Just hours after declaring he “had no idea” what he was going to do with the lightweight division, Dana White confirmed on his Twitter account that Frankie Edgar will get the rematch he wants, and will face Benson Henderson again this summer. The pair fought to a closely contested decision at UFC 144 in Japan that went Henderson’s way.
White stated after the fight that he felt Edgar should drop to 145 pounds, and that he would be given an immediate title shot against current featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
During today’s UFC on Fox 3 press conference, White mentioned that the future of the lightweight division would be decided after he talked with Edgar today. Edgar stated immediately after the loss that he wanted to continue fighting at 155 pounds, and that he has no intentions of moving around in weight classes just yet.
Henderson stated earlier this week on MMAFighting.com that he, as a fan, felt that Edgar deserved a rematch. While he was open to fighting other lightweight contenders such as Anthony Pettis, Nate Diaz, or even Jacob Volkmann, it seemed even he was on board with giving Edgar the rematch after the close fight just a few weeks prior.
But with Edgar remaining adamant that he will stay in the lightweight division, Henderson will now be able to confirm his status as a champion, along with giving Edgar the rematch he feels he deserves.
White also announced today that the main event at UFC on Fox 3 between Nate Diaz and Jim Miller will be a number one contender’s bout. That matchup takes place on May 5th, so the winner will face the winner of the Henderson vs. Edgar rematch.
What was not announced was when the second matchup will take place. UFC 149 is the earliest pay-per-view event that is scheduled that does not have a main event on tap. UFC 149 is currently scheduled for July 21st in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but it has not been officially announced by the UFC.
UFC on Fox 4 is also a possibility, as it too does not have a main event. That event is scheduled for August 4th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
For complete coverage of the ongoing lightweight division developments, stay tuned to MMAFrenzy.com
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As much as I thought Frankie deserved a rematch after having to rematch BJ and Maynard, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that the most exciting division in the UFC is once again on hold. Also, if Pettis was originally going to get the shot, why the heck is the Diaz/Miller fight a number 1 contender bout? Shouldn’t it be a “next in lime after Pettis” fight or even a match to see who will face Pettis for the right to challenge the winner of Edgsr/Henderson? Where does Pettis fall in all of this?
This is terrible. Sucks to be in the UFC LW division these days.
This means that the “last” 6 UFC LW title fights (including the upcoming one) involved a total of 4 different fighters and 2 title changes.
And it’s a rematch. The opponent hasn’t changed since they last met. Why not have it sooner than 4-6 months later?
Diablo,
I think Ben was issued a suspension that would prevent him from fighting within the next 6 months.
I think this is a bad decision but I think its the right one. Edgar gave his last 2 opponents rematches and it’s only fair. I am not happy with this decision and I don’t agree with it but I can understand it.
Dana should publicly state that this will be the last immediate rematch . He needs to set that $hit in stone and say that if you lose a title fight, no matter how close or controversial you need to work Ur way back. Even if it’s just 1 more win cuz this is gettig ridiculous.
100% agree with you.
i also agree that this may not be the most exciting match possible b/c most want to see henderson/pettis II, but i applaud the UFC for showing respect to edgar, he has earned it over and over again.
of course henderson wants to fight the guy he just beat again…..and not the guy that beat him and looked scary against Joe, I would want the rematch against frankie too
its about time edgar got this
I think this was done for 2 different reasons. One it was a close and controversial fight. Two they would rather have Nate Diaz fight Henderson then Anthony Pettis right now. By having the rematch they are aligning the timing up for that fight to happen if Diaz wins.
Pettis and Henderson WILL fight for the title, just a matter of when…
Well, I’ll applaud Frankie’s agent for getting him this fight, but I don’t see this going any differently than the first fight. Frankie doesn’t have the cardio edge like he did his first three title defense over BJ and Gray. The only way I see Lil Mac win this is if lands a hail mary like he did on Gray or a controversial decision.
Also, why was Bendo even mentioning that president bashing dork, jacob volkmann’s name?
Cuz Volkmann is on a 5 fight win streak and has completely dominated his last 2 opponents, he’s def. not getting a title shot next but he is in desperate need of an upgrade in an opponent
Just a week ago everyone said that it BS that edgar is not gonna get a rematch and that he deserves it now that he’s gonna get his rematch now people are saying its not a good matchup,..IMO Diaz vs Miller is a great matchup for the #1 contender spot
Hate to say I told you so… Now that Edgar gets the rematch that I think he deserves, it brings about two interesting points. The obvious is that if Edgar lost again to Bendo, hopefully he’d then drop down and fight aldo. The other point that I hate to mention is that if Edgar wins a close battle, I could almost guarantee ufc makes an immediate rubber match. Lol. But mad props to Bendo for admitting he should get a rematch as a fan. And Bendo ain’t scared of Edgar or pettis, or anyone else, sorry.
