MMA-URLS

submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [comment]

Posted in: ufc, official, mattyblayze, frankie, mattyblayze link

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The Mile High City will welcome a main event rematch between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar as they headlined UFC 150 on August 11. Retweet this Share on Facebook • Email • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Digg • Technorati • Instapaper • Tumblr • Google Reader • LinkedIn

Posted in: frankie edgar, frankie, benson henderson, bull, event rematch

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Benson Henderson's first defense of the UFC lightweight title is official. UFC president Dana White today confirmed Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar have will meet at UFC 150 on Aug. 11. MMAjunkie.com first reported the likely date this past month. White made the official announcement during tonight's new edition of "UFC Tonight" on FUEL TV.

Posted in: ufc, henderson, official announcement, official, frankie

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Frankie Edgar has been around the sport of MMA long enough to know a solid performance when he sees one. While witnessing the recent Nate Diaz-Jim Miller main event fight at UFC on FOX 3, “The Answer” came out with plenty to say in regards to Diaz and his submission victory. Edgar, in an interview [...]

Posted in: diaz, nate, event fight, edgar, frankie

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submitted by chumppi [link] [23 comments]

Posted in: fight, september, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie

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Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar and Ronda Rousey got a unique honor on Tuesday when they joined UFC on Fox anchor Curt Menefee to ring the NASDAQ opening bell in Times Square.

Posted in: frankie, ronda rousey, bell, nasdaq, fox anchor

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Jon Jones, Frankie Edgar, and Ronda Rousey rang the NASDAQ Opening Bell in New York City on Tuesday. Now if they could just legally fight in New York. Retweet this Share on Facebook • Email • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Digg • Technorati • Instapaper • Tumblr • Google Reader • LinkedIn

Posted in: frankie, ronda rousey, york city, bull, york retweet

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submitted by tekprodfx16 [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: frankie, opening bell, ronda rousey, bell, nasdaq

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According to a report, Benson Henderson has agreed to defend his lightweight title against Frankie Edgar at UFC 150 in Denver.

Posted in: ufc, title, frankie edgar, frankie, hendersonedgar

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submitted by branmat14 [link] [6 comments]

Posted in: ufc, edgar, frankie, ii, branmat

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Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar….take two….has now been scheduled. Retweet this Share on Facebook • Email • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Digg • Technorati • Instapaper • Tumblr • Google Reader • LinkedIn

Posted in: vs, henderson, frankie, benson, bull

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Benson Henderson's first defense of the UFC lightweight belt is likely to take place in Denver. MMAjunkie.com today confirmed with sources close to the event that Henderson and former champ Frankie Edgar have verbally agreed to meet at UFC 150, which is expected to take place on Aug. 11. UFC officials have yet to make an official announcement regarding the event or the headliner. Contracts for the fight have yet to be distributed.

Posted in: ufc, henderson, official announcement, frankie, headliner contracts

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Frankie Edgar has found a way to not only win rematches, but to look even better the second time around. Can he capture that same magic when he gets a second shot at Benson Henderson? Retweet this Share on Facebook • Email • StumbleUpon • Reddit • Digg • Technorati • Instapaper • Tumblr • Google Reader • LinkedIn

Posted in: rematch, edgar, frankie, google, bull

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In the summer between my sophomore and junior years of high school, I grew about five inches in about three months. I went from being the shortest kid in my entire school to somewhere right in the middle of the height spectrum for 16-year-old boys. It’s a bummer I didn’t keep growing at that rate. In fact, I still put my endocrinologist in a headlock and threaten his life on a weekly basis to give me a shot that tricks my pituitary glands into thinking I’m still undergoing puberty. I’m fairly certain he’s still holding it back from me for conspiratorial reasons. At my age, most people have just accepted it; Frankie Edgar certainly has. In time, I probably will too. In a world where the most interesting fights come from the smallest fighters in the business, Frankie sits atop the list of people you never want to face in a rematch. While no date is set, Frankie and his team are already strategizing how they plan on getting his UFC lightweight championship belt back around his waist as shown in this MMAWeekly video.

Posted in: time i, frankie edgar, frankie, fact i, height spectrum

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Frankie Edgar isn't sure exactly when his rematch with Ben Henderson will take place, but he believes he won their first fight and wants to get his belt back.

