After seeing UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo outpoint Kenny Florian to retain his title in Saturday’s UFC 136 co-main event, UFC President Dana White is “pretty sure” Chad Mendes will challenge Aldo next, unless lightweight champ (and fellow UFC 136 winner) Frankie Edgar drops to 145-pounds.
“I’m pretty sure [Aldo will fight Mendes next],” White said after UFC 136. “But we’ll see. Maybe Frankie calls me and says he wants to move to 145. We’ll see what happens.”
While his title shot isn’t yet official, the unbeaten Mendes is already discussing the likely fight, telling MMAFighting he sees his wrestling as the difference in the matchup.
“I think with my wrestling credentials, my strength, my athleticism, I don’t think he’s faced anybody like that yet,” Mendes said. “And for me to get in there, put him on his back and take him out of his comfort zone, I think that’s going to be key to beating a guy like that. He’s the guy that everyone looks at as unbeatable, and he’s got this hype around him like no one can beat him. I want to be the guy to get in there and take that belt from him.”
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Pictured: Jose Aldo (via UFC.com)
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Not trying to disrespect Frankie Edgar here, but if he’s going to drop to 145 thats totally his call, especially considering how insanely stacked 155 has become with strikers and wrestlers and Bjj guys and all around bad-a$$es.
Plus at 145 Edgar will give Aldo all he can handle if things break that way, and Aldo has got to be feeling the pressure from all the hype surounding him, both factual and fictional.
However…if this is some one-time superfight deal then shenanigans are going to get called by all those 155ers waiting on their opportunities, not to mention Chad Mendes.
BJ Penn jammed up the 155 weightclass in order to catch a beating from GSP, and that was back when the weightclass was a LOT less stacked than it is now.
Dana White has said repeatedly that superfights happen when champions clear out their weightclass.
Edgar will need 36 months to clean out all the talent at 155 [if he can], and Mendes is staring Aldo dead in the face.
Guess we’ll see what we see, but more and more the UFC is definitely giving off the whiff of WTF?
I totally agree with you. I’m not the biggest fan of these “super fights” save Anderson Silva at 205.
However, I think this has a good possibility of happening for two reasons. 1) Frankie is a natural 145′er IMO. And 2) I hate to say this, but Chad Mendes is not exactly going to draw a lot of excitement if he gets the nod. Lightweight is nowhere near being cleaned out by Edgar, but Featherweight is lacking in quality opponents. No disrespect to the 145′ers out there. Dana has said time and time again, “We put on the fights that people want to see”. I ust don’t feel any of the “buzz” about any of the possible top of the heap featherweights.
I say if Aldo beats Mendes he should move up to 155
There it is guys. Official proof that Melendez will be fighting Masvidal in December. So he’ll have to wait a bit longer to join the UFC afterall.
http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/10/11/gilbert-melendez-vs-jorge-masvidal-official-for-strikeforce-in/
Any one hear what Dana said Re Franky having to give up the belt at 155 to drop to 134??
145 LOL
Mendes already saying he’s gonna lay on top of Aldo for 5 rds. And win the decision…..BOOOOORING. ..cuz that’s what Mendes does.
why would edgar drop to 145? in the stacked division of 155 he’s the king.