UFC 136 spoilers

Frankie Edgar finally beat long time rival Gray Maynard in the fourth round by TKO to retain the lightweight title!

Gray started round 1 just like he did in their second fight, dropping Frankie a couple of times with some powerful uppercuts. In many respects the first round was like a repeat of their second fight although this time Maynard made sure to reserve some gas in the tank and not punch himself out. Frankie was bloodied up pretty bad with a cut to his eye and from his nose. Rogan at one point said Frankie's nose was broken. It looked ominous for the defending champion as Gray entered the fight with so much pent up frustration. However, Frankie continued to battle through until the bell and came out in round two strong. Maynard surprised me in the second because it was clear he had a lot left in the tank but wasn't committing to his offense like he had done in round 1. It was a close round with Frankie just edging it on points. Round three was much the same with the momentum swinging in Frankie's favour and his foot movement and his attack and retreat tactics obviously upset Maynard's rhythm preventing him from landing any power shots. Maynard's corner were constantly telling him to use his wrestling to control the fight but Maynard kept head hunting with his boxing in the fourth round without much success at a far sharper and elusive Edgar. Finally Edgar caught Maynard with a punch that rocked him back onto the cage that Edgar immediately capitalised on hitting him again sending him to the floor, where Frankie followed him delivering some vicious head shots before the ref stepped in for the TKO victory. I must admit I did not think Frankie had the punch power to KO Maynard and the taller man looked the physically stronger of the two in the opening couple of rounds. Superb display by Edgar though and a thoroughly deserved victory. Maynard was too one dimensional and even though he had learnt some lessons from their second fight was too stubborn to really utilise all his tools in order to beat Edgar and got caught by superior boxing.

Jose Aldo successfully defended his featherweight title against Kenny Florian in a 5 round UD. Florian took Aldo out of his comfort zone in the early rounds taking the fight to Aldo and neutralising his kicks. But Aldo had a strong third round where he dominated Florian on the ground in the mount position and in the end edged Florian on points. Aldo got a big takedown in the fifth that won him the last round, by this time Florian had barely any fight left in him. Florian didn't look comfortable or happy at the end of each round and I just don't know whether he cut too much weight and was suffering physically because of it.

Chael Sonnen won via submission in the second round against Brian Stann. Sonnen came out in the first round like he had a point to prove and immediately got the takedown as soon as the fight began. Stann was outclassed as Sonnen used his superior wrestling to totally dominate Stann in the first. The writing was on the wall as Stann came out in the second and after another successful takedown Chael submitted him via an arm triangle. Afterwards Sonnen challenged Anderson Silva to a rematch where he threatened to leave the UFC if he lost!

The winner of fight of the night went to Leonard Garcia and Nam Phan in their rematch from 2010. Garcia came out aggressively and pushed the pace in the first but seemed to gas quickly. Phan had a much more technical, controlled boxing strategy and began picking Garcia apart late in the first. Into the second and Phan completely dominated with well timed and accurate punches to the body and the head. It was almost an entirely boxing affair throughout the fight with a few kicks thrown in and a takedown by Phan in the third round. Garcia came out in the third swinging for the fences and caught Phan a couple of times. It looked like Phan was going to get KO'd but managed to tie Garcia up in the clinch long enough to recover and with Garcia spent went back to his boxing and finished the third strong. Nam won by UD and a much deserved victory. The crowd absolutely loved the fight and Garcia agreed to a rematch if it would take place again in Houston. The commentators were all over this fight saying they were two of the most entertaining fighters they'd ever watched with Rogan even going as far to say he wanted them to fight every year.

All in all some very good fights on the main card, I was particularly impressed by Edgar and Phan. I felt sorry for Florian who started well and took his fight against Aldo into the fifth round. Aldo didn't win pretty and didn't look like a dominant champion at all. Sonnen looked strong and determined - he really is a tough guy.

i thought this weekens event was awesome.

the Melvin/Joe fight was a great start, both come flying out and then Joe to get his back and choke him in under a minute. Does Joe scare anyoen else he has this uncle festa look about him.

Next up was the nam fight, i wanted him to win as liked him from the ultimate fighter, both guys going for it.

Aldo the bloke is a cut above the rest. Once again kenny comes up just short, he is a good fighter i just dont like him cut to the bones to make weight. I wonder if he will move back up the weight classes?

Now Chael, what do we say....simple awesome he dominated Stann, didnt miss a beat and got roccked with a punch but just kept coming. His work on the ground was some of the ebst i have seen in ages. Remaining respectful in the build up then unleashing on Anderson who i think this is the fight he wants least.