Posted in: ben, ben henderson, edgar, frankie, ’ for

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"UFC Ultimate Insider" host Jon Anik goes one-on-one with new lightweight champion Ben Henderson, who says it's perfectly fair for Frankie Edgar to get a rematch against him later this year.

Posted in: ufc, henderson, frankie edgar, frankie, title rematch

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A new contest from Gaspari Nutrition could have winners training with the likes of Frankie Edgar, Brian Stann or Ronda Rousey – with a $25,000 prize at the end.

Posted in: frankie, ronda rousey, ronda, winners training, gaspari nutrition

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has a new "King of the Hill" in its lightweight division these days. The crowning came when Ben Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 in Saitama, Japan on Feb. 25, 2012. "Smooth" didn't get to enjoy his victory for long before he was having to answer questions about who would be the challenger for his first title defense. While there were a few options, the fact that his win over Edgar came by way of decision seemed to point to an immediate rematch. Ultimately, the bout was confirmed and will be taking place some time this summer. Henderson appeared on "UFC Ultimate Insider," last night (March, 27, 2012) to talk about his newly acquired belt, as well as how he feels about having to face Edgar again: "Frankie gave two rematches. It's criminal not to give him a rematch after a decision, because, as a champ, he gave two rematches. I think it's something that has to be done sometimes. There's just no alternative. It does create a little bit of a logjam, I guess you could say, from the top, but, if you're a challenger, the idea is you have to keep winning. It doesn't matter. You have to keep on winning. So, if there's a logjam...guess what? You gotta fight. You gotta win. Oh well. That's the way life goes." Check out what "Bendo" had to say about the man that some felt should have been given the first crack at his belt, Anthony Pettis: The last time Henderson was defeated, it came at the hands of Pettis, who used a highlight reel, off-the-cage kick, to help garner a unanimous decision victory at WEC 53 in Glendale, Arizona on Dec. 16, 2010. After Pettis scored a brutal, first round knockout win over Joe Lauzon at UFC 144, it looked as though things may have been coming together for Henderson to get a chance to avenge his last loss. It obviously never came together, but it's a fight that will likely happen at some point in the future. Henderson was asked if he thought Pettis was deserving of getting a title shot at this point in time: "I would say probably not so much. He had a split decision over an unranked Jeremy Stephens. I believe Ariel Helwani had Joe Lauzon ranked number ten. Nice win. Good stoppage over a number ten guy, but I don't think that catapults you over guys like Jim Miller or Nate Diaz, who's on a nice little run. So, it's hard to say, really. Oh, absolutely. We're gonna do it. Before I retire, before I die -- he and I are gonna dance again in the Octagon. I'm gonna have the belt for a while. I'm gonna hold on to the belt. I'm not letting go of it for the next four, five years or so. It's a matter of Pettis working his way up to the top to be a number one contender and get the title shot. I'm definitely looking forward to it. I wanna get my hands on him. But, you know, it's up to Dana White, Joe Silva and those guys." Now that it's a done deal that Henderson will be facing Edgar for a second time, he's set his sights on the target and has been making preparations. First on his "to do list" was watching his UFC 144 bout again and to take some notes. Here's what he thought about his performance: "I wasn't as busy as I wanted to be. I thought, in my head, I was a lot busier and more proactive with my boxing and whatnot. As I re-watched the fight, I was like, 'Oh, wow. I wasn't nearly as busy as I thought I was.' There were a lot of openings that Frankie left that I did not take advantage of. Going into the rematch, when I see an opening, I am going to go for it." The new champion was nothing but complimentary of the man who he defeated to win the belt. He credited Edgar for his heart and his toughness, citing that he believes many lesser men would have folded under comparable pressure: "I think a lot of guys would have folded. Frankie has a great heart. He was a great champ. He's a great fighter. Tough as heck and a great chin. I think a lot of guys, going into the third round, would have been pretty sad and would have folded a little bit. But Frankie? There was no fold, no quit in him." Henderson went on to re-state his desire to not just hold the belt for a short time and be a very good fighter -- he wants to break records and be considered the best in the world: "I'm gonna get nine title defenses. Whatever Anderson Silva has, I'm gonna get plus one. That's the ultimate goal. I wanna be the best fighter on the planet, period. It's a lofty goal, but, to be a UFC champion, that was a pretty lofty goal. When I was first starting out as a fighter, when I was an amateur guy, guess what...I got it done. I think me going for Anderson Silva's records and whatnot might be kinda lofty and out there and far reaching, but guess what...those are my goals." Lofty, indeed. The event and date of Henderson's rematch versus Edgar are both currently unconfirmed, but MMAmania.com will be prompt to bring you the information as it becomes official.

