UFC 136: Shaping Up To Be Best Event in 2011?

UFC 136 is quietly emerging as one of the most intriguing fight cards of 2011.

This is a bold statement considering the slew of star-studded cards the UFC has lined up for the rest of the year, but UFC 136 manages to separate itself by giving fans two highly-anticipated title bouts and a plethora of great stylistic pairings.

In the main event, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and top contender Gray Maynard return to handle unfinished business. At UFC 125 in January, both men competed in a championship bout that had more drama than a daytime soap opera.

The bout served as a rematch of their April 2008 meeting at UFC Fight Night 13, where Maynard used his superior wrestling to ride out a unanimous decision.

In the beginning, the rematch was all Maynard. Edgar was on wobbly legs for the majority of the first round after getting tattooed by a multitude of hard punches. The incredibly lopsided round was even considered by some to be a 10-7 round.

As the fight moved past the opening stanza, Edgar not only proved his ability to absorb excessive amounts of punishment, but also showed the heart of a champion as he battled back in the fight. The back-and-forth battle was deemed a draw in the end, but Edgar and Maynard both became stars that night.

This rubber match will bring an end to a fantastic rivalry and the standstill in the lightweight division.

UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo will also defend his throne at UFC 136, against two-time lightweight title contender Kenny Florian.

Talks of a super fight brewing between Aldo and Florian have been going on for awhile. There were even murmurings of a proposed bout between the two after Aldo defeated Manvel Gamburyan at WEC 51, but the champ reportedly wasn't yet ready to abandon his weight class for lightweight glory.

After a tumultuous ride at 155-pounds, Florian has decided to join the featherweight ranks and put forth his third effort to become a world champion. Things won't get any easier for Aldo, who is considered as one of the Top Three pound-for-pound fighters in the world.

After failing a post-fight drug test at UFC 117 and suffering a few run-ins with the law, former middleweight title contender Chael Sonnen will finally make his return. The tweet wars have already begun, and the former NCAA Division I All-American wrestler can't wait to get back into the octagon and prove that his four-round drubbing of Anderson Silva wasn't a fluke.

He'll have to get past another All-American in former Marine Corps captain Brian Stann, who has been red hot with back-to-back TKO wins over Chris Leben and Jorge Santiago.

Former WEC lightweight champion Anthony "Showtime" Pettis will get a chance to erase a disappointing UFC debut against Clay Guida when he takes on heavy-handed slugger Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens.

This should be an early candidate for Fight of the Night honors. Pettis and Stephens never fail at delivering exciting fights, and the two combined should present more action than a Jason Statham film.

Penned for a main-card showdown, BJJ black belts Jorge Santiago and Demian Maia both hope to rebound from losses and climb back into middleweight title contention. While a win would be big for either fighter, a loss would be a monumental step back for any title aspirations.

Casual fans may not be familiar with the names, but hardcore fans should be really excited about Dave "Pee-Wee" Herman facing Mike Russow. Whether on pay-per-view, SpikeTV, or Facebook, fans will be treated to an exciting heavyweight duel between two highly-touted MMA veterans.

Last but not least, "The Young Assassin," Melvin Guillard, hopes to improve his position in the lightweight title picture with a win over the Ultimate Fighter, Season Five castoff, Joe Lauzon. While Lauzon isn't necessarily the top-10 lightweight Guillard has been seeking, he should present a formidable challenge to the surging Greg Jackson student.

On paper, UFC 136 has the potential to catch lightning in a bottle with one of the year's most exciting lineups. While other sports experience uncertainty due to lockouts, MMA fans are blessed with one great event after another.

In the words of "Big" John McCarthy: "Let's get it on!"