Leg kicks. Oh boy, leg kicks.
That was the story of the first handful of rounds. Aldo began chopping wood with his powerhouse kick at the beginning of the round and unloaded with his strikes. The former lightweight kingpin had no answers early on as his larger Brazilian dominated with his leg kick and long jab.
The second frame Aldo continued on offence, the thunderous kick remained a useful part of his offence but this time the NCAA Division I All-America wrestler was unable to get him off his feet as well. Right when it looked like it was set to spell certain defeat for the New Jersey native he rallied back.
When it’s gut-check time, nobody comes back like Edgar. The third stanza has far more competitive, Aldo opens with an Anderson Silva-style front kick that Edgar just shrugs off and and begins taking the fight with his frenetic pace and the champ was clearly beginning to show signs of fatigue.
By round four it seemed there was a momentum swing. With the crowd chanting behind him, Edgar didn’t look like he’d broken a sweat as he uses his boxing techinque and lands takedowns to win his first clear round of the night.
It was all on the line in the final frame and Aldo had a second wind, both men pushed forward and landed offence with Aldo relying on his lateral movement and pick his shots on the outside while Edgar looks to get in-tight and put on a boxing clinic as the fight came to a close.
It was close, but it seemed the judges cageside didn’t agree giving the fight to Aldo with scores of 49-46, 49-46, 48-47.
