Big Success for the Little Guy: Frankie Edgar as the UFC’s Lightweight Champion

As Frankie Edgar approaches the eight year mark since he began his career in Mixed Martial Arts, it’s time to take a look back at what has made the Toms River, New Jersey native as successful as he has been and how he can continue to be successful in the future.

After only one amateur fight, which he won by knockout, Frankie Edgar went on to amass a record of five wins and zero losses. After not making the cut to appear on the fifth season of The Ultimate Fighter, Edgar was asked to take on then undefeated fighter, Tyson Griffin, at UFC 67. The fight is still one of the finest displays of technical wrestling at its best. Edgar and Griffin engaged in an exciting ground fight and by the third round, the fight was leaning in Edgar’s favor. As the fight came to a close, Griffin caught Edgar in a sickening Kneebar that looked to spell the end to Edgar’s winning streak. But Edgar showed true toughness and rode out the last seconds of the fight to pick up a Unanimous Decision win.

Edgar steamrolled on the win over Griffin with a first round TKO victory over Mark Bocek at UFC 73, and then a Unanimous Decision victory over Spencer Fisher at UFC 78. Edgar was off to a fantastic and impressive start to his UFC career.

Edgar tasted defeat for the first, and only time, in his MMA career when he faced Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 13. Gray used his size and wrestling abilities to dominate Edgar on his way to a Unanimous Decision victory over the future champion. Not one to go on a losing streak, Edgar rebounded with a win over Hermes Franca at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin. He then went on to defeat former lightweight champion, Sean Sherk, outworking the heavier fighter for three rounds to pick up another Unanimous Decision win.

Edgar almost tasted defeat for a second time when he faced Matt Veach at The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale. Veach came out the aggressor during the first round, but Edgar came back in the second and dominated Veach with strikes. After catching his opponent with a straight right, Edgar followed Veach to the mat and submitted him with a rear naked choke.

With this win, Edgar had proven himself and was granted a shot at the UFC Lightweight crown. Facing BJ Penn at UFC 112 and came into the fight a massive underdog. Many critics and fans alike expected the then champion, Penn, to tear through Edgar. I too thought that Edgar didn’t stand a chance, and Edgar was already a favorite of mine. But, everyone was shocked when Edgar dominated Penn in the stand-up game and was granted the Unanimous Decision victory. Edgar was now the UFC Lighweight Champion of the world.

Edgar went on to face BJ Penn in a rematch at UFC 118, but the result was the same. All three judges scored the bout 50-45, Edgar, after he dominated both the stand-up and the ground game in one of the most entertaining fights of the year.

With the second win over Penn, Edgar was already entering an elite class of warriors outside of being a UFC Champion. Edgar was only the second fighter to ever defeat Penn at lightweight, and was also the second fighter to ever beat Penn twice, the other being Penn’s rival, Georges St. Pierre. Edgar was already making his mark in the history books of the sport.

At UFC 118, the only man to defeat Edgar, Gray Maynard, earned the number one contender spot by dominating Kenny Florian. It was one of the most one sided fights many people had ever seen, with Florian caught between Maynard’s fists and the cage. Maynard was granted the number one contender spot and the rematch between he and the champion was set for January 1, 2011.

The fight didn’t go as Edgar or Maynard would have liked.

Photo courtesy of www.frankedgar.com

In the first round, Maynard had Edgar on the run for the entire five minute span and rocked him on multiple occasions. It looked like the end of Edgar’s run at the top. But, Edgar again showed us how tough he truly is and survived the beating he took in the first round. Edgar came back and turned the heat on. The rest of the fight was back and forth and by the end of the fifth round, no clear winner could be determined by the judges. The fight ended in a Draw, only the third time in UFC history this has happened, and it was announced the Edgar would face Anthony Pettis to unify the WEC and UFC Lightweight titles.

But, Dana White, always one to surprise the fans and critics alike, announced that Edgar vs. Pettis was being put on the backburner so that Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar could meet for a third time at UFC 130. Unfortunately for everyone, both fighters suffered injuries in training and were forced to withdraw from the bout. It was rescheduled for 136, and as the fight began, it looked like we might see a repeat of the first. Maynard dominated Edgar for the first five minutes again, but Edgar came back and handed Gray Maynard the first loss of his career by Knocking Maynard out in the fourth round of the fight.

Edgar is slated to face Benson Henderson next when the UFC makes its long awaited return to Japan. UFC 144 will be held at the Saitama Super Arena on February 26, 2012. At UFC 144, Edgar will face the same problem that he has since his entrance into the UFC; a larger opponent.

Benson Henderson is taller than Edgar and has a longer reach. This is nothing new to Edgar, seeing as how he cuts almost no weight to get to Lightweight and often times weighs in at 154.5 pounds. He’s been criticized by many for not dropping to a more natural weight class, like Featherweight or even Bantamweight, but in his size disadvantage lies Edgar’s advantage.

Being as small a man as Edgar is, he is always at a disadvantage, unless he’s fighting the smallest Flyweight you can find, but at Lightweight, his opponents are almost always taller and are usually, all around bigger men. And how has Edgar overcome this; by becoming one of the fastest fighters and one of the best boxers in the Lightweight division and arguably the UFC. Under the tutelage of Kru Phil Nurse and Mark Henry, Edgar has developed some of the best striking in the UFC. By utilizing his speed and size, Edgar has become to premier example of a counter striker. If someone throws one shot at Edgar, he throws three back, and usually, all of them land flush. Edgar is the perfect example of an underdog. He often fights upwards and the most amazing part?

It works.

Edgar has only lost once in his career and he has gone on to avenge that loss. If you ask me, Edgar continues to have a perfect record. When Edgar is asked how he does it, it’s simple; hard work. Edgar puts in the time, does the necessary work, and because of that, he is now widely regarded as one of the Top 5 Pound-for-Pound fighters on the planet and I think that anyone that watches Edgar would agree.

Again and again, the role of underdog is granted to Edgar. And again and again, he proves the world wrong by taking what most would consider disadvantages, and making them strengths inside the Octagon. He’s done it spectacularly throughout his entire career, and he has no reason to stop now.

If Edgar keeps going the way he is, there’s no reason that we won’t one day consider him to be the king of the Pound-for-Pound rankings.

By Christopher Bean
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer