestling to control the fight from the opening bell.

Following the fight, Sonnen took the microphone and challenged UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, to a fight on Super Bowl weekend, adding that if he lost, he would retire. But, if he won, Silva had to leave the middleweight division.

That should spice things up.

Complete UFC 136 results are spelled out below.

UFC 136 Results

Toyota Center – Houston

Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011

Frankie Edgar defeats Gray Maynard via TKO (Strikes) Round 4

Jose Aldo defeats Kenny Florian via Unanimous Decision

Chael Sonnen defeats Brian Stann via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) Round 2

Joe Lauzon defeats Melvin Guillard via Submission (Rear Naked Choke) Round 1

Nam Phan defeats Leonard Garcia via Unanimous Decision

Anthony Pettis defeats Jeremy Stephens via Split Decision

Demian Maia defeats Jorge Santiago via Unanimous Decision

Stipe Miocic def. Joey Beltran via unanimous decision

Darren Elkins def. Zhang Tie Quan via unanimous decision

Aaron Simpson def. Eric Schafer via unanimous decision

Mike Massenzio def. Steve Cantwell via unanimous decision

“UFC 131: Lesnar vs. Dos Santos” is currently scheduled to take place on June 11 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, but UFC officials have not made the location official yet.

The event is headlined by a heavyweight No. 1 contender’s bout between “The Ultimate Fighter 13” coaches Brock Lesnar and Junior Dos Santos.

The venue , formerly known as GM Place, has hosted a UFC before. “UFC 115: Liddell vs. Franklin” was held there on June 12, 2010. British Columbia passed a bill to sanction mixed martial arts on December 17, 2009.
Official bouts confirmed for UFC 131 include:

MAIN CARD
Junior Dos Santos vs. Brock Lesnar
Demian Maia vs. Mark Munoz
Shane Carwin vs. Jon Olav Einemo
Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes
Dustin Poirier vs. Rani Yahya

Read the rest of the card.

Jeremy Botter of HeavyMMA.com fills everyone in on the news of Kenny Florian’s big bout with Evan Dunham at UFC 127.

Florian revealed the news during last night’s episode of ESPN’s “MMA Live.” Heavy.com confirmed that bout agreements are expected to be signed shortly.

“We’ve verbally agreed to fight Evan Dunham, which is great news,” Florian said. “Phenomenal opponent, which I’m very excited about, and it looks like it may happen on Super Bowl weekend.”

UFC 127 is expected to take place Feb. 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be headlined by a middleweight title bout between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort.

Florian and Dunham are both seeking to rebound from tough losses.

Dunham battered Sean Sherk in a meeting at UFC 119, but the judges inexplicably awarded the bout to Sherk via split decision. It was the first defeat of Dunham’s career, but he impressed the UFC brass and fans with his performance that night.

Florian lost a one-sided battle to Gray Maynard at UFC 118.

Find more MMA news.

Dennis Melnik of HeavyMMA.com recently sat down with UFC fighter and top contender Kenny Florida, who says he isn’t afraid to adapt.

Kenny Florian’s philosophy is simple: “If you don’t adapt in this sport, you’re going to die. You’re going to lose.” There was a time Florian thought he had all the answers. He was on a six-fight wining streak that earned him a shot at UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn.

The last time Florian lost was his first chance at glory, when Sean Sherk defeated him in a unanimous decision at UFC 64. He learned a lot from that loss. The problem was Florian thought he had learned it all. He entered the Penn fight determined to “kill the master” and that’s when complacency came to collect. ‘The Prodigy’ dismantled ‘Ken-Flo’ in four rounds of fighting, putting him at a crossroads and forcing him to completely reevaluate his entire regimen. When Florian responded with two straight dominant victories in later UFC matches, Dana White noticed. While condemning Diego Sanchez for leaving the lightweight division for a return to welterweight, the UFC president cited Florian as an example of learning from failure.

Read the full article here.

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 takes place tonight from the TD Garden in Boston and the card is stacked with intriguing fights from the main event UFC Lightweight title bout to the MMA vs. Boxing match featuring James “Lights Out” Toney and UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture. Here are my picks for tonight’s event.

UFC Lightweight Championship Bout: Frankie Edgar (12-1) vs. B.J. Penn (15-6-1) – Edgar won a close decision in the first match where Penn was heavily favored. This time around, we should expect to see the Penn we thought we would see the first time around. While Edgar has a good skill set to beat Penn, as he is quick with sharp strikes and good wrestling, he doesn’t have the natural talent that Penn has. Look for Penn to work his jab and put together combinations on Edgar, slowly breaking him apart before choking him out in round four.

