Frankie Edgar Replaces Injured Erik Koch, Meets Jose Aldo for Featherweight Belt at UFC 153

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Former Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight kingpin Frankie Edgar will make his featherweight debut against 145-pound titlist Jose Aldo at UFC 153.

Edgar will replace an injured Erik Koch, UFC President Dana White revealed to USA Today. Though the headlining attraction has changed, UFC 153 still takes place Oct. 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and airs live on pay-per-view. The event will also see former light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson square off with hard-punching Brazilian Glover Teixeira, while highly regarded welterweight staple Jon Fitch locks horns with surging prospect Erick Silva.

Edgar, 30, captured the UFC lightweight title in April 2010, taking a contentious unanimous decision from B.J. Penn before beating “The Prodigy” more decisively in their rematch. Back-to-back defenses against Gray Maynard would follow for “The Answer,” who knocked out Maynard in October after drawing with “The Bully” at UFC 125. More recently, Edgar had his title taken by Benson Henderson in February and fell just short of recapturing the belt earlier this month, falling to “Smooth” via split decision at UFC 150.

Aldo was initially expected to meet Koch in July at UFC 149, but “Scarface” was forced to withdraw from that bout due to injury. The consensus No. 1 featherweight in the world, Aldo has not lost since 2005, rattling off 14 consecutive victories since suffering his lone career setback. Most recently, the 25-year-old defended his UFC crown against Chad Mendes in January, knocking out the Team Alpha Male representative at UFC 143 with only one second remaining in the first frame.