Preview: UFC 268 ‘Usman vs. Covington 2’

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Bantamweights

#13 BW | Marlon Vera (17-7-1, 11-6 UFC) vs. #8 BW | Frankie Edgar (24-9-1, 18-9-1 UFC)

ODDS: Vera (-175), Edgar (+155)

Where does Edgar go from here? Now 40 years old, the former lightweight champion has about a decade and a half of quiet excellence under his belt. Considering he is now an undersized bantamweight, it is amazing that he managed to become the UFC’s lightweight champion, and his run at featherweight was marked by accomplishing everything outside of getting over the hump to claim the title. After a worrying knockout to Chan Sung Jung to cap 2019, the vibes were not exactly great for “The Answer” moving down to 135 pounds at this point in his career, but he temporarily dashed those fears in his bantamweight debut, pivoting to a movement-heavy striking approach to squeak by Pedro Munhoz in a five-round main event. That performance provided some hope that Edgar was learning some new tricks that would keep him effective in his new weight class, but pessimism reared its ugly head once again after his most recent appearance, which saw Cory Sandhagen knock him out cold with a flying knee just 28 seconds into the bout. Sandhagen provides a unique combination of size, creativity and danger for a bantamweight, but given Edgar’s age and hard career, any brutal knockout is going to raise some fears that the end is near. Vera provides about the perfect benchmark to see how effective Edgar can be going forward, as he is a proven entity searching for the type of breakthrough victory the New Jerseyan can provide.

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Ecuador’s “Chito” was more notable for his personality than anything else on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” but managed to hang on the roster and develop into a much better fighter than anyone could have imagined. Initially a submission specialist prone to slow starts, Vera has become a much more confident fighter who is willing to trade with anyone, and while he does not possess clean knockout power, his impressive level of durability has allowed him to outlast anyone who cannot bring 15 minutes of high-paced violence to the table. It is unclear to what extent Edgar is still that guy, particularly since his typical pressuring and wrestling-heavy approach is unproven at 135 pounds. The Munhoz victory resulted from an impressively tailored game plan against an opponent begging to be outmaneuvered, and while Edgar looked to be pivoting back to his usual style against Sandhagen, that fight was obviously over before much could be sorted out. Edgar’s chin could just finally be done, or Vera could just be a strong enough bantamweight to keep this fight as a winning performance on the feet, but the fact that “Chito” is not a knockout artist and the reality that he has struggled at points with his defensive wrestling are enough to give the old dog the benefit of the doubt. The pick is that Edgar grinds his way to a decision.

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