Frankie Edgar makes more sense for too many reasons...
Reasons for Edgar and reasons against Aldo
- There's been over a year of McGregor/Aldo buildup. I'm personally sick of that story and would prefer something new. I don't think I'm alone here. It'd probably also be good for McGregor and Aldo to focus on new opponents.
- Frankie Edgar possibly has a better style for beating Conor than Aldo does. He has the boxing, footwork, wrestling, GNP, gas tank, and based on his last performance, KO power, to offer McGregor some new problems that neither Aldo nor Mendes nor anyone has offered him yet.
- Jose Aldo suffered a brutal KO and would possibly be better served having time off, rather than facing a vicious knockout artist again, only months later. We've seen fighters come back from KO losses before too quickly, with it not ending well.
- There's already a large amount of rematches in the UFC. There's Cain/Werdum 2, with potential rematches looming for Cain vs Cigano, and for Werdum vs Cigano, Overeem, and Arlovski. There's Jones/DC 2, with potential for Jones/Gus 2 and even DC/Rumble 2 if DC actually beats Jones. There's Rockhold/Belfort 2 and Rockhold/Weidman 2. There's RDA/Cerrone this weekend. There's potentially Cruz/Faber 3. Mighty Mouse has cleaned out his division so probably has rematches on the horizon if he beats Cejudo. Both women's champions are set for rematches too. Fresh matchups are actually the rarity nowadays, and it's a reason to go with Edgar over Aldo.
- Frankie Edgar has arguably "earnt" a title shot, and was at least promised one long ago. The Cub fight was supposed to get him the shot. He was open to getting the 189 shot after beating Faber. And now he achieved a better result against Mendes than either Aldo or McGregor did recently, by KOing him in the first. Edgar would also be better served being given the shot sooner rather than later due to his age; he's 5 years older than Aldo.
Reasons for Aldo and reasons against Edgar
- Aldo was the longest running champ in the UFC at the time of his loss. He's the only UFC champ in featherweight history. That level of dominance arguably "earns" him a rematch. Other champs have been given rematches for doing less, ie Barao, Cain, Rousey, Hendricks (but the UFC changed their mind with Johny).
- There's a lack of resolution to the McGregor/Aldo storyline. As decisive as the finish itself was, we didn't get to see how Conor's and Jose's styles match up over a longer period of time. We only got to see 2 exchanges, and we didn't get to see any Aldo leg kicks or takedown attempts.
There's reasons both sides but I feel Frankie Edgar has a much stronger case. I'd also prefer to see Conor face the winner of RDA/Cerrone over Aldo. After the fight on saturday, I think it should be a choice between Edgar and the winner of RDA/Cerrone. Aldo should go and fight someone else (or even 2 fighters, to get a streak going). A McGregor/Aldo rematch would be even bigger if they fight coming off new win streaks.
