#1
Frankie Edgar
(UFC Champion)
Summary: wrestling and cardio
Fighter Info
Nickname: | The Answer |
From: | Summit, New Jersey USA |
Fights Out Of: | Toms River, NJ USA |
Age: | 29 |
Height: | 5' 6" ( 167 cm ) |
Weight: | 155 lb ( 70 kg ) |
College: | Clarion University |
Degree: | Political Science |
Edgar entered his first mixed martial arts fight with only a few weeks of training outside of his wrestling background. Edgar originally trained with Rob Guarino of Rhino Fight Team, but today he is part of the Gracie system under Ricardo Almeida in Hamilton, NJ. Since seventh grade Edgar has wrestled with Steve Rivera at Elite Wrestling NJ[5] in Jackson, NJ. His boxing trainer is Mark Henry of Millstone, NJ.
Edgar amassed a 5–0 record before trying out for season five of The Ultimate Fighter. Edgar tried out in front of Dana White and Joe Silva, but was not selected to be on the show.[6] However, a month later the UFC contacted Edgar and asked if he would accept a fight with fellow undefeated fighter Tyson Griffin at UFC 67. Griffin caught Edgar in a deep kneebar at the end of the fight, but Edgar refused to tap and lasted out the remainder of the round to win by unanimous decision. He and Griffin earned Fight of the Night and the fight has been frequently rebroadcast on UFC Unleashed.
Edgar followed up with a first-round TKO victory over Mark Bocek at UFC 73. He made his main card debut at UFC 78 against veteran fighter Spencer Fisher and won via unanimous decision.
Edgar suffered his first loss at UFC Fight Night 13 against Gray Maynard. Though the underdog, Maynard used his size and wrestling skill to overpower Edgar en route to a unanimous decision. Edgar rebounded with another Fight of the Night victory against Hermes Franca at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin. Edgar then defeated former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, outworking him all three rounds to earn the unanimous decision victory over the stronger and heavier fighter.
Edgar was a featured fighter on True Life: I'm a Mixed Martial Artist leading up to his fight with Maynard.[7] Edgar appears in UFC 2009 Undisputed.
Edgar was expected to face Kurt Pellegrino on December 5, 2009 on The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale,[8] but Pellegrino was forced to withdraw due to an injury.[9] Matt Veach was named as Pellegrino's replacement, moving up from the undercard bout. [10] Edgar won via Rear Naked Choke at 2:22 into the second round.
At UFC 112, Edgar was matched against lightweight champion BJ Penn. After a long, back-and-forth, predominantly standing fight, the judges' scorecards were called on for a decision. The scores were 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47, all for Edgar. The unanimous decision win awarded him the UFC Lightweight Championship.[12]
On June 24, 2010 ESPN announced Edgar as a nominee for Best Upset of the Year at the 2010 ESPY Awards.[13]
The bout at UFC 112 was deemed close enough that Edgar's first title defense took the form of a UFC 118 rematch against Penn on August 28, 2010.[14] Edgar defeated Penn via unanimous decision to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship, this time with no controversy after taking Penn down multiple times and out-striking him throughout all five rounds. All three judges scored the bout 50-45 for Edgar,[15][16] making him the second fighter to defeat Penn in the lightweight division [17] (the other being Jens Pulver), and the second fighter ever to beat Penn twice (the other being Georges St-Pierre).
Edgar's next title defense was against Gray Maynard, the only man to ever defeat Edgar, in a rematch from UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon. Maynard earned the #1 contender spot at UFC 118 with a win over Kenny Florian.[18] The bout took place on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125, with the fight ending in a draw (judges scorecards: 48-46 Maynard, 48-46 Edgar, 47-47). His fight with Maynard marks the third time in UFC history that a championship fight ended as a draw.
During the UFC 125 Post fight Conference, it was announced that Edgar's next opponent would be Anthony Pettis in a belt unification match. However, less than two hours later UFC president Dana White announced a change of plans. Edgar was then scheduled to fight Gray Maynard for the third time[19] at UFC 130.[20] Dana White confirmed on May 9, 2011 that both Edgar and Maynard have sustained injuries and will not fight at UFC 130.
