UFC 281 results: Chris Gutierrez ends Frankie Edgar's legendary career with vicious KO
Chris Gutierrez scored the biggest victory of his MMA career, knocking out octagon legend Frankie Edgar with a brutal knee in the very first round.
'El Guapo' looked like the bigger, sharper fighter, getting the better of most of the exchanges on the feet. He connected with solid calf kicks and circled away from Edgar to perfectly set up the finish.
As soon as Edgar moved in to close the distance, Gutierrez saw the perfect opening and capitalized on it. The vicious step-in knee put Edgar out cold in the last fight of his storied MMA career.
Watch the finish below:
CHRIS GUTIERREZ KNOCKS OUT FRANKIE EDGAR VICIOUSLY WITH THE KNEE #UFC281 https://t.co/fWiy6nxer0
This was the fourth straight victory for Gutierrez, who hasn't lost a fight in his last eight outings inside the octagon.
Unfortunately, for Frankie Edgar, his retirement fight did not play out as he might have expected. This was the third straight knockout loss for the former UFC lightweight champion, who made the last walk to the octagon at UFC 281.
Regardless of his losing skid, 'The Answer' will go down as a pioneer in the sport of MMA. Fight fans will always remember him as someone who left it all inside the octagon every time he competed.
A look back at Frankie Edgar's storied MMA career
Frankie Edgar's journey as a competitor began as a wrestler at Toms River High School East. 'The Answer' made it to the New Jersey State Championship tournament on three occasions, where he placed second as a junior and fifth as a senior.
The American made his MMA debut against Eric Uresk on July 10, 2005 in the Underground Combat League with just a few weeks of MMA training. He won the fight via TKO.
Edgar entered the UFC with a perfect 6-0 record and made his promotional debut against Tyson Griffin at UFC 67. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
After amassing a 6-1 record in the UFC, Edgar went on to challenge B.J. Penn for the UFC lightweight championship. Both fighters engaged in a back-and-forth contest and the judges scored the fight in the favor of Frankie Edgar, who was subsequently crowned the UFC lightweight champion.
Throughout his illustrious UFC career, Edgar has earned Fight of the Night honors eight times, and Performance of the Night twice.