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Aldo wins rematch with Edgar to claim interim featherweight championship

Rey Del Rio / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar battled for five more rounds and Aldo once again proved to be the better man.

In a rematch of their UFC 156 bout from February 2013, Aldo won a convincing unanimous decision to capture the interim featherweight title at UFC 200 in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Aldo is once again a champion after losing a belt to Conor McGregor last December in a stunning 13-second knockout loss that marked his first setback in almost 10 years.

Related: Aldo says his next goal is beating McGregor

With McGregor tied up in a welterweight feud with Nate Diaz for most of the past year, the decision was made to have Aldo and Edgar face off for an interim title.

Aldo and Edgar both looked tentative to start, perhaps because neither man had fought in seven months. With Edgar ducking in and out, Aldo seemed content to throw single shots and keep his aggressive opponent at bay.

The action opened up at the end of the first round as the fighters engaged in a furious exchange in the closing seconds.

Aldo's talents emerged in Round 2, showing shades of the champion that ran roughshod over the featherweight division for almost a decade. The activity and footwork of Edgar yielded little results as he struggled to get past Aldo's stiff jabs.

The battle damage started to show on Edgar's face in the third round. He looked visibly frustrated as he struggled to land anything or connect with takedowns.

By the time the championship rounds rolled around, Aldo had asserted himself as the superior striker. His experience shone through as he moved to 6-0 in winning decisions after five-round fights.

The loss put a halt to Edgar's five-fight win streak. It was also the first time he'd experienced defeat since dropping to featherweight after being a titleholder at 155 pounds.

Both of Edgar's featherweight losses have come at the hands of Aldo, including their UFC 156 meeting.

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