Erik Koch Injured, Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar Title Fight Headlines UFC 153

The UFC 153 fight card suffered a blow on Friday when news surfaced that Erik Koch suffered a knee injury and is no longer able to challenge Jose Aldo for the UFC featherweight championship at UFC 153 on Oct. 13.

With Koch out of the event, UFC officials were forced to put another fight together and they did just that. Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will fill in for Koch and is set to make his debut in the featherweight division when he challenges Aldo for the title.

The switch was first reported by MMAJunkie and UFC officials later confirmed the news.

Aldo (21-1) is a remarkable 11-0 under the ZUFFA banner in his career, which includes fights in the UFC and WEC organizations. The Brazilian is 3-0 in the UFC with three title defences against Mark Hominick, Kenny Florian and Chad Mendes. Aldo was scheduled to fight Koch at UFC 149 in July but was forced out of the bout with a calf injury and the fight was postponed. The 25-year-old has scored knockouts in 13 of his 21 professional victories.

Edgar (15-3-1) will compete in his seventh consecutive UFC title bout when he drops to 145-pounds from the lightweight division to challenge Aldo. The 30-year-old has fought his entire career in the lightweight division and held the 155-pound title for over two years. After a long debate, “The Answer” made the decision to change weight classes after losing to Benson Henderson for the second time in a row at UFC 150. Although he is 1-2-1 in his last four fights, Edgar is being pegged as the most legitimate challenge to Aldo’s throne. The New Jersey native will have the chance to join Randy Couture and BJ Penn as the only fighters in UFC history to hold championships in two weight classes.

A timetable for Koch’s return to competition is unknown at this time.

UFC 153: Aldo vs. Edgar goes down from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on Oct. 13. Along with the Aldo vs. Edgar headliner, a light heavyweight contest between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira will serve as the co-main event.

To get the latest on UFC 153, click here. For up-to-date versions of all upcoming fight cards, head over to the rumors section.

Mike Bohn, founder and lead writer of FightCove.com, wrote this article. You can follow Mike on Twitter at @FightCoveMike. Also, follow @FightCove on Twitter and “Like” Fight Cove on Facebook.