The main event of UFC Fight Night 66 is a five-round featherweight bout between Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber. According to the current betting lines available at Several Bookmakers, Edgar is a -450 favorite (bet $450 to win $100) while Faber is a +360 underdog (bet $100 to win $360). MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas opened up Edgar at -380 and Faber at +260, and the betting public has since steamed up the line on Edgar. I agree with the action coming in on Edgar as I fully expect him to win this fight. Here’s why. Edgar (18-4-1) is one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. The 33-year-old American is 12-4-1 overall in the UFC including a 3-1 mark at featherweight with wins over Charles Oliveira, BJ Penn and Cub Swanson, with his lone loss at 145lbs coming to champion Jose Aldo. Edgar is a former lightweight champion himself and has wins over the likes of Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, and Sean Sherk as a lightweight. Edgar is simply one of the most well-rounded fighters in the game today. He has fantastic boxing on the feet, he has incredible wrestling, his ground game is devastating, his cardio is top-notch and his chin has proven to be made out of iron. He has very few flaws, and is one of the most complete fighters to ever compete in the lightweight and featherweight divisions. Edgar has actually improved his game over the last few years and is gunning for a shot at the featherweight title. And with a win over Faber in this weekend’s superfight, he’s likely to get one. Faber (32-7) is one of the top lighter-weight fighter of all time. The 36-year-old American is moving back to featherweight for the first time since 2010 after going 9-3 as a bantamweight, defeating the likes of Alex Caceres, Francisco Rivera, Brian Bowles, Michael McDonald and Iuri Alcantara, with his only losses in the last five years coming to former champions Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao. In fact, in his illustrious career he has never lost a non-title fight, which is an incredible feat. Faber is a very complete fighter. He has great wrestling, sharp striking, brilliant submissions, and he has cardio for days. He is a finisher, with 26 wins coming by stoppage. For Faber, he’s always defeated the top contenders, he’s just taken a step back when he fights champions. Otherwise, he’s been absolutely brilliant. However he is moving back up to 145lbs for this fight and is fighting the former 155lb champ. He will probably have to win on points over five rounds, land a KO blow or get Edgar’s back in a transition, but considering he doesn’t have the wrestling advantage in this fight, and therefore won’t be able to dictate where the fight will take place, it seems like a tall order for Faber and that’s why he’s a big dog here despite being a brilliant fighter in his own right. I think this is a terrible stylistic matchup for Faber, and clearly the betting public agrees as you can see from the line. Edgar has been fighting at a championship-level caliber for a while now, and I fully expect him to put on a dominant showing here against Faber. If the fight stays standing I expect Edgar to outpoint Faber with his boxing, but I think what’s more likely is Edgar uses his incredible wrestling to take this fight to the mat and throw some nasty ground and pound on Faber. “The California Kid” is a tough guy to finish, but if anyone will stop him it’s Edgar. I just can’t see Faber winning this fight, as the only area he’s better than Edgar in is submissions, and in this fight Edgar will be holding the wrestling advantage. I highly favor Edgar to get the win, it’s just unfortunate the line is so high because there isn’t as much value for a bet. Still, he’s someone to consider for a parlay, because he’s one of the most-likely winners on the entire card and it would be a pretty huge upset if he lost.
