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411 Fact or Fiction MMA: Should Frankie Edgar Try For the Bantamweight Title?

August 10, 2016 | Posted by Lorenzo Vasquez

Welcome back to another edition of 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! I’m your host, Lorenzo Vasquez III, and it’s that time of the week again where we divulge into what is fact and what is fiction in the mixed martial arts biosphere. Before we dig our heels into the ground I want to thank everyone who voted and left a comment last week. It is greatly appreciated and always encouraged. Last week, Jeffrey Harris and Robert Practor lit it up as they dug into subjects like Nate Diaz bulking up for his rematch with Conor Mcgregor, whether or not BJ Penn is the biggest underachiever, and if Tyron Woodley ended the most exciting welterweight title run in addition to more. Looking like a close fight at first sight, the matchup quickly turn into a barnburner, with Robert getting handed the 23-to-13 victory when the dust settled. Tremendous effort by both participants! Thank you Jeffrey and Robert, your efforts are appreciated.

This week, “The Toddfather” will try to assert himself as he tangles with the “Headshrinker” Mark Radulich over subjects like Frankie Edgar making a run at the bantamweight title, Yair Rodriguez taking it slow after his latest and impressive victory, Tyron Woodley calling out Nick Diaz and GSP, and much more! Alright…you know the drill. Grab some grub and sit tight because it’s time for another round of, 411 Fact or Fiction MMA! Let’s get rolling…

TALE OF THE TAPE
RED CORNER
“The Toddfather” Todd Vote
Contributor, Various 411 Zones
1-1-0

VS

BLUE CORNER
Mark “Headshrinker” Radulich
Supreme Overlord,
Radulich in Broadcasting Network
1-1-0

With a second loss to Jose Aldo at featherweight and the assertion by his coach, Mark Henry, that he is a true 135er, Frankie Edgar should make a run for the bantamweight title if he truly wants to be a two-divisional champion.

Todd Vote: FACT Sure, why not? I mean if Frankie really wants to be a two-divisional champion, and he can make 135 safely, I don’t see any reason why not to give it a shot. That said, remembering how hesitant Frankie was to leave 155, I wonder if he would be willing to pursue the bantamweight division. I don’t see where he has any other options, if he wants another championship. Wait it out, hope McGregor returns to 145 and beats Aldo again? That’s about his only chance at sniffing the 145 pound title anytime soon.

Mark Radulich: FACT As long as Edgar can safely make weight I support him trying for a belt in another weight division. Edgar is about 5’6” which appears to be the average height in the bantamweight division. At 34 years old he probably doesn’t have too many more years left in the UFC before he gets cut so it’s smart of him to maximize the time he has and try for another belt in a division he hasn’t competed in yet. At the very least, it gives him new match-ups with fresh opponents and more opportunities to headline Fight Night cards.

Tyron Woodley must fight and get by Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson before he can rightfully “call-out,” and fight, GSP or Nick Diaz.

Todd Vote: FICTION Nope. If there is one thing I’ve learned in the past couple of years it’s that if you yell the loudest, you will get noticed. Woodley would be wise to establish himself as the champ before calling out a guy who has no right to be fighting for the belt, and the retired former champion, but it is in no way required for him to get either of the fights he claims should be next for him. If there is money to be made, the UFC has shown that is paramount over the prestige of the championships.

Mark Radulich: FICTION I must sound like a broken record on here because I keep saying the same thing, it’s all about the money. I don’t blame Woodley for trying his luck by calling out guys that might get him a bigger payday. Thompson absolutely deserves a shot at the title and in the fair and just world, that’s exactly what would happen. But when has the UFC operated fairly and justly? For Pete’s sake, Dan Henderson was just named as Middleweight champion Michael Bisping’s first opponent. Yoel Romero is undefeated in the UFC and 12 – 1 overall but he’s been skipped right over. Why? Because Bisping vs Henderson 2, in theory, sells more tickets than Bisping vs Romero. Woodley is in a tough division and he could lose that title at any time. He’s playing the smart card by looking to make the most money he can in his next fight. GSP vs a ham sandwich is going to sell a lot of tickets. It will absolutely sell more than a fight against Thompson. Now Nick Diaz is a whole other story because he actually doesn’t add much to a card. Looking at his fights since coming to the UFC, there’s an argument to be made that his opponents were the draw, not him. However, he does draw a lot of media attention. Maybe Tyron Woodley isn’t a household name but it could be after it gets enough mentions alongside Nick Diaz. Make the fights the fans will pay for. Eventually Thompson will get his day.

Further, at this point after rumors failing to materialize and the man himself throwing out teasers which never evolve further than talk, we should not expect Georges St-Pierre to make his long awaited return to the octagon.

Todd Vote: FACT While I don’t think it is out of the realm of possibility for GSP to make a return, I honestly do not expect it to happen anytime soon. If it were to happen, no disrespect to Woodley, but it certainly won’t be for a fight against him.

