By Bryan Lee
Four years ago in February 2007, two relative unknowns stepped into the UFC cage and won Fight of the Night in a closely contested bout that saw future UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar edge out a close win against Tyson Griffin. I remember Edgar controlling a lot of the action, but a low-blow that went unnoticed by the ref combined with the painful-to-watch kneebar Griffin had on him as time expired made me feel like Griffin won the fight. As my first exposure to this kid from Jersey, although impressive, I was left with a bad taste in my mouth.
This feeling continued over the next year leading up to Gray Maynard ending Edgar’s undefeated streak at UFC Fight Night 13. Immediately I thought that Frankie was just too small and would benefit by dropping down to featherweight. Edgar persisted at 155 and earned a Unanimous Decision against a noticeably slower Hermes Franca (fresh off his one year suspension from pissing hot in his title bout against then Champ, Sean Sherk) in a largely uneventful fight. When he was matched up against Sherk at UFC 98, I was salivating. Sherk brings many of the same strengths that Maynard does, but with bit more muscle. I thought it was a perfect skill set to dominate the much smaller Edgar. I attended this event live at the MGM and I arrived at the Sports book ready to place my bets for the card. I rarely bet any line that is skewed more than -200 (2-to-1 favorite) in any sport, much less the extremely volatile sport of mixed martial arts. This time, I’d be betting on two of them. The first bet was on Sherk, at -255. I truly believed that there was serious value in that line despite the chalk. Thank god I put most of my money on Lyoto Machida (-215) to give Rashad Evans the stanky-leg.
Edgar’s wrestling has always been impressive, especially for his size, but it was his vastly improved boxing that won this bout. His footwork and speed were simply too much for Sherk. He tagged him on the feet, employing an effective jab and in-and-out movement to control the distance of the fight. Even when Sherk was able to get the take down, Edgar showed composure on his back suffering very little damage. As the rounds progressed, Sherks frustration increased, and my hopes for a payout dwindled down to zero. It was Frankie’s coming out party and I was impressed.
After another victory over Matt Veach, Frankie Edgar was announced as the next contender to BJ Penn’s lightweight belt. As an absolutely huge BJ Penn fan, I was perplexed at the match up. Penn was fresh off dominating stoppage victories over Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez and thoughts of moving back up to welterweight began to swirl amongst MMA fans. Edgar looked to almost be a setup fight for Penn to defend the undisputed belt for a third time before moving back up to the division ruled by a man that completely dominated him a year earlier. Sure, Edgar had good wrestling, but he was far too small to work that game against BJ and yes, Edgar’s boxing was looking crisper than ever, but Penn had speed and power to rival anyone’s hands in MMA. What a waste of a fight I thought.
Penn came in a whopping 8-to-1 favorite. A buddy of mine told me that he put a small bet on Edgar, just for the odds (+500). I told him he sucked at life. Edgar came in ready to go and proved once again that speed kills. I remember watching the fight live and thinking that Edgar had won the fight. Shocked and a bit distraught, it took me a few days to watch the fight again, as the folks online were arguing that BJ had won the fight. As a fan of Penn, I knew he had his fair share of blind followers and assumed that his fans were just making excuses. Still, the chatter prompted me to re watch the fight. Upon second look, I thought that BJ had edged it out, landing the heavier shots. The rematch was announced and I felt that BJ would be pissed and would demolish Edgar.
Despite the great performance, I didn’t see Edgar as the champ. Vegas didn’t either, as BJ was once again a large favorite, although the gap had closed from 8 to 3-to-1. Five rounds later, I started really respecting Frankie’s game. He put in a dominant performance that left zero doubt. The Penn fan in me wanted to hate on him, but I couldn’t. Frankie Edgar was the UFC Lightweight champion.
Going into the rematch with Gray Maynard, I found myself rooting for Frankie. Not necessarily because I was a fan, but because I never really liked Gray Maynard. He’s a great fighter, but I’m just not a fan of his style. When Maynard landed that left hook in the first round of their championship fight, I thought it was the beginning of the end. Edgar was on ice skates, flying around the Octagon, seemingly one punch away from unconsciousness for several minutes. Somehow, he survived the round and when he went back to his corner, his eyes looked a little out of focus and he had the look of a man that just got his ass kicked. I thought I saw uncertainty, even a bit of glassy-eyed panic in Edgar’s eyes. I thought the fight was over, Maynard would finish what he started in the next round. As soon as the fighters came out to the center of the cage, Edgar began bouncing on his feet and I sensed that maybe he had some fight left in him. If he was going to lose his belt, he would go down swinging. Edgar then proceeded to show the world what a champion is made of. He utilized his footwork to avoid take downs and land punches, taking very little damage in the final four rounds. The severity of the first round beat down, however, caused the fight to end in a draw on my scorecard, but it also proved to be what pushed me over the edge in becoming a fan of the Tom’s River native.
Edgar’s skills have continually impressed me throughout his career, as he’s seemed to have gotten better with every fight. For whatever reasons though, this wasn’t enough to pull me in as a fan. The sheer determination and skill he showed in his two bouts against BJ began to sway me. But the display of fortitude and heart, wobbled and wounded, at UFC 125 against Maynard is how I became a Frankie Edgar fan. He has a score to settle with Gray, and Vegas is finally starting to sway. Frankie will be going into his May 28th bout at UFC 130 with Maynard as the favorite (slight, -135) for the first time of his championship career. It’s a close match up, but my money’s on Frankie.
