Lightweight Champ Frankie Edgar
There were many unanswered questions going into the third and final fight between UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
The two had fought twice before… in the first fight Maynard nabbing a close decision and the second fight ending up a draw.
Some pundits and fans believed that the champions’ days were numbered and that because he’s such a small lightweight, that he’d lose and have to drop down to the featherweight division. On Saturday they were proved wrong.
The New Jersey native would not be deterred on this night even after taking another horrible first round beating. Edgar would rally back and even the score cards in the second and third rounds, and in the fourth round, Edgar would surprise the Houston, Texas crowd with a thrilling TKO victory at the 3:54 mark.
No one was more enthusiastic about Edgar’s performance other than the UFC boss Dana White. After the win, White proclaimed that Edgar is the Arturo Gatti of MMA and is an unbelievable champion.
“Think about all the fights we’ve seen over the past 10 years or how many fights you’ve seen in your life where a guy goes out and gets hurt as bad as he did in the first round,” White said at the post-fight press conference.
“That’s move [expletive]. That stuff doesn’t happen in real life. There’s two guys I’ve seen do it: Arturo Gatti and Frankie Edgar. What he did the last time and this time; he’s an amazing human being. He’s an incredible athlete and he’s got a heart the size of this room.”
Now with Edgar evening the score with Maynard, new challenges lie ahead of the lightweight champion. A meeting with Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, or a possible fight with the winner of Clay Guida and former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson is likely.
Will the champ’s success continue? Or will the size difference finally catch up with him at lightweight?
One thing can be seen as certain after the damage he took from Maynard at UFC 136 – Edgar will not be easily dethroned.
~ Andrew Gladstone / Guerrilla Fight – GuerrillaFight@gmail.com
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