Posted in: guy, henderson, rematch, edgar, frankie

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Regroup, reevaluate, reset. It was the mantra embraced by Gray Maynard following his disappointing UFC 136 championship loss to then-titleholder Frankie Edgar in October 2011. After all, if you're not actively pursuing evolution as a fighter, frankly, you are what you are. That's you in the mirror. And we all know what happens to stationary targets in MMA (so to speak).

Posted in: ufc, maynard, frankie, reevaluate reset, mantra

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While appearing on a recent episode of UFC Tonight, iconic former welterweight champion Matt Hughes and current #1 middleweight contender Chael Sonnen covered a number of subjects. Among those things talked about was the upcoming rematch between lightweights Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar for the divisional title. Hughes, who is quite familiar with rematches during his career, said, “Frankie had to give rematches to both (BJ) Penn and (Gray) Maynard, so I think Frankie brought in a great point and he should get the rematch too.” Edgar, after defeating Penn for the title, was put into an immediate rematch with “The Prodigy.” He also won that fight. The trilogy with Maynard is quite possiblly one of the best in MMA history, as Maynard won the first, the two fought to a suspenseful Draw in the second, and “The Answer” ended it with a vicious stoppage victory in the third after getting rocked early. As for Sonnen, he will be looking to exact revenge on UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in his own rematch when they fight later this year. “I don’t care who these guys fight as long as it’s not me,” Sonnen exclaimed of Edgar-Henderson. “There are so many great fighters in that weight class. Those guys are so good, it’ll be a great fight.” PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

Posted in: fight, hughe, rematch, sonnen, frankie

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  Contrary to popular belief the key to a successful relationship is not shutting up, making sandwiches and providing sexual relations at will. Although these things are important in providing temporary surface level happiness, if you plan on sticking with someone for the long haul you've got to get a little deeper than ham and cheese on rye and frequent acts of fellatio. It seems the key to successful relationships is a little something called self sacrifice and the balance of give and take. Shocking to many of you I know, but trust me-it works. If you want to keep that special sandwich maker in your life, you need to give a little-to get a little. This applies to all kinds of relationships-not just the ones that consist of slapping some meat and special sauce between buns. It also applies to friendships and work realtionships. Let's take Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo as an example. There's been plenty of talk amongst the MMA community about Frankie dropping down to featherweight to face the champ Jose Aldo. Frankie though, is not feeling this idea at all and has refused to entertain that kind of sacrifice. There's nothing wrong with that. That's his prerogative. Jose Aldo on the other hand, has evaluated this situation and according to a recent talk with Sherdog.com, looks like he is willing to make a personal sacrifice in order to maintain a working relationship with Frankie Edgar: "Edgar thinks he won against Henderson, so he really had to stay in his division and get the rematch. If he comes to featherweight, we’ll fight. Many people want to see it. Having Edgar, a former lightweight champion, would be amazing for the featherweight division, but if he doesn’t come down to 145 pounds, in the future, I’m going to have to move to lightweight." Frankie is happy with things how they are and doesn't want them to change, but Jose is ready to take their relationship to the next level. Story of most of our lives. It's like the conversation you have with your girlfriend every Saturday when she forces you to watch another "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on TLC. [source]

