UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II

Saturday brings us one of the most anticipated rematches of the year. BJ 'The Prodigy' Penn and Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar square off in the main event of UFC 118 in Boston on Saturday in what has fight of the year potential written all over it.

The last time these two men squared of, Edgar (12-1) stepped into the Octagon at UFC 112 a huge underdog to the champion Penn (15-6-1). Edgar was the more active of the fighters, and won a controversial unanimous decision victory that night. Careful replay of the fight showed that Penn landed the more meaningful shots in the first three rounds, although Edgar turned up the heat in the last two...no doubt the defeated look on Penns face and the mouse under his left eye visually swayed the ringside judges in their scoring. With all of that in the past, we turn now to the rematch on August 28th.

The BJ Penn stepping into the Octagon this Saturday will be vastly different from the BJ Penn who fought Edgar in Abu Dhabi in April. He is focused, he is hungry, and he is unlikely to stand and fight Edgar's kind of fight a second time around. I look forward to seeing a more varied gameplan from the former champion, utilizing takedowns and his world renowned ground game along with his upper-tier striking. If we see the Penn who defeated Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez, it is going to be a rough night for Edgar.

Frankie Edgar on the other hand, feels that he soundly defeated the former champion in their last outing and this fight is just there for him to solidify his standing as the number one lightweight fighter in the world at 155lbs. I expect to see very crisp striking from the champion along with sound takedown defense. Edgar's camp has time and again said they have no problem dealing with Penn on the ground, but with Penn's proven status as a top-level ground fighter I'd believe they would want to keep this fight standing at all costs. If Edgar gets lucky, he walks away with a KO or TKO victory early...because if Penn gets this fight to the ground, I feel like its going to look like Penn vs. Florian all over again.

Overall, I'd have to give the edge in this fight to BJ Penn. His only other loss at 155 came in 2002 to a now fading Jens Pulver and I refuse to believe that at age 31 he has shown us the best he has in the Octagon. While I like Edgar, I have to pick Penn in this matchup. Penn by submission.