Edgar will do better on the feet than Aldo did.

[Superzorro]

Actually anyone who has wrestled knows it's easier to hit a TD on a tall lanky guy than a shorter guy.

Think about it.
Max' s tall lanky build will be a disadvantage when it comes to TDD.

Much easier to wrap your arms around your opponents legs for a double.

I actually don't know how anyone is fooling themselves into thinking Max is gonna be able to defend the TD.

He should be training to hit Frankie with a knee while he shoots in.

Edgar has faster hands, quicker footwork, cardio and chin for days.
No way Max avoids the TD with footwork lol.
No way other than a lucky KO from a knee that Max wins this fight.

Max has no advantage here other than reach.
That won't be enough.

Sure, you have more calf to work with. But you won't get there to begin with. With a longer opponent, it's harder to close the gap. When it comes to takedowns, hands are a lot less important than penetration. I can't address much else of this post, because we flat out disagree on certain points. I think Max has better footwork, hand speed comparable enough that there won't be a significant difference, equal cardio and a better chin than Edgar (all be it one less tested). So we'll just have to wait for the fight to see.

 

[WouldNotBang]

Ha. Even after the second ass whooping from Holloway they still think Aldo lost because of himself, not from anything Holloway did to him.

Holloway is the reason Aldo gassed. He set a pace Jose couldn't handle. I wasn't trying to discredit Max. He beat the shit out of Aldo.

 

[rjmbrd]

Do you think max is the best?

Jose Aldo - TKO
Jose Aldo - TKO
Anthony Pettis - TKO
Ricardo Lamas
Jeremey Stephens
Charles Oliveria
Cub Swanson - Submission

That run caps his TWELVE fight win streak.

Max isn't just one of the best, he's already one of the greatest of all time at featherweight. Arguably thats the most impressive strength of schedule even attempted by a modern featherweight. None of them were close fights.

He's definitely something special.

 

[2GunTommy]

Sure, you have more calf to work with. But you won't get there to begin with. With a longer opponent, it's harder to close the gap. When it comes to takedowns, hands are a lot less important than penetration. I can't address much else of this post, because we flat out disagree on certain points. I think Max has better footwork, hand speed comparable enough that there won't be a significant difference, equal cardio and a better chin than Edgar (all be it one less tested). So we'll just have to wait for the fight to see.

It's all about height differential.
And id say Frankie definitely has faster in and out footwork to get close enough.

Frankie will have Max guessing and hesitant to come forward.
That will take a lot away from Max.
Max will not be able to come forward with constant pressure.
Frankie is all wrong for him.

 

[fortheo]

It's gonna come down to how well Edgar deals with the body shots that Holloway just loves to dish out. If Frankie can't find a way to stop or counter them he's going to have his gas tank sucked dry like every other one of Max's victims, and from there it's all downhill. I think most of Frankie's wrestling will be neutralized by Holloway's distance control, you can't get a takedown on him if you can't get the position to shoot one and Holloway doesn't make that easy.

As an Edgar fan, that was my main concern. I spammed mark Henry with several articles about Holloway and his tendency to attack the body months ago lol, let's hope they find an answer for that.

As for Max's distance control shutting down take-downs. Yes his distance control is good, but rewatching his fights and I notice a lot of lesser fighters getting in on his hips--stevens for example didn't get takedowns, but he timed Max's entry into the pocket more than once and got pretty deep in on Max's hips, and he also managed to get max to the clinch several times, but Stephens isn't the wrestler that Frankie is. The openings are there, it's just a matter of being able to capitalize on them.

 

[fortheo]

Jose Aldo - TKO
Jose Aldo - TKO
Anthony Pettis - TKO
Ricardo Lamas
Jeremey Stephens
Charles Oliveria
Cub Swanson - Submission

That run caps his TWELVE fight win streak.

Max isn't just one of the best, he's already one of the greatest of all time at featherweight. Arguably thats the most impressive strength of schedule even attempted by a modern featherweight. None of them were close fights.

He's definitely something special.

I'm not asking if you think he has the best record, I'm asking if you think he's the best FW on the roster, meaning, do you think he beats every other FW on the roster?

I'm not convinced he's the best yet. One of the best, sure, but I need to see him against frankie first, and even after that I think Ortega will give him problems.

Max's greatest challenge imo will be Zabit, but he won't be near the title till the end of the year at the earliest.

 

[Krouget]

Actually anyone who has wrestled knows it's easier to hit a TD on a tall lanky guy than a shorter guy.