Posted in: jose, jose aldo, edgar, frankie, aldo

Read the full article at Middle Easy

Contrary to popular belief the key to a successful relationship is not shutting up, making sandwiches and providing sexual relations at will. Although these things are important in providing temporary surface level happiness, if you plan on sticking with someone for the long haul you've got to get a little deeper than ham and cheese on rye and frequent acts of fellatio. It seems the key to successful relationships is a little something called self sacrifice and the balance of give and take. Shocking to many of you I know, but trust me-it works. If you want to keep that special sandwich maker in your life, you need to give a little-to get a little. This applies to all kinds of relationships-not just the ones that consist of slapping some meat and special sauce between buns. It also applies to friendships and work realtionships. Let's take Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo as an example. There's been plenty of talk amongst the MMA community about Frankie dropping down to featherweight to face the champ Jose Aldo. Frankie though, is not feeling this idea at all and has refused to entertain that kind of sacrifice. There's nothing wrong with that. That's his prerogative. Jose Aldo on the other hand, has evaluated this situation and according to a recent talk with Sherdog.com, looks like he is willing to make a personal sacrifice in order to maintain a working relationship with Frankie Edgar: "Edgar thinks he won against Henderson, so he really had to stay in his division and get the rematch. If he comes to featherweight, we’ll fight. Many people want to see it. Having Edgar, a former lightweight champion, would be amazing for the featherweight division, but if he doesn’t come down to 145 pounds, in the future, I’m going to have to move to lightweight." Frankie is happy with things how they are and doesn't want them to change, but Jose is ready to take their relationship to the next level. Story of most of our lives. It's like the conversation you have with your girlfriend every Saturday when she forces you to watch another "Say Yes to the Dress" marathon on TLC. [source]

Posted in: jose, jose aldo, edgar, frankie, aldo

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MMA fans have fantasized about a Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo mega-fight for quite some time. And it seems like the mega-fight might become a reality sooner than many expect. After losing his UFC lightweight title to Ben Henderson at UFC 144, Edgar is currently set for a rematch in...

Posted in: ben henderson, jose aldo, edgar, frankie, megafight

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Like everyone else, UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo heard the whispers associated with Frankie Edgar and a theoretical move to 145 pounds.

Posted in: pound, jose, jose aldo, frankie edgar, frankie

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The UFC confirms the Frankie Edgar-Benson Henderson rematch, TUF Live debuts, and UFC CENTRAL looks ahead at upcoming Canadian bouts.

Posted in: ufc, champion, canadian, frankie, what

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Frankie Edgar doesn't mind that people ask him about a move to featherweight, but he believes it is disrespectful towards guys he's defeated like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard.

Posted in: bj penn, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, guys hes

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Frankie Edgar doesn't mind that people ask him about a move to featherweight, but he believes it is disrespectful towards guys he's defeated like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard.

Posted in: bj penn, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, guys hes

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Frankie Edgar doesn't mind that people ask him about a move to featherweight, but he believes it is disrespectful towards guys he's defeated like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard.

Posted in: bj penn, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, guys hes

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Frankie Edgar doesn't mind that people ask him about a move to featherweight, but he believes it is disrespectful towards guys he's defeated like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard.

Posted in: bj penn, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, guys hes

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Frankie Edgar doesn't mind that people ask him about a move to featherweight, but he believes it is disrespectful towards guys he's defeated like BJ Penn and Gray Maynard.

Posted in: bj penn, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, guys hes

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Former UFC Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, admitted his long-speculated move down to Featherweight is inevitable, but only on his own terms. It looks like Edgar is not interested to leave the UFC Lightweight division as a loser, despite the fact that the UFC President Dana White promised him an immediate shot at Jose Aldo's title.

Posted in: ufc, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, longspeculated move

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Loss? What loss? Despite coming up short in his lightweight title defense against Ben Henderson, which took place at UFC 144 last month in Japan, Frankie Edgar is still the odds-on favorite heading into their mid-year rematch. "The Answer" opened at -125, slightly ahead of the "Smooth" champion at -105. That's according to our fiscal friends at Best Fight Odds. And if the purpose of odds and betting lines is to initiate wagers, I'd say today's numbers will likely accomplish that feat. Edgar dropped a five-round unanimous decision loss to Henderson ended his nearly two-year stranglehold on the 155-pound division. However, during that span, "The Answer" only fought two guys (B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard), albeit in a total of four championship matches. Henderson, a former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) champion (along with most of the lightweight division) held a huge size advantage over the 5'6" Edgar, and did significant damage over the course of the 25-minute fight, accordingly. Edgar, as usual, absorbed the punishment, as well as fired back, bobbing, weaving and landing shots with solid frequency. However, the shots did little to no damage to Henderson and didn't do enough to impress the ringside judges, either. That's not to say it wasn't close -- White actually scored the fight in Edgar's favor on his unofficial scorecard and the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion's matchmaker, Joe Silva, thought he won by a "landslide." Get read for part deux. But who are you taking in the rematch? And what's you take on these opening odds? Anyone ready to plunk down some coin before the line shift? More on Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson II right here.

