Top 5 fights of Frankie Edgar in the UFC
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar an American mixed martial artist who currently competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. The future hall of famer Edger is known for his cardio, unparalleled heart and determination, is one of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport of MMA. Currently, he is #2 in official UFC featherweight rankings.
DOB :- October 16, 1981 in Toms River, New Jersey
MMA Debut:- Underground Combat League (UCL) vs. Eric Uresk
UFC Debut:- UFC 67 vs. Tyson Griffin
Record:- 18 wins, 4 Losses, 1 Draw. (5 KO/TKO, 4 Submissions & 9 Decision victories)
Here are my TOP 5 Bouts of Frankie Edger:-
5) Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edger UFC156 (Feb. 2, 2013, Las Vegas)
After losing his LightWeight Title to Benson Henderson in two close bouts, which many believed he won, Edger dropped down to featherweight to challenge Current P4P #1 fighter on the planet Jose Aldo. Edgar has always been known for putting on exciting though incredibly close fights, taking punishment early and coming on strong with his world class cardio, sheer heart and determination during the later rounds. Aldo got off to a quick start, connecting with some stinging leg kicks and using his jab effectively enough to nullify any Edgar offense. The second round was more of the same, and it took Edgar until the middle of the third to get much going. The second half of the fight was a lot closer, with Edgar clearly taking the fourth and putting in a claim on the fifth by landing more strikes. In the end though, a bloody Edgar lost a unanimous decision to the featherweight champion. The judges had it 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for the Brazilian.
For Frankie Edgar, there's not much more he could have done. He did a great job of mixing up his attack and being extremely active with constant movement and threatened takedown attempts to keep the champion on his toes. His biggest problem was he just couldn't avoid getting hit with big shots in the first few rounds and while he did score with leg kicks and punches of his own, they simply didn't have the same power as Aldo's. One very important change for Edgar was his ability to counter Aldo's leg kicks at the end of the second and beginning of the third round with right hands and takedown attempts. This forced the champ to abandon one of his biggest weapons. His torrid pace began to pay off as the fight moved into the fourth and fifth rounds, opening up opportunities for full combinations and actually allowing him to out strike Aldo on several occasions, but he simply couldn't overcome the damage he received early in the fight. It was a valiant effort though. The fight was important as it has Edger’s fight run at 145 division & it once again showcased the toughness of Edger & set up a good plot for both fighters to meet in the future.
4) BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar 1 UFC 112 (April 10, 2010, Abu Dhabi)
Edgar, back in the underdog role, was given little chance of unseating Penn in their April 2010 championship bout, mainly because “The Prodigy” was fresh from two dominating finishes of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez and was considered to be in the prime of his career. Edgar opened up a small cut under the eye of "The Prodigy" in the first round, causing the entire UFC lightweight division to snap to attention. He also managed to put the Hawaiian on the mat, though briefly, in the waning seconds of round two. Through fifteen minutes of action Penn seemed to be pacing himself, mostly counter-punching and picking his spots.
The speed of each fighter started out the same, but Frankie doesn't know the meaning of the word fatigue while BJ slowed down a little as the fight wore on. The championship rounds didn't play out much differently, with a rapidly fading Penn seemingly worse for the wear. The loss, while certainly an upset, shouldn't come as a complete shock based on their respective performances. At the end of the day BJ fought Frankie's fight and that was his undoing, Edgar was busy and aggressive, turning it up in the last stanza and landing a big takedown to rack up additional points. He was the busier fighter and a uncharacteristically lethargic Penn just didn't do enough to earn the win. The win was a huge upset as Penn was a 1/8 favorite to win. Despite many Penn fans still thought Penn won the fight, It was a career-defining performance by Edger, when he needed it, and when the judges rendered their verdict, there was a new champion & a star in town, and his name was Frankie Edgar.