Think about it.
Max' s tall lanky build will be a disadvantage when it comes to TDD.

Much easier to wrap your arms around your opponents legs for a double.

I actually don't know how anyone is fooling themselves into thinking Max is gonna be able to defend the TD.

He should be training to hit Frankie with a knee while he shoots in.

It entirely depends on the circumstance and a range of factors. There was an overwhelming belief that a smaller, "stronger", decorated wrestler in DC was going to pose significant problems for the taller, lankier Jones, and we saw what happened.

If anything is clear, it's that MMA breaks many perceptions, come fight time.

 

[2GunTommy]

It entirely depends on the circumstance and a range of factors. There was an overwhelming belief that a smaller, "stronger", decorated wrestler in DC was going to pose significant problems for the taller, lankier Jones, and we saw what happened.

If anything is clear, it's that MMA breaks many perceptions, come fight time.

True many factors come into play but in general it will always be easier to shoot in on a lanky guy than a short stocky guy.

 

[olimpicus]

I never understood why Aldo stopped trying to take down strikers like he used to. Too many injuries and miles on the clock I guess.

Offensive TD%:
74% GSP
72% JOSE ALDO
56% Demetrious "Mighty" Johnson
55% Chad Mendes
54% Brock Lesnar
51% Chris Weidman's Father's Boy
50% Jon "Bones" Jones
50% Dominator Cruz
47% Hendricks
43% Cain
39% DC
35% Frankie Edgar

The Fedor's decline on ofensive grappling for great strikers

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

He moves his head more and has much better footwork.

 

[Juventud]

Objective fans see Frankies lost a step. He's not as fast as he used to be. Which was the key to his striking success.

Holloway uses his reach very well and rolls with punches.

Frankie also can't stand in the pocket and eat punches like Aldo did which is integral to landing on Holloway.

Holloway wins.
Frankie fans are living off the fumes of his Maynard wins.

 

[knock_you_out]

Yes. Aldo fights fire with fire. Frankie fights fire with water!

 

[rjmbrd]

I'm not asking if you think he has the best record, I'm asking if you think he's the best FW on the roster, meaning, do you think he beats every other FW on the roster?

I'm not convinced he's the best yet. One of the best, sure, but I need to see him against frankie first, and even after that I think Ortega will give him problems.

Max's greatest challenge imo will be Zabit, but he won't be near the title till the end of the year at the earliest.

I can only measure 'the best' based on what has happened - who Max and his peers have beaten.

Aldo literally worked over Frankie in their last fight. So we know Frankie isn't the best, he's lost to Aldo twice now and the second time was a beating. Max for his part has the most impressive combination of 12 fight win streak and strength of schedule of any current or previous featherweight. For me, that makes you the best.

Ortega is on a very impressive run, but he's a cheater. He failed for drostanalone in his UFC debut and got off with a light punishment because it was just before USADA spun up. He is the 5th guy out of Black House to fail for PEDS and the third to fail for that specific drug.

He seems like a nice fellow but I don't believe that camp is magically clean now.

Zabit and another fellow I can't recall right now look awesome, that division has some fine depth, definitely exciting time.

 

[det_regnar_på_vår_kärlek]

Frankie's going to win this one.

Styles make fights.

 

[Rum]

He moves his head more and has much better footwork.

Not even close. A good deal of the reason for both of Aldo's wins over Frankie is Aldo's footwork was leagues superior to Frankie's. Aldo's footwork was superior in both Max fights too. Until he got tired.

That's Frankie's real advantage. He never gets tired. I just don't see it being enough unfortunately.

 

[SeattleFightFan]

That's Frankie's real advantage. He never gets tired. I just don't see it being enough unfortunately.

me too. he's great. he's the 2nd fighter to win the "Hendo Award" (great but not best across multiple divisions), after Hendo of course.

but i don't see it being enough for Max. IMO he likely wins 1 or 2 rounds en route to a decision loss. i give him a <10% chance if eking out 3 rounds FTW.

but i find it highly likely that Max outlasts him AND figures him out AND capitalizes on him in the later rounds. and i cannot wait to find out

 

[Ah Man]

It's gonna come down to how well Edgar deals with the body shots that Holloway just loves to dish out. If Frankie can't find a way to stop or counter them he's going to have his gas tank sucked dry like every other one of Max's victims, and from there it's all downhill. I think most of Frankie's wrestling will be neutralized by Holloway's distance control, you can't get a takedown on him if you can't get the position to shoot one and Holloway doesn't make that easy.

