September - 2016
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
44
UFC: New Contenders Emerging in
the Featherweight Division?
Article By: Jake Schneider
The featherweight division has
only seen the belt exchanged
between two fighters in the
promotions history. The division
was created back in 2010 when
World Extreme Cagefighting
(WEC) merged with the UFC,
and as a part of the merger the
current WEC champion Jose
Aldo (26-2) became the inau-
gural champion, making his first
defense dating back to April of
2011 against Mark Hominick.
Aldo never looked back, defend-
ing his belt seven times and tak-
ing out any fighter the division
had to offer him as a contender.
2 years after Aldo had his first
successful defense for the title
a new star in the making was
making his debut, Conor Mc-
gregor(19-3) . Mcgregor went
on to win six straight bouts
in the division, taking out any
fighter that was put in front of
him until finally getting his shot
at the belt. He defeated Aldo in
13 seconds, making history as
the only other champion in the
divisions history. Between both
Aldo and Mcgregor, the division
had been whipped out and with
Mcgregors move up in weight it
seemed that the division was a
complete mess.
Soon after McGregor announced
his move up in weight for his next
bout, another familiar face at the
top was flagged for a violation.
Chad Mendes(17-4) , who con-
tended for the title 3 times, was
flagged for a banned substance
by USADA, suspending him for 2
years. This was another setback
for the division since Mendes
was one of the biggest names
the 145-pound division had to
offer. Frankie Edgar (20-5) is an-
other name in the division that
has gone through any of the
top names put in front of him
as well as contended for the title
twice. Most recently, he losses a
unanimous decision to Jose Aldo
for the interim belt, more then
likely solidifying him to change
weight classes due to this being
his second time coming up short
against Aldo.