UFC Heavyweight Bout: Randy Couture (18-10) vs. James Toney (0-0) – This fight has gotten more hype than any other on the card as it marks the first time a legitimate boxing champion is stepping into the octagon. While Toney has one-punch knockout power, Couture is too smart to be beaten that easily. Couture will push Toney up against the cage early and work his dirty boxing before eventually scoring a takedown and finishing with a submission. Toney is too big and slow to be able to keep Couture from getting him to the ground.

UFC Lightweight Bout: Kenny Florian (15-4) vs. Gray Maynard (10-0) – This is a No. 1 contender’s match in the lightweight division. Maynard is unbeaten but in the biggest fight of his career tonight in terms of opponent and setting. He owns a win over the champion Edgar, but both are different fighters now. Florian has been better than everyone but the champion in his career and tonight look for him to find a way to win. Maynard is big and strong, but Florian will have the striking edge and is a better submission fighter. I expect Florian to win by choke in the third round.

UFC Welterweight Bout: Marcus Davis (22-7) vs. Nate Diaz (12-5) – Diaz is long and thin and he likes to use his jab to keep his opponents at bay before eventually getting the fight to the ground and winning by submission. Davis is a former boxer with good power, but he struggles with his grappling. In this fight, Davis will have a problem getting inside Diaz’ reach and eventually Diaz will get control and take the fight to the ground where he will lock in a choke or arm lock for the win.

UFC Middleweight Bout: Demian Maia (12-2) vs. Mario Miranda (12-1) – Miranda is a promising fighter with good striking and grappling skills, but he is new to the octagon and stepping in against the most dangerous submission fighter in MMA. Maia is coming off a poor showing against Anderson Silva and will be eager to put on an impressive performance. Look for him to win by submission in the first round.

E. Spencer Kyte previews Saturday’s UFC 118, inlculding the big bout between Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn.

Frankie Edgar (12-1-0) vs. BJ Penn (15-6-1)

This might be the fight I’ve been most excited about seeing all summer. No disrespect to the UFC 116 or 117 mains, but this one was so unexpected the first time around that I really want to see if (a) Frankie can do it again and (b) BJ comes with a different level of ferocity than we saw in Abu Dhabi.

Edgar rightfully earned the title in my books the first time around; his executed perfectly, darting in and out, scoring points, and avoiding damage, and he most certainly could do it again. He also scored a takedown, and could turn to his wrestling a little more this time.

That night in Abu Dhabi, Penn looked lethargic to me. I don’t know if anything was wrong – illness, injury, bad cut, whatever – but he didn’t look like the guy who had dismantled Diego Sanchez just four months earlier. If that same guy shows up, he’s losing two-in-a-row for the first time in four years.

I expect a better BJ to show up in Boston, but Edgar will be better too; now that he has the belt around his waist, there is no way he wants to give it up. These are two of the best lightweights in the world and it should be another exciting contest.

Read the full preview here.

It has been some time since I released a top 10 pound-for-pound list, with my last edition coming all the way back in August of last year. There have been some changes and the bottom of the list was tough to determine, but I feel pretty good about this group. I am basing this list over the past few years and using this criteria to make my choices: Quality of wins (i.e. stoppages), Quality of opponents, Amount of damage taken in fights, and Establishment of all-around skills in the cage. Now that the criteria has been addressed, here we go.

1. Anderson Silva – 26-4 – UFC Middleweight Champion: Silva’s last fight was embarrassing for the UFC, but it again displayed how dominant he is. He literally took two rounds off and still won a unanimous decision and in the three rounds he tried, he landed every shot he threw while dodging every shot Demian Maia threw at him. When he gets challenged, Silva quickly runs through his opponents, like Forrest Griffin and Rich Franklin. When guys don’t come at him, like Patrick Cote and Thales Leites, the fights are unwatchable. Bottom line, it is hard to see someone beating this guy and I still think he could step up to heavyweight someday and give Brock Lesnar a run for his money.

2. Georges St. Pierre – 20-2 – UFC Welterweight Champion: GSP hasn’t been challenged since facing Josh Koscheck at UFC 74. The champion has cruised through his opponents and the only complaint against him has been his inability to finish recent opponents. Still, stopping B.J. Penn and dominating Thiago Alves, Jon Fitch, and Dan Hardy is pretty impressive and a potential fight with Koscheck again or slugger Paul Daley or even Jake Shields keeps things exciting with GSP.