I love Holloway's body shots. I've been a big fan since his second fight in the UFC because of those body shots, and if Frankie isn't scoring frequent takedowns they're going to be a problem for him. With Max's chin and Frankie's at-best-okay power, I think scoring enough takedowns where he doesn't take too many of them is his best route to countering them, and probably his only route.

I'm not convinced Holloway's distance control is that much of a problem for Frankie, who excels in wrestling transitions. If we were discussing Holloway against Mendes, I'd agree. Mendes has a great entry, but isn't a great chain wrestler. Frankie's the opposite. Frankie can blow an entry, but unless Holloway gets out of there real quick, that entry is just a way to close to distance. I'm a big believer in Holloway—a big believer in both these guys really—but he hasn't actually demonstrated that ability against anyone anything like Edgar.

Aldo literally worked over Frankie in their last fight. So we know Frankie isn't the best, he's lost to Aldo twice now and the second time was a beating.

You make some valid points, but this isn't one of them. Aldo outstruck Edgar 80-79 in significant strikes in their second fight, winning the scorecards 49-46 x 2 and 48-47. It wasn't as close as their first fight, certainly not close enough to dispute the decision, but it was a close fight. Edgar losing two close fights to a 10-year undefeated guy that matches up very well against him doesn't mean he's not the best. Styles make fights. He may still the best overall. If Holloway beats him, then we know for sure. If Edgar wins, it's harder to say, since Edgar arguably matches up well against Holloway.

I favor Holloway because I think he's still getting better and Frankie has started to slowly get worse, but this is an amazing fight between two guys who may both be among the 5 best p4p fighters in the entire sport, let alone best in the division. I just wish it were 10 rounds, because they both have the ability to go that long. I think Max has the best resume right now, but the Edgar fight is one—the one—he needs to prove that it's more than just on paper.

 

[Kneeuinthenutz]

Aldo did really good on the feet vs Hollaway in both fights....

The problem? Max has one of the best chins I've ever seen, amazing cardio, and amazing set of offense, and defensive skills....

I can't think of 1 fighter in the division who would have been able to handle what Max ate, and not either have been finished or completely discouraged the rest of the fight.

Edgar is a completely different fighter, with a completely different set of skills. I'm very much looking forward to this fight.

 

[Jackonfire]

Yeah, Frankie definitely brings the threat of the TD, something Aldo didn't really have. And that should open up some striking opportunities. Can't wait for this fight.

 

[rjmbrd]

You make some valid points, but this isn't one of them. Aldo outstruck Edgar 80-79 in significant strikes in their second fight, winning the scorecards 49-46 x 2 and 48-47. It wasn't as close as their first fight, certainly not close enough to dispute the decision, but it was a close fight. Edgar losing two close fights to a 10-year undefeated guy that matches up very well against him doesn't mean he's not the best. Styles make fights. He may still the best overall. If Holloway beats him, then we know for sure. If Edgar wins, it's harder to say, since Edgar arguably matches up well against Holloway.

You are being reasonable, and this is a measured way of looking at it. My point of view is a bit different though, and I believe the modern scoring system (implemented only in some states) reflects that.

Aldo's strikes - in Rogan's words as he commentated - had a lot more consequence. Edgar is arguably one of the best point fighters in the history of the sport, and he likes to score and dance away from the action, which has lead to quite a few split stinker decisions.

Aldo beat him up. When he landed, it had consequence to it. Edgar did not hit Aldo with the same severity for which Aldo hit him, so going off the strike counts is misleading. I'm a fan of both fighters and I feel comfortable saying Aldo outclassed Edgar in that fight, and Edgar had no answer.

I favor Holloway because I think he's still getting better and Frankie has started to slowly get worse, but this is an amazing fight between two guys who may both be among the 5 best p4p fighters in the entire sport, let alone best in the division. I just wish it were 10 rounds, because they both have the ability to go that long.

Agreed on all points.

I think Max has the best resume right now, but the Edgar fight is one—the one—he needs to prove that it's more than just on paper.

This strikes me as bombastic. He busted up, broke down and finished Jose Aldo in back to back fights, capping a historic 12 fight winning streak. He isn't anything on paper, he's on a legitimately historic run by any sane standard of modern MMA.

Edgar had two cracks at Aldo, lost twice, and took a solid beating in his second shot.

Max summarily wrecked Aldo twice. It is casting aspersions on Max to say he's 'just on paper' right now.