Posted in: loss, henderson, odd, edgar, frankie

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"I'm pretty sure, like, I'm not really big on fighting Frankie, you know? Frankie came down to train with me and he represents Renzo Gracie and Ricardo Almeida, I train with Cesar (Gracie) so, I really don't want no part of that fight. I'm mostly interested in fighting people I don't know. " Loyalty before potential title shots? Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender Nate Diaz tells MMA Fighting that he wants no part in fighting former UFC 155-pound champion, Frankie Edgar. Not that he fears "The Answer," exactly, he would just rather not face someone with such strong ties to the Gracie family whom he has trained with in the past. Diaz, a member of the Cesar Gracie fight team in California, has spent some hit the mats with Edgar, who trains under Cesar's cousin in New York, Renzo. Nate will headline UFC on FOX 3 on May 5, 2012, as he takes on the very scrappy Jim Miller. The winner will be a top candidate to face the victor of the rematch between Edgar and Ben Henderson, which is tentatively planned for this summer. Should Diaz and Edgar prove victorious, it could set up a dilemma for UFC matchmakers. Or will the temptation of winning UFC gold be too much for Nate to pass up should the opportunity arise? Opinions, please.

Posted in: ufc, diaz, edgar, gracie, frankie

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Frankie Edgar highlights MMAWeekly Radio for Wednesday's show as well as Bellator featherweight contender Daniel Straus.

Posted in: mmaweekly radio, mmaweekly, frankie, strau, wednesdays show

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Frankie Edgar getting the rematch he wanted is a case where UFC president Dana White should not have caved to the fighter.

Posted in: ufc, brydon, case, frankie, mma whos

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Ten days. That's how long the UFC lightweight division was open for business before word came down for the third straight title rematch since April 10, 2010. Now, we've all heard the arguments ad nauseum. It's only fair. Frankie Edgar had to do it twice. And let's be honest, we all kind of expected this. Never mind that just four men have fought for the 155-pound title in the last 23 months. So for now, lets try to forget how groovy the storylines for Henderson-Pettis II would have been. Or how fascinating the bizarre personality clash of Henderson-Diaz would be. Unless someone randomly gets popped for weed, it is what it is. Henderson-Edgar II will be entertaining, and afterward we can be done with this endless circle of rematches -- unless, of course, Frankie takes a narrow split decision. Then you can bet we'll be well on our way to trilogy town. So check out all the details of Henderson-Edgar II, plus everything else MMA has to offer with the Morning Report. 5 MUST-READ STORIES Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson rematch booked. After ten tiresome days of debate, Dana White and the UFC granted Frankie Edgar a lightweight title rematch against Ben Henderson. Rampage Jackson unhappy with UFC, says he's leaving after next fight. Jackson has unloaded a barrage of interesting tweets while vacationing in the Philippines, including a series of announcements that revealed plans to leave the UFC after his next fight. Nate Diaz thinks brother Nick Diaz will remain retired. Ariel Helwani caught up with Nate Diaz following Tuesday's UFC on FOX 3 press conference, and the young Stocktonian was rather candid about a potential title shot and his brother Nick's retirement. Junior dos Santos vs. Alistair Overeem confirmed for UFC 146. The long-awaited heavyweight title scrap is finally on the books for May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thiago Silva vs Alexander Gustafsson booked for UFC on FUEL 2. An Antonio Rogerio Nogueira knee injury has paved the way for Thiago Silva to face Alexander Gustafsson in the main event of UFC on FUEL 2. COUNTDOWN TO A SLIMMER ROY NELSON Started (on March 4th): 32,000 likes.As of this writing: 92,183 likes.Goal (by March 18th): 132,000 likes. MEDIA STEW Chael P. Sonnen has had enough. No more lobbing media bombs at Anderson Silva. No more pro wrestling promos. He's stepping out of the game. And if you don't believe him, Sonnen took the opportunity last night to apologize to Silva and relinquish his status as the number-one contender. The relationship between Bellator and their middleweight champion, Hector Lombard, appears to be shaky at best right now. And it may only get worse. When asked about Lombard's current contract situation, Dana White couldn't help but drop this little gem: "I'll probably end up with him then." Don Frye took a break from wrestling bears to honor us with stories about his new announcing gig, his legendary brawl with Yoshihiro Takayama, and the magic of aging. (HT: Middle Easy) From the backfiles of the early 90's: Trevor Berbick, aka the last man to defