If champ Frankie Edgar (13-1-1 MMA, 8-1-1 UFC) beats challenger Gray Maynard (10-0-1 MMA, 8-0-1 UFC) at Saturday's UFC 136 event, that will give each a win to accompany a frustrating draw in their second bout back at UFC 125.
Usually, rubber matches are booked when a series is tied. But UFC president Dana White today said that he'd rather just move on.
"(Let's) put it behind us," White today said at a pre-event press conference in support of Saturday's fight, which takes place at Houston's Toyota Center. "This division is stacked with tons of talent, and there's a lot of good fights to make at 155."
For the past 10 months, the UFC has been unable to make a lot of those fights given the inconclusive result of UFC 125. White often refers to the situation as a logjam, and for good reason. Contenders such as Clay Guida, Ben Henderson and Melvin Guillard have made strong cases for No. 1 contender's status, to say nothing of the long-rumored arrival of Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez in the UFC.
When a winner does emerge on Saturday, he'll have a long list of potential future bookings.
"I'm sure both of these guys will want to move on and get back to business," White said.
Maynard handed Edgar the sole loss of his career at UFC Fight Night 13. Edgar went on to win the lightweight championship by outpointing B.J. Penn at UFC 112 and defending the belt in an immediate rematch at UFC 118 in 2008. The UFC 125 draw was the first real blemish on Maynard's resume in a career spanning 11 fights.
The unofficial rubber match has been looked at as a chance to settle a score. For now, though, a fourth bout won't be entertained. The draw has been thrown into the trash.
"I just remember going, 'Oh my God,'" White said of his reaction to the January fight. "At the press conference, what I do remember is when I said we're going to make another fight, and how upset [Gray] was and how he really wanted this fight again. So we did. We felt he was deserving, so we made this fight.
"Like I said, do this on Saturday, and then move on."
Source: UFC boss says no to Edgar vs. Maynard IV regardless of UFC 136 outcome