Frankie Edgar (-190)
Age: 36
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 22-5-1
UFC Record: 16-5-1
Notable Wins: Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson, Urijah Faber, BJ Penn, Chad Mendes
Notable Losses: Jose Aldo, Benson Henderson
Last Fight: TKO win over Yair Rodriguez
Fighter Profile: Edgar is one of the most impressive, well-rounded featherweights in the UFC. He has a strong wrestling game and can take down most of his opponents and once he gets them to the ground he has ridiculous ground-and-pound. On the feet he has a high-volume boxing attack and can have surprising finishing power at times. He also has excellent cardio and can routinely go 25 minutes without slowing down. And his chin is one of the best in the business. Though he’s in his last 30s he’s still one of the best fighters at 145 and with a win over Ortega should get a title fight against champion Max Holloway.
Brian Ortega (+150)
Age: 27
Nationality: American
MMA Record: 13-0, 1 NC
UFC Record: 5-0, 1 NC
Notable Wins: Cub Swanson, Clay Guida, Renato Moicano
Notable Losses: None
Last Fight: Submission win over Cub Swanson
Fighter Profile: Ortega has been nothing short of spectacular in the UFC so far, as he’s finished everyone in his path so far. He has incredible submissions and once he locks them up it’s impossible for his opponents to get out of them as the Swanson fight showed us. On the feet he has an unorthodox striking attack but he does possess knockout power as we saw against Guida. He also has excellent cardio as he’s finished a number of fights in the third round and he’s proven to be very tough. Ortega is just a very solid fighter and undoubtedly has championship potential. We’ll see if he can take the next step by getting past Edgar, but that won’t be easy.
Fight Breakdown: I can see this fight playing out in two ways. Either Ortega can get the fight to the ground and catch Edgar in a submission, or Edgar can use his wrestling in reverse to keep the fight standing and outpoint Ortega on the feet. I tend to lean towards the latter happening, as I think Edgar is fighting at too high a level to make the mistake of getting caught in a submission. I just think his technical boxing is so much better and that’s what is going to get Edgar a decision win.
Prediction: Frankie Edgar via decision
