Aldo-Edgar set for Super Bowl Weekend
Published on Oct. 31, 2012, at 11:40 a.m. Eastern.
By Brian Edwards
The slate of Ultimate Fighting Championship events has slowed down a bit with the next show scheduled for Nov. 6 in the promotion’s first trip to China, where Rich Franklin (-300) will collide with Cung Le, who is a plus-220 underdog (risk $100 to win $220).
Let’s get caught up on MMA news with a few quick tidbits…
–Jose Aldo had to pull out of his title defense against Frankie Edgar in Rio after injuring his leg in a motorcycle accident. The fight is back on now and these two will meet at UFC 156 in Las Vegas on Super Bowl Weekend (Feb. 2). Aldo will be defending his featherweight belt for the fourth time, while Edgar, the former lightweight champ, will be making his debut in the 145-pound division.
–After losing to Anderson Silva, Stephan Bonnar has decided to retire. Bonnar won three consecutive fights before agreeing to take on Silva on short notice in the main event at UFC 153. Bonnar’s three-round slugfest with Forrest Griffin in 2005 in the finale of Season 1 of The Ultimate Fighter is considered the sparkplug that propelled mixed martial arts into main stream America. Bonnar could be the next inductee in the UFC Hall of Fame. He has a future career in broadcasting.
–Jon Jones has revealed that former heavyweight champ Frank Mir will be a part of his TUF 17 coaching staff. By now, you know that Jones will be paired against Chael Sonnen as coaches and then they will meet for the 205-pound strap in April. Jones is a minus-800 favorite at Sportsbook.ag and is even more expensive at a few other offshore books. Sportsbook has Sonnen as the 5/1 underdog (risk $100 to win $500).
–In an interview last week, Dana White indicated that former heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar was contemplating a return to the Octagon. However, White said Lesnar is “done for good” because his health woes wouldn’t allow him to train at the level needed to compete in the UFC.
–On a Metro PCS chat last night, Jones said he wanted to move to the heavyweight division late in 2013.
–On the same chat last night, Dana White confirmed that Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fabrico Werdum will be the TUF Brazil 2 coaches. He has no idea when/who Nick Diaz will fight until he gets his license back.