3. Fedor Emelianenko – 31-1 – WAMMA Heavyweight Champion: You can certainly argue Fedor is the top P4P fighter in the world as he hasn’t lost since 2000 and he has finished his last eight opponents, but the need to see him in the octagon and against some of these newer, fresher faces in the UFC Heavyweight division keep me from putting him on top. Yes, he is the most dominant heavyweight of all time, but Matt Hughes was once the most dominant welterweight of all time, then he ran into the new crop of fighters and things went south quickly. Lesnar, Carwin, and Velasquez are all fights I would like to see Fedor in today to see just where he stacks up.

4. Jose Aldo – 17-1 – WEC Featherweight Champion – Aldo has been on my radar for a while but with the win over Urijah Faber last weekend and the fashion in which it came leads me to believe that this guy is among the best in the world. His explosive striking has allowed him to tear through his last seven opponents. We haven’t even seen his jiu-jitsu, but he is a black belt there under the Nogueiras. It is hard to see anyone taking Aldo out at 145, but as we have seen, there is always a bad matchup for every fighter.

5. Lyoto Machida – 16-0 – UFC Light Heavyweight Champion: Machida is unbeaten in his career and until his most recent fight with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, he was nearly untouched in his UFC career. Machida has lacked finishing ability until the last year and a half, but he showed that he could be beaten when he fought Shogun. Consequently, that could have been Machida at his worst and Shogun at his best, and Machida still found a way to get the victory.

6. Jake Shields – 25-4-1 – Strikeforce Middleweight Champion: Shields deserves credit for his win over Dan Henderson. He is fighting up in weight and still dominated four-of-five rounds against him. Shields hasn’t lost since 2004, but he still had trouble with his stand up against Henderson and Paul Daley while also struggling at times on the ground with Jason Miller. You have to give credit where it is due, but Shields appears to have an obvious weakness that could cause problems with his venture into the UFC, if that all plays out.

7. Brock Lesnar – 4-1 – UFC Heavyweight Champion: Lesnar doesn’t have a lot of experience, but he has dominated top heavyweights Frank Mir and Randy Couture. The question still remains if Lesnar can beat the young bucks in the division, but that will be answered in his upcoming fight with Shane Carwin. Lesnar is explosive and powerful which gives him the complete package. Lesnar is going to be tough to get to the ground for submission fighters and his hand speed and size will be tough for a striker to deal with as well.

8. Cain Velasquez – 8-0 – UFC Heavyweight Contender: Velasquez has rolled through everyone in his short MMA career, including an impressive knockout of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. An All-American wrestler in college, Velasquez has developed into a powerful striker. His all-around ability will give anyone in the division problems, including Lesnar or Carwin. Velasquez could very likely be the UFC champion a year from now.

9. Shane Carwin – 12-0 – UFC Heavyweight Contender: I struggled with the decision on Carwin because we have yet to see him pushed passed the first round, but that is what ultimately earned him a spot on this list. Carwin has exploded on each of his UFC opponents, including Mir last month. Carwin is a big, burly guy that will be tough to takedown, and his explosive hands make him dangerous on his feet. We saw that he could take a punch against Gabriel Gonzaga, now we see he can man handle a superior grappler like Mir. With Lesnar awaiting him, that fight will likely be about which fighter can land the first clean punch.

10. B.J. Penn – 15-6-1 – UFC Lightweight Contender: Sure Penn just lost his last fight, but it was an off night for Penn while Frankie Edgar fought the perfect fight and still barely won. Penn will get his rematch and then Edgar’s talents will truly be revealed. It is always tougher to beat someone twice. Penn knows how important beating Edgar will be and he should come out with more urgency and explosion. Penn still has the best combination of striking, wrestling, and jiu-jitsu in the lightweight division. His ability to finish guys like Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, and Diego Sanchez still puts Penn on my top 10 P4P.

Honorable Mention: Rashad Evans (UFC Light Heavyweight), Vitor Belfort (UFC Middleweight), Thiago Alves (UFC Welterweight), Frankie Edgar (UFC Lightweight Champion), Kenny Florian (UFC Lightweight), Gilbert Melendez (Strikeforce Lightweight Champion), Dominick Cruz (WEC Bantamweight Champion), Jon Fitch (UFC Welterweight), Junior dos Santos (UFC Heavyweight).

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