Erik Koch Injured; Frankie Edgar Steps In Against Jose Aldo At UFC 153

After much speculation, former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar will make the drop down to featherweight. It will happen sooner than expected, however, as the former 155-pound kingpin will compete for the featherweight crown this October.

Edgar will step in to face reigning 145-pound titleholder Jose Aldo in the main event of October's UFC 153 after originally-scheduled challenger Erik Koch suffered a knee injury. MMAJunkie.com first reported the news late Thursday and UFC President Dana White later confirmed the bout.

UFC 153 takes place on October 13 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is headlined by a featherweight title clash between Aldo and Edgar. Additional bouts include Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Glover Teixeira, Erick Silva vs. Jon Fitch, Phil Davis vs. Wagner Prado and Demian Maia vs. Rick Story.

Edgar will look to halt a two-fight losing skid, having dropped back-to-back decisions to recently-crowned lightweight champion Ben Henderson. Prior to the pair of defeats, the ex-titleholder was on a seven-fight unbeaten streak, including wins over B.J. Penn, Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk.

Aldo, meanwhile, is riding an impressive 14-fight win streak and remains unbeaten since 2005. After a perfect 8-0 run under the WEC banner — two fights of which he spent as featherweight champion — the Brazilian standout made the jump to the UFC, where he has successfully defended his crown four straight times. In his most recent outing, Aldo scored a first-round knockout over division standout Chad Mendes at January's UFC 142. 

(Pictured: Frankie Edgar)