UFC 130 Fight Card: 6 Reasons To Look Forward to the Edgar-Maynard Trilogy

UFC 129 is in the books, and it's time to move on to the next UFC event.

That just so happens to be UFC 130, where the lightweight title is on the line when Frankie Edgar (13-1-1) and Gray Maynard (10-0-1 [1 NC]) meet for a third time inside the Octagon.

The first fight between Edgar and Maynard happened at UFC Fight Night 13, where Gray Maynard used his wrestling to control Frankie Edgar, and he walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

From there, Edgar fought his way back up the lightweight ladder, and earned a title shot against future UFC Hall of Famer, BJ Penn.

Edgar went on to upset Penn for the title, and in an immediate rematch where he was once again the underdog, he won again.

While all this was happening, Gray Maynard was also working his way up the ladder to a UFC title shot.

This set the stage for a rematch between Edgar and Maynard at UFC 125.

These two put on a fantastic fight, which ended in a split draw.

Edgar and Maynard are now set up to fight for a third time at UFC 130, with the lightweight title on the line.

Here are six reasons to be excited for the third fight of this trilogy.

Fireworks from 125

At UFC 125, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard started off the new year in big way. They put on a fantastic fight for 25 minutes, and it was an early fight of the year candidate.

In the first round, Maynard rocked Edgar at least three times, and somehow, Edgar found a way to survive the 10-8 round.

After that, Edgar came back and showed the true heart of a champion when he won three of the next four rounds.

The fight ended up being a draw. These two are ready to come out and finish what was started.

Belt on the Line

There's a belt on the line!

Anytime that there's a belt on the line people should be excited.

Frankie Edgar has been in three title fights, and they've all been very exciting. Frankie Edgar has been the underdog all three times, and two out of three times he has proved us wrong. The only time he didn't was when he drew with Maynard.

Championship fights always bring out the best of the fighters. This one is sure to continue in the same way that the last one ended.

Maynard Wants To Prove He's Better

Gray Maynard is 1-0-1 against Frankie Edgar. So of the two fights, Maynard is winning.

Gray feels as though he should have gotten the title shot instead of Edgar. He didn't get it, but when he got his shot, he made the most of it.

He was probably seconds away from getting the fight stopped in the first round, but alas, he could not.

This time when they fight, Maynard is going out there to prove that there's a reason he won the first fight, and a reason that he damn near won the second.

Edgar Wants To Even the Score

On the other side of the spectrum, Frankie Edgar is the champ for a reason.

He's beaten the best of the best to get to the top, and he wants to settle the score with the only man he hasn't beaten on his way to the top.

When these two first met at UFC Fight Night 13, Maynard walked away with the unanimous decision.

Edgar needs to prove that he has evolved as a fighter, and that he can beat the one man who beat him. He wants to settle the score.

In the words of Edgar, "I'm 13 and Gray Maynard."

Need To Put on a Good Show After UFC 129

UFC 129 was the biggest show in UFC history.

There were 55,000 people in attendance, a $12,000,000 live gate and just under a million PPV buys.

Edgar and Maynard, and everyone else on the UFC 130 card, must realize that they are going to be following up one of the most successful events in UFC history.

Everybody on that card is going to be going out there looking to put on a show for the fans.

Edgar and Maynard put on a hell of a show at UFC 125, and that came on the heels of GSP's title defense against Josh Koscheck.

Now that Edgar and Maynard are following up GSP one more time, can they top him again?

Need To Show the Rest of the Division Why They're the Best

The lightweight division is arguably the most stacked in the UFC.

You have about 10 fighters who are one to two fights away from getting a title shot. Each of them is going for the belt.

Edgar and Maynard have to go out and make a statement.

They have to show the rest of the division that they're the best. And they need to do so emphatically.

Don't expect a boring 25 minutes. Expect UFC 125 round six.