Anyway I disagree with you guys that state this clogs the best division. There is no clear top contender by far. Miller just got easily beaten by Bendo and already lost to Edgar. Diaz may be interesting, but that’s about it. I do agree though that that shouldnt be for top contender. The winner should fight pettis. And if not, who does pettis fight next. Prob maynard or a rematch with guida I suppose, but I doubt it.
I’m calling it….I’d like to.see pettis move over to sf to fight melendez!!
And Dana will never state no rematches, come on guys…
Super stoked to see Edgar get this new chance, and can’t wait to see how that bad ass mofo little dude does without getting the stupidest upkick in earth history in the 2nd round. Gonna be a great fight either way and I’m excited.
His name is benson Henderson not bendo who ever came up with that name is jackass and if call him that you are a jackass
Over at Bleacher Report, I came up with a new judging system that is based more on statistics instead of purely on judges opinion. You can check it out at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1092808-comprehensive-ways-to-fix-mma-judging-once-and-for-all in the comments section under Justin Sumner. But using my system this is how the first fight would have been scored
Edgar
Takedowns= .5 points x 5= 2.5
Dominate position= .5 points x 0= 0
Submissions attempts= .3 points x 0= 0
Escaping a submission attempt= .2 points x 1= .2
Stuffing a takedown= .2 points x 0= 0
Strikes landed= .05 points x 81= 4.05
Significant strike= .1 points x 68= 6.8
Knockdown=3 points x 0= 0
Round winner= 5 points x 2= 10
Total points= 23.55
Henderson
Takedowns= .5 points x 1= .5
Dominate position= .5 points x 0= 0
Submissions attempts= .3 points x 1= .3
Escaping a submission attempt= .2 points x 0= 0
Stuffing a takedown= .2 points x 7= 1.4
Strikes landed= .05 points x 100= 5
Significant strike= .1 points x 87= 8.7
Knockdown=3 points x 0= 0
Round winner= 5 points x 3= 15
Total points= 30.9
Justin, while I appreciate your efforts in fixing the scoring, and that method does make sense. These judges and scorers have a tough time adding 10+10 (as evidenced by the McCall/Johnson decision). I doubt they’d be able to pull of decimals and fractions.
If you go to Bleacher Report and read the comments there you would have seen where I addressed that same thing. They wouldn’t have to add it up. There would be a computer program made that would instantaneously figure the statistics and do the math. The only way to fix the judging is to take some of the judging out of their hands. The 5 points for each round won would still allow for the judges opinion of who won the round. Right now with the 10 point must system the decision is based 100% on judges’ opinions. Having ex-fighters as judges or judges who have actually trained in MMA will not change that. If people would like to have definite winners then there must be a fantasy football type point system installed as well as keeping some of the human judging factor. There would be no need for the judges to add anything. The only thing the judges would have to do is watch the fight.
@ Bryan I think its to have a compustrike like system to decided the winners of fight not judges. There is no way a judge is counting strikes and significant strikes ext
It was more of a joke than actual analysis.
Lol come on guys what is this womens figure skating? You would still need some barney to watch the fight and punch in numbers based off his view and opinion. The judges are right 95% of the time, no need to fix it.
Hey rick, I really like your idea about Bendo. People should call Bendo by his god given name. Matter of fact, I don’t know how I could’ve gone on watching another fight without someone making that statement about Bendo.
They already figure up the numbers instantaneously all they have to do is come up with a computer program that is set up to do the math. It would cut down on these controversial, close matches where people argue on who won. It would allow for a definitive winner based on a certain set of statistics.
Still based on human decision. It also kills the skill and art of fighting and the magnitude of a near ko hit. The first time this algorithm gives a clear loser the win, everybody screams bloody murder. It’s all good, 3 judges usually works just fine.
Yeah but you guys keep missing the human element. There is still a dude punching numbers into compustrike while the fight is happening real time.
But hey we could always watch the fight, then make no decision..then watch the fight in slow mo, with no sound, for a month and then Dana could tweet the results lol ;)
The rematch will most likely be a very close fight as well..The top notch LW’s are very evenly matched
Dana had a chance to put an end to this and didn’t = Fail…this Frankie Edgar rematch crap could go on forever
yeah i agree this is bullshii, close or not benson won it and this rematch thing is getting out of hand