UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar will indeed face Gray “The Bully” Maynard for a third time. The bout, which was originally planned for UFC 130, will now take place at UFC 136 on October 8th in Houston, Texas. MMAFighting.com first reported on the fight today.
Edgar suffered his first and only loss to date in the first bout with Maynard back at UFC Fight Night 13 in 2008 and looked to be seconds away from defeat in the January 1st rematch this year. However, he battled back and managed to win enough rounds to earn a Draw on the judges’ scorecards.
Edgar (13-1-1) rallied back strong after the 2008 loss to Maynard and won five straight fights; capturing the UFC Lightweight Championship from “The Prodigy” B.J. Penn along the way. Edgar defeated Penn again in a rematch and had looked to avenge his only loss when he faced Maynard for the second time at UFC 125. Surviving a hellacious first round that some scored 10-7 in Maynard’s favour, Edgar’s cardio took over as the fight progressed and he managed to battle back to a Draw after five rounds.
Maynard (10-0-1, 1 NC), who felt that he won the rematch with Edgar, now receives a second chance to take the title away from the champion. The standout wrestler holds recent wins over UFC standouts Jim Miller and Kenny Florian and has yet to taste defeat in his MMA career. Though criticised for a less than fan-friendly style, Maynard was ultra-aggressive in the rematch with Edgar and appeared to be seconds away from scoring a knockout victory on multiple occasions in round one, but it was not to be.
The score will finally be settled between the two after injuries forced both fighters off of the UFC 130 card where the third meeting was originally set to take place. The winner will walk away with the UFC Lightweight Championship and the distinction of being the number one lightweight in the world.
UFC 136 is targeted for October 8th at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event is now expected to be headlined by the UFC Lightweight Championship bout between Edgar and Maynard.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)