Top 5 fights of Frankie Edgar in the UFC

Frankie Edgar is among the best in the world

Frankie “The Answer” Edgar an American mixed martial artist who currently competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. The future hall of famer Edger is known for his cardio, unparalleled heart and determination, is one of the best fighters to ever compete in the sport of MMA. Currently, he is #2 in official UFC featherweight rankings.

DOB :- October 16, 1981 in Toms River, New Jersey

MMA Debut:- Underground Combat League (UCL) vs. Eric Uresk

UFC Debut:- UFC 67 vs. Tyson Griffin

Record:- 18 wins, 4 Losses, 1 Draw. (5 KO/TKO, 4 Submissions & 9 Decision victories)

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Here are my TOP 5 Bouts of Frankie Edger:-

Aldo vs Edgar faced off in the main-event of UFC 156

5) Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edger UFC156 (Feb. 2, 2013, Las Vegas)

After losing his LightWeight Title to Benson Henderson in two close bouts, which many believed he won, Edger dropped down to featherweight to challenge Current P4P #1 fighter on the planet Jose Aldo. Edgar has always been known for putting on exciting though incredibly close fights, taking punishment early and coming on strong with his world class cardio, sheer heart and determination during the later rounds. Aldo got off to a quick start, connecting with some stinging leg kicks and using his jab effectively enough to nullify any Edgar offense. The second round was more of the same, and it took Edgar until the middle of the third to get much going. The second half of the fight was a lot closer, with Edgar clearly taking the fourth and putting in a claim on the fifth by landing more strikes. In the end though, a bloody Edgar lost a unanimous decision to the featherweight champion. The judges had it 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for the Brazilian.

For Frankie Edgar, there's not much more he could have done. He did a great job of mixing up his attack and being extremely active with constant movement and threatened takedown attempts to keep the champion on his toes. His biggest problem was he just couldn't avoid getting hit with big shots in the first few rounds and while he did score with leg kicks and punches of his own, they simply didn't have the same power as Aldo's. One very important change for Edgar was his ability to counter Aldo's leg kicks at the end of the second and beginning of the third round with right hands and takedown attempts. This forced the champ to abandon one of his biggest weapons. His torrid pace began to pay off as the fight moved into the fourth and fifth rounds, opening up opportunities for full combinations and actually allowing him to out strike Aldo on several occasions, but he simply couldn't overcome the damage he received early in the fight. It was a valiant effort though. The fight was important as it has Edger’s fight run at 145 division & it once again showcased the toughness of Edger & set up a good plot for both fighters to meet in the future.

Edgar vs Penn – UFC 112

4) BJ Penn vs. Frankie Edgar 1 UFC 112 (April 10, 2010, Abu Dhabi)

Edgar, back in the underdog role, was given little chance of unseating Penn in their April 2010 championship bout, mainly because “The Prodigy” was fresh from two dominating finishes of Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez and was considered to be in the prime of his career. Edgar opened up a small cut under the eye of "The Prodigy" in the first round, causing the entire UFC lightweight division to snap to attention. He also managed to put the Hawaiian on the mat, though briefly, in the waning seconds of round two. Through fifteen minutes of action Penn seemed to be pacing himself, mostly counter-punching and picking his spots.

The speed of each fighter started out the same, but Frankie doesn't know the meaning of the word fatigue while BJ slowed down a little as the fight wore on. The championship rounds didn't play out much differently, with a rapidly fading Penn seemingly worse for the wear. The loss, while certainly an upset, shouldn't come as a complete shock based on their respective performances. At the end of the day BJ fought Frankie's fight and that was his undoing, Edgar was busy and aggressive, turning it up in the last stanza and landing a big takedown to rack up additional points. He was the busier fighter and a uncharacteristically lethargic Penn just didn't do enough to earn the win. The win was a huge upset as Penn was a 1/8 favorite to win. Despite many Penn fans still thought Penn won the fight, It was a career-defining performance by Edger, when he needed it, and when the judges rendered their verdict, there was a new champion & a star in town, and his name was Frankie Edgar.

