"Never leave it in the hands of the judges."
It's the favorite catchphrase of UFC president Dana White, and it was driven home again on Saturday night at UFC 150, when "Smooth" Benson Henderson retained his UFC Lightweight Championship with a split decision win over the former champion, Frankie Edgar. Like the decision victory that "Bendo" earned when he won the title at UFC 144 in February, Saturday night's decision was not without controversy. There's an excellent argument that Edgar should once again be the UFC Lightweight Champion.
The best argument coming out of Saturday night's UFC 150 fight card in Denver, though, is that it's time for Edgar to drop down to the featherweight division.
This is hardly a new argument; in fact, it's been ongoing for some time, based on the fact that Edgar is small for a lightweight, and can make the 155-pound limit without a weight cut. White has been salivating at the prospect of a bout between Edgar and Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship, which is the kind of marquee main event that the 145-pound division has lacked after since it was added to the UFC. However, like any matchup between fighters in different weight classes, it takes some doing to get one fighter to make the move, and that's the case for Edgar, who is an elite fighter at 155 and has generally felt no need to drop to 145.
The second fight between Edgar and Henderson, however, showed where the need comes in. Yes, the decision was controversial, but while Edgar turned in a stronger performance on Saturday night than he did in February, he was unable to finish the fight against Henderson, and that's the case more often than not against UFC lightweights.
In 13 fights against the UFC, Edgar has had just three stoppages: a TKO of Mark Bocek at UFC 73, a submission of Matt Veach at the finale of The Ultimate Fighter 10 and his knockout of Gray Maynard last October at UFC 136. With the 10 other fights all going to decisions, Edgar has spent more time in the Octagon than any lightweight in UFC history. Of course, those numbers are tempered by the fact that he's been fighting the best in the division, but the fact of the matter is that Edgar doesn't have the power to finish fights regularly at 155.
The featherweight division, on the other hand, could be a different story. Edgar may not have the same quickness advantage at 145 that he's enjoyed as a lightweight, but he would be on better footing in terms of power, and would probably have an easier time on the mat trying to apply his jiu-jitsu game against men of similar size.
Can Edgar still compete at 155? Of course, and he can compete with the best in the world. Right now, though, the next man up for Henderson is Nate Diaz, with Donald Cerrone and Anthony Pettis interested in vying for the next opportunity. Right now, the choice Edgar faces is between getting back in line and trying to earn a title shot at 155, or heading down to 145 and being fast-tracked to a fight with Jose Aldo. Given those options, it just might be time for Edgar to grant Dana White's wish.
