The “super fight” has been thrown around loosely during the years as promoters use this term to promote fights while the fight fans yearn to have one for the longest time.
Filipino fans are fortunate to have two of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest stars, and mainstays in the pound-for-pound rankings, in the main event for the inaugural UFC event in Manila. If you don’t believe that this is a super fight, here is a short resumé of both fighters.
Dean Roxas, of Tiebreaker Times, broke down the fight, using their fight with Jose Aldo as gauge in UFC Fight Night Manila: Someone’s Got to Give.
But in their own words, both Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber think that the fight is a super fight that is years in the making. Edgar told the members of the media that this is a super fight. “The fight feels it has more magnitude. Urijah has been on the top for so long. He was the man when I first got into the sport. I’ve done well in the sport as well. So I think it is a super fight.”
Moreover, at first they did not think that they would encounter one another in a bout. “I never thought that our paths would meet,” Edgar added. “We almost had a stint as coaches in the Ultimate Fighter and that will lead to a match but it did not pan out. That’s where I thought, ‘yeah this fight might actually happen’ and it did.”
Unlike in other fights these two has had in their careers, both men think that for the first time they are fighting an opponent of almost equal in size. “There is no size advantage in this fight.” Faber quipped, “maybe he has a half an inch on me but that’s about it.” Edgar added that that half an inch is not really an advantage. “I don’t think that’s an advantage. We walk the same weight but I don’t really think about the size especially when I was fighting bigger guys before.”
When asked about the advantages they have over one another, the two UFC veterans had a hard time answering. “I think I’m a little bit faster than Frankie, but that’s about it. He’s been rocked before but he could recover well as well.” Edgar, on the other hand, thinks that their grappling and submission game are at par, “I scramble well. I just have to be aware of his grappling, if I do that, I’ll be alright.”
Despite the mutual admiration of both fighters to each other, Faber and Edgar gave confident predictions to the outcome of the match. ‘The California Kid’ told us that he was going for the finish whatever happens while ‘The Answer’ gave a statement, “if I show up on Saturday night, I’m confident I will win.”
The SM Mall of Asia Arena is fortunate to host a super fight of this magnitude. Now, it’s time to sit back and enjoy watching these two elite fighters, in the prime of their careers, duke it out inside the Octagon.
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