• UFC 136

Edgar, Maynard, Aldo, Florian, Maia all added to UFC 136

Frankie Edgar will hope for a better start in his rematch against Gray Maynard at UFC 136 © Getty Images

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The UFC is currently taking MMA to a whole new level. Just two weeks after one of the most stacked cards of the year at UFC 132, the promotion announced on Friday a batch of fights for UFC 136 that promise to be even better.

The October 8 event will feature two championship showdowns, a potential title eliminator at 185lbs, a hugely significant battle in the lightweight division, plus a highly intriguing all-Brazilian battle in the middleweight terrain.

Headlining the event will be the long-awaited rematch between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard for the lightweight title. The pair fought to a draw in their last battle, after champion Edgar survived a first-round blitz that saw him dropped on three occasions.

Maynard leads the battle 1-0 after he won their first war, but both men have had to put their trilogy-completing fight on hold due to injury. At UFC 136 they will finally settle their differences, allowing the 155lb division to get moving as a traffic jam continues to build.

Acting as the co-main event to that battle, Jose Aldo will put his UFC featherweight belt on the line for the second time against Kenny Florian. Aldo is coming off his electric win over Mark Hominick, not to mention a previous destruction of Urijah Faber in the WEC, but his ground game has some questions to answer after Hominick almost stole victory at UFC 129.

Florian is taking his first run at the belt after dropping down from the lightweight division, and he showed much improved wrestling skills that could be crucial against Aldo when he won a decision against Diego Nunes. Ken-Flo has lost both his previous UFC title encounters.

Also on the main card, Chael Sonnen's clash with Brian Stann was already announced, but the man Stann beat in his last outing, Jorge Santiago, will meet Demian Maia in an intriguing clash of styles. Both men are coming off losses, but Maia will get another chance to show his much-improved striking against Muay Thai man Santiago.

And as if all that isn't enough, the lightweight division's biggest talker, Melvin Guillard, gets a further chance to prove he is title material against the always-dangerous Joe Lauzon. Guillard, who has won his last five fights, called out Lauzon, who is coming off a Submission of the Night victory over Curt Warburton.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.