Frankie is up there in my top 5 fighters, he jsut doesnt accept defeat. The size diffrence when compared to Gray was apparent but he just sticks his head down and works the angles. When Rogan said he had a broken noise i presumed the worst but he showed heart, kept cool and got the job done with a spectacular finish.

overall i great card. On a side note if you follow the UFC on facebook they was running a which ws the best moment:

Joe L's Choke out
Chael calling out Anderson
Frankie's comeback

I voted for joe's choke as although the other moments were awesome the speed in which he turned the fight around and finished i thought was very impressive.

I've been busy this weekend so haven't seen any of the fights but from all accounts it was a good card.

As Maynard was so close to blowing away Edgar in the first round in the 2nd fight he must be gutted he done the same in this fight but to eventually lose!

Edgar is a small guy at the weight and i'm sure someday we'll see him in some big 145ibs fights, especially against Aldo, now that would be a fight!

With Melendez signing with UFC this would be a huge fight for the division.

Overall Edgar can keep himself very busy for some time with big and meaningful fights.

I'm glad Sonnen won, he's pure gold from a media point of view and the kind of guy the UFC want and therefore even better that he's winning when talking his trash!

I like both Melvin and Joe and didn't want either to lose so was hoping for a FOTN match so the loser went away with his credibility intact but gotta feel for Melvin with a sub-minute submission!

Whilst in writing - Dana White has claimed Edgar is No.1 P4P above GSP following this fight!

Firstly, Maynard is a good, solid fighter but beating him does not deserve a P4P ranking over GSP!?!

Secondly, I think White is ranking Edgar above GSP due to entertainment value rather than pure skill.

I think GSP is dull at times which I think is mainly due to him being able to win without taking risks and his opponents simply can't take him out of his comfort zone where GSP may be forced to have to be a bit more daring.

White's comment about Edgar and P4P was probably an indirect jab at GSP to basically say "start entertaining more or other guys will get the spotlight more."

Do you read anything into White's comments or is it a usual White comment after a fight saying the guy in question is the second coming of Christ to get more hype or do you think he's starting to get a bit annoyed at GSP's 'dull' fights?

I watched the prelims and facebook stream. The facebook stream and the prelims all went the distance and apart from the Anthony Petis fight were quite a boring undercard, so I was super glad that the main card was bloody awesome with not one boring fight on it.

Frankie Edgar went up massively in stock in my opinion, loved the fact he came back against a monster of a 155er in Maynard (twice) and got the TKO victory, I never expected him to finish Maynard that way. Frankie vs. the winner of Guilda vs. Henderson for the title next, but I can see possibly Frankie being a champ for a while now.

With Dana now saying he is above GSP in his p4p ranking (number 2 though valero as Dana has A. Silva still as the number 1 p4p) I think I have to agree. GSP cuts weight to get to 170lbs but Frankie walks around at about 160lbs and fights at 155lbs, he could easily make 145lbs and probably could make 135lbs if he really wanted to, he only fights bigger guys while GSP generally only fights smaller guys, but GSP is an amazing fighter and can see why others would disagree.

Loved the fact that Sonnen won, I think the guy is hilarious and although I suspect he will probably lose in a re-match against the spider that is the best fight for that division. Feel bad for Stan the guy is a gent but I was always hoping for a Sonnen victory.

Phan vs Garcia was just a crazy slugfest that you can’t help but enjoy watching, the Aldo vs Florian fight, I was hoping for an upset here I won’t lie; I wanted Florian to pull off the upset. Probably the least entertaining fight on the main card but Aldo continues to rule that division. I agree with the above poster though that Florian fighting at 145lbs is just too low for him, he still has a lot of good fights for him at 155lbs

I have to admit that in the build up to his main event with Maynard Frankie seemed more reserved about his prediction of the fight - he didn't seem to be to give off an aura of confidence - it was more I hope or rather wish I get the victory. Maynard was far more assertive and I really believed had the stronger motivation. But Edgar blew me away with his resilience and tenacity. It was a great fight. Edgar really is a fighter.

Also I think Sonnen would lose to Silva again if they had a rematch - but I've been trying to work this one out what on earth is a linear champion? Sonnen kept saying he is the true linear champion!?

talkingpoint wrote:I have to admit that in the build up to his main event with Maynard Frankie seemed more reserved about his prediction of the fight - he didn't seem to be to give off an aura of confidence - it was more I hope or rather wish I get the victory. Maynard was far more assertive and I really believed had the stronger motivation. But Edgar blew me away with his resilience and tenacity. It was a great fight. Edgar really is a fighter.

Also I think Sonnen would lose to Silva again if they had a rematch - but I've been trying to work this one out what on earth is a linear champion? Sonnen kept saying he is the true linear champion!?

LOL! One of the reasons why I like Sonnen, I have no idea also, but it sounds impressive!

Sorry Gibbo, i meant to say White ranks Edgar at no.2 behind Silva.

As per lineal champ, i think the meaning of the term is when a guy beats the main main in the division and is a kind of notional title.

Sonnen has never been champ and lost to the main man but he's still entertaining LOL!

Great event.

Edgar was great, I was impressed with Maynard too. Can't wait for Melendez to get involved. I feel he will be champ when he gets a chance.

I think Dana is trying to build up Frankies reputation by saying he is no2 P4P since Frankie doesn't get the respect of some of the other champs. Fans listen to Dana so they will maybe start to believe he is ahead of GSP and hold him in higher regard. imo GSP is quite a bit ahead of both Frankie and Anderson in the P4P stakes.

GSP is in a lose lose situation imo - he's so good he's boring in some respect because his opponents never truly threaten him and we don't see him getting beat up and dominated like Edgar was against Maynard. If he decides to throw caution to the wind against Condit in the hope of making the fight more entertaining he risks losing his title and probably his P4P ranking as Condit is an extremely dangerous opponent, but if he plays it safe and fights his fight and wins he runs the risk of suffering the backlash of the fans that he's boring to watch. Imo GSP is one of the best and his consistency and his technique are truly inspirational.

talkingpoint wrote:GSP is in a lose lose situation imo - he's so good he's boring in some respect because his opponents never truly threaten him and we don't see him getting beat up and dominated like Edgar was against Maynard. If he decides to throw caution to the wind against Condit in the hope of making the fight more entertaining he risks losing his title and probably his P4P ranking as Condit is an extremely dangerous opponent, but if he plays it safe and fights his fight and wins he runs the risk of suffering the backlash of the fans that he's boring to watch. Imo GSP is one of the best and his consistency and his technique are truly inspirational.

I agree and I myself get tired of GSP and call him dull when in reality I know that he's a class above the remaining WW's which is the biggest factor leading to the 'dullness' and understand his lose/lose predicament completely.

However, I would say that's up for GSP to change things if he wants to be perceived differently. The reason White goes on about Silva is because he doesn't just win fights, he wins them in devastating fashion with highlight reel clips which can only mean better things for the UFC whereas even the most devoted GSP fan will admit he doesn't expect such finishes from him.

There is nothing wrong with GSP's style and if he never fought again he'd be considered one of the best ever but I would like to see a bit more killer instinct.

Hopefully GSP proves me wrong later this month!

It is a difficult one the whole p4p list because it can only be opinion based, and myself I change my opinion on an almost daily basis. I think I have put GSP above A. Silva as the number 1 p4p list before, then Frankie goes ahead and beats Maynard by TKO and GSP goes 3rd below both A. Silva and F. Edgar and he hasn’t even fought yet. When (and yes I put when on purpose) GSP puts on a clinic against Condit and beats him up for 5 rounds I will probably move GSP up to number 1 p4p and A. Silva down to 3rd behind Edgar.

I suppose what I am saying is, don’t listen to me when it comes to p4p lists....

yeah P4P is so subjective which is why Sonnen hates hearing that Silva is P4P best in the world. I'm hoping GSP will actually finish Condit in this fight but I'm not confident. I think there may be some element of danger in this fight as Condit was the replacement so with less time to prepare specifically for Condit hopefully it will be a more open fight with GSP managing to get the finish.

agree it was a great card.

on the gsp note i dont have edgar anywhere near him. sorry if dominating your oppenents so much becomes boring, dana might like a gut who nearly gets knocked out every first round but entertaining does not make him better. no one has come close to beating gsp, cant exactly say the same for edgar. too much emphasis on him being small for the weight, which at the end of the day is edgar choice, the weight divisions are there for a reason and edgar is fighting in the weight catergory he believes he's best in

also makes me laugh that dana goes against gsp because of his style but loves sonnen who's worse, but loves him purely for his PR skills. lets forget about his rubbish style and drug cheating if he can sell a fight

Edgar is one of the those fighters who has so much heart it compensates a lot sometimes for poor defence - at least that's how I interpreted the opening round of his second and third fight against Maynard. Edgar is an entertaining fighter and I had a lot of respect for him after his TKO over Maynard but nevertheless there is still room for improvement in Edgar's game. If Maynard had pushed the pace in the second and continued his assault immediately from the start of the round it could have been a different story. But Maynard let Edgar dictate the pace and fight his fight. Once Edgar had found his rhythm and started controlling the rounds it was either going one of two ways - Edgar by decision or finish.