Nova União Dominating The Scene

The month of February started with a highly anticipated showdown between featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. My prediction ultimately proved to be wrong as Aldo badly damaged Edgar in an exciting five round tilt. The speed and power of Aldo was too much for Edgar. Aldo showcased some slick MMA-boxing and brutal kicks early on. While I gave Edgar the 4th round (he was more into his groove then) and thought the 5th round was close and competitive, it was clear that Aldo was the victor. With this win, Aldo really cements his case for legitimately being one of the top three best pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. He has beaten some really good fighters before, but Edgar is the best fighter he has beaten up to this point. Not to mention he did it in a much more decisive fashion than lightweight champion Benson Henderson.

This past Thursday, Eduardo Dantas came back from an embarrassing loss to Tyson Nam, to defend his Bellator title against teammate Marcos Galvao. Dantas was smooth, slick, and timed a perfect uppercut to floor Galvao in the second frame. He followed it up with a few punches to render Galvao unconscious. It was the type of win that Dantas needed to show that he really is a top ten bantamweight.

This past Saturday night, Renan Barão squared off against the 22-year-old Michael McDonald. McDonald rocked Barão in the first frame, taking that round in my eyes. The second and third rounds were competitive as well, although Barão was quickly gaining momentum. In the fourth stanza, Barão transitioned beautifully into a arm-triangle to force McDonald to tap out. It was a gutsy performance from Barão, he got a definitive win after getting hurt early on and being in some potentially dangerous brawling exchanges.

No word on who UFC interim bantamweight champion Renan Barão or Bellator bantamweight champion Eduardo Dantas will face next. Jose Aldo has a big fight in August, as he’ll defend the featherweight crown against top ten lightweight Anthony Pettis.