Edgar dominating Swanson

3) Frankie Edgar vs. Cub Swanson UFN 57 (Nov 22, 2014, Austin)

Stage was all set, as #2 Cub Swanson was promised a featherweight title shot against Jose Aldo by UFC president Dana White, if he were to defeat #3 Frankie Edgar. However those aspirations were quickly taken away when he stepped into the octagon with the former lightweight champion who once again shined in the role of an underdog & once again proved his critics wrong. It was as if Frankie Edgar didn’t miss a beat, picking up from where he left off in his latest dominate TKO win over BJ Penn in July. A close first round saw Swanson match Edgar on the feet, being his usual unorthodox and unpredictable self, though Swanson was slightly getting the better of the exchanges. As Swanson began to build momentum with his punches, Edgar ducked under and finished his first takedown. Exchanges on the feet were close, but Edgar quickly realized he was able to take Swanson down and take him down with perfectly timed takedowns at will.

The momentum completely shifted towards Edgar in round 2 as he landed an early takedown and proceeded to batter and cut open Cub Swanson with relentless punches from top position. Swanson provided little to no answer, in what was his most lopsided defeat in his 27-fight career. The barrage continued on from the second all the way to the fifth round, takedown followed by three to four minutes of a non-stop barrage of punches from Frankie Edgar, rinse and repeat. Edgar wasn’t satisfied with just dominating Swanson to a decision, with four seconds left in the fight, he got Cub to tap out to the rear-naked choke, making it the latest finish in UFC history (Record recently broken by Demetrious Johnson) & broke Swanson’s six fight win streak & momentum in the process. This was one of the most complete & dominant MMA performance of all time & undoubtedly Edger’s best inside octagon.

Edgar vs Maynard 3

2) Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 UFC 136 (Oct. 8, 2011, Houstan)

After their previous meeting was deemed as one of the best MMA fight of all time the third fight in this trilogy was a no brainer & UFC brass wasted no time in booking this fight ASAP. In round one, things were looking remarkably similar to the second fight at UFC 125. Once again, round one featured a dominant performance by Maynard, who again staggered Edgar with a series of punches. It looked like it could be over, but just as in January, Edgar survived. Maynard, wary of gassing out as he did in the last fight, pulled back to conserve his energy. That allowed Edgar to slowly creep back into the fight. By the 4th round it seemed we were heading for another close decision when Edgar suddenly changed the fight completely, landing a series of punches that put Maynard down and out. This is Maynard's first official loss & n incredibly dramatic ending to this classic series of fights. The series was now perfectly even at 1-1-1 .

Edgar vs Maynard 2 – quite possible the best MMA match ever

1) Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2 UFC 125 (Jan. 1, 2011, Las Vegas)

Not many people were looking forward to the UFC 125 main event as most thought it would be a dull, wrestling-heavy bout like their first meeting three years prior. But it turned out to be one of the best and most highly debated fights in UFC history. While wrestling was the key for Maynard’s first victory over Edgar, he clearly wanted to box in the rematch and the champion obliged. Edgar’s constant movement cost him when he dropped his hands after cutting an angle and Maynard clipped him with a flush left hook. Edgar dropped and Maynard jumped on him, landing shot after shot after shot that looked to put the champion down for good. Despite Maynard’s best efforts, Edgar survived only to be dropped again two minutes later. The champion hung in there, however, barely making it to the end of the round.

Everything changed in the second. Maynard was exhausted after throwing more than 80 strikes in the opening frame, and Edgar stuck to his game plan. He stuck and moved for the entire round, popping the challenger with combination after combination while Maynard loaded up on single shots and followed the smaller champion around the cage. With 1:20 left in the second, Maynard overextended as he moved forward, and in one of the most iconic moments of his career, Edgar ducked under, clasped his hands and slammed Maynard to the mat.

The momentum had clearly shifted, and Edgar was now in control. Still, Maynard hardly rolled over in the third round, coming back with volume and two completed takedowns to likely take the frame. Round four was all Edgar, as he smoothly outboxed the challenger and even landed a few hard right hands that stopped Maynard in his tracks. The fifth was contentious, but a probable round for Edgar. The fight went to judge’s decision and was declared a draw. Between the momentum shifts, back-and-forth exchanges and the heart show by Edgar in the first round to overcome adversity, it made for an incredible fight which earned "Fight of the Night" honors and was named "Fight of the Year" by the World MMA Awards.

To read our ‘Preview & Prediction’ article of UFC Fight Night 66 CLICK HERE .

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Edited by Staff Editor