Mark Radulich: FICTION I think he’s waiting for the right deal and the right opponent. The inevitable GSP comeback fight will make big money so I’m sure it’s a matter of getting the right amount of money on the table along with the appropriate pig hostage opponent. I think we should have faith that eventually the best deal for him will fall into place and we’ll see his return.

SWITCH!

Due to his injuries keeping him out of action, Dominick Cruz has yet to really clean out the bantamweight division; hence, he should not be looking to fight Jose Aldo or Conor McGregor. In fact, it’s time for such talk to stop and for fighters to clean out their division before making such assertions.

Mark Radulich: FICTION In a fair and just world, sure, that makes sense. However, as I look over the bantamweight rankings I notice that right now the fighter closest to a #1 ranking with a winning record is Bryan Carraway…blech. Then there’s a potential rematch with Dillashaw…yawn. Faber is done. After that is John Lineker and Cody Garbrandt. Maybe it’s just me but do any of those potential matches against Cruz light the world on fire? AS I said above, if we were talking strictly competitive sports and would have said FACT all the way. But there’s more to running the UFC than that. You have to capture people’s hearts and imaginations. Some you’ll get based on pure competition alone but the casual fan (and his girlfriend) come along when you have created a spectacle. Aldo vs Cruz or McGregor vs Cruz are both spectacles that will get casual people talking. Bryan Carraway vs Cruz or John Lineker vs Cruz gets nobody but the people who were going to watch anyway talking.

Todd Vote: FICTION Aside from a fight with Cody Garbrandt, what left is there for Cruz in the division, a rematch with Dillashaw, and maybe a fight with Assuncao who is coming off a loss to Dillashaw? There aren’t many in the top 10 I am interested in seeing fight for the title just yet. While, the call-outs have gotten a bit blown up as of late, I don’t necessarily see a problem with an established champion doing that if he feels that is where the most money is. I think this situation is a bit different than the Woodley situation. Cruz is an established champion who just won back, and defended a title he never won. Woodley, aside from his very impressive victory over Lawler, is lacking a really big victory that establishes himself as a top tier fighter. Don’t get me wrong I fully expect Woodley to become a star, but I just don’t think he is positioned in such a way that he is there yet. Then again, calling out Diaz, or GSP, is certainly a way to get people talking. Ultimately, the fighters can call out anyone they choose, and they should always go after the biggest prize. The burden of keeping things in order needs to fall on the UFC and their matchmakers. Not every post fight call out needs to be realized immediately.

Yair Rodriguez is the type of Mexican star the UFC needs, and therefore, it would be wise for the promotion to keep Rodriguez on the outside of the top ten to allow him to develop and improve his game such as his accuracy.

Mark Radulich: FACT The UFC tends to rush people into the main event scene and in doing so these potential stars tend to burnout quick. Then they need to be rebuilt and due to that, they never really realize their potential as money making stars. With Rodriguez and several others the UFC would be wise to let them build up a record of wins outside the top 10 rather than pushing them too fast into the top ten and then losing a potential star. They’ve done this several times already with the likes of Sage Northcutt and Page Van Zant. Both suffered losses that they didn’t have to if only the UFC had protected them a little better.

Todd Vote: FACT I could not have stated my opinion on his performance Saturday night any better. Lots of flash, and it would be awesome if any of that stuff landed. The kid is definitely fun to watch, no doubt. But all the flash in the world isn’t going to mean anything if it looks like a no contact dance battle. He definitely needs to work on his range. Keeping him outside the top ten and giving him a chance to grow would be fantastic.

While, clarifying and changing wording with regards to judging, the new judging criteria outlined by the Association of Boxing Commission and Combative Sports’ Unified Rules of MMA last Tuesday, though positive, will do little to shift the tide in the amount of “iffy” decisions awarded to fighters.

Mark Radulich: FACT Judging fights is not an exact science and it never will be. I’ve been a judge at the amateur level and even among like minded judges we have disagreed wildly on some calls. There’s a degree of subjectivity that you just can’t quantify. What looks like effective aggression to one person may not be to another. Some of us favor jujitsu and will award points for work off the back. Some may never see work off the back as effective. I wish it were more objective and straightforward but it’s just not. Even with the new criteria you will still have to deal with human error.

Todd Vote: FICTION I would like to think that the clearer criteria for a 10-8 round would go a long way toward eliminating the “iffy” decisions we’ve been given in the past. Of course this will not stop blind judges’ calls we see once in awhile, where the fight is clearly awarded to the wrong person, but I do think this will help.

So who won? Did “The Toddfather” dissolve of his opponent? Or, did the Supreme Overlord yield too much power to be dissolved of? You’ve got until midnight eastern on Saturday to vote, so make sure you make your voice heard!

And that’s it for today, but as always, we’ll be back next week with another contest! And please, be sure to vote!

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