UFC 118 Edgar vs Penn 2 Preview

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 is taking place this Saturday on August 28, 2010. This will mark the rematch between UFC Lightweight champion Frankie “The Answer” Edgar and “The Prodigy” BJ Penn. Their first fight back at UFC 112: Invincible in April ended in controversy. The bout went all five rounds and the judges declared Frankie Edgar the winner and new UFC Lightweight Champion. Although Edgar definitely gave the long time champ more competition than anyone expected from him, many still believe BJ Penn had won the fight. Because of this, President of the UFC Dana White and the UFC Matchmaker Joe Silva scheduled an immediate rematch for the UFC Lightweight title again.

Edgar being from Toms River, New Jersey is well-known in the Philadelphia area. He started out wrestling for his college, Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where most of his fighting pedigree comes from. Edgar’s style is relentless, on top of you, crisp boxing and staying in the pocket with you, and takedowns galore. Edgar worked his style and strategy pretty well in their first fight, but BJ Penn has changed his whole training style up for this rematch. Penn was the king of the 155 pound weight division for a while. No one had Edgar winning the first fight beforehand, so when Edgar came out on top, as controversial as it was, it was safe to say nobody expected it. This rematch Penn is going to try to make sure the judges don’t get a chance to decide who walks away with the Lightweight belt this time.

Also on the card are a couple other good fights with Gray “The Bully” Maynard taking on well known Lightweight contender Kenny Florian. Florian is a top UFC Lightweight contender having fought for the title twice losing both times to Sean Sherk and BJ Penn respectively. Gray Maynard has been on a roll since coming into the UFC with an undefeated record beating the likes of Nate Diaz, Roger Huerta, and even being the only person to beat the current UFC Lightweight Champ Frankie Edgar. The winner of this bout will determine the #1 contender for the UFC Lightweight title.

Another fight on the card is the co-main event pitting longtime UFC veteran and UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture against Boxing legend James “Lights Out” Toney. Toney has openly stated he believes Boxing is better than MMA. UFC President has been vocal saying MMA is better than Boxing. The two of them got together and decided to try proving their points with James Toney signing a UFC contract. Just turning 42, Toney is well past his prime but still has the name and skills to be considered a serious threat on the feet. Toney on the other hand thinks that is all he needs to win this fight. He has been bad mouthing Couture and MMA saying it’s not a real sport and calling Couture by the name of “Princess”. He claims all he needs is his fists and that he is the best fighter Randy Couture has ever faced in his life. I’m sure Chuck Liddell, Antonio Minotauro Nogueira, and current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar would love to disagree with that. Couture has been fairly quiet but come August 28th, he will be doing his talking in the octagon. As will every other fighter on the card, which will be sure to make for a great night of fights. What are your thoughts on UFC 118? In the comments box tell me who you think is going to win and why.
UFC 118 Fight card
Frankie Edgar vs. BJ Penn for UFC Lightweight Championship
Randy Couture vs. James Toney
Kenny Florian vs. Gray Maynard
Demian Maia vs. Mario Miranda
Nate Diaz vs. Marcus Davis
Joe Lauzon vs. Gabe Ruediger
Andre Winner vs. Nick Lentz
Dan Miller vs. John Salter
Nick Osipczak vs. Greg Soto
Mike Pierce vs. Amilcar Alves

Check out these UFC® 118 predictions from other MMA Examiners:

• National MMA Examine Astrid Bidanec
  
• Miami MMA Examiner Harry Bergollo
  
• National MMA Examiner Eddie Graveline
  
• Houston MMA Examiner A.J. Hoffman
  
• Philadelphia MMA Examiner Kyle Holdsworth
  
• Indianapolis MMA Examiner Dennis "D Source" Guillermo
  
• Detroit Fight Sports Examiner Bill Shimizu
  
• Providence Fight Sports Examiner Joseph Roche
  
• Durham MMA Examiner Justin Harris
  
• Columbus MMA Examiner Trisha Barr
  
• Canadian MMA Examiner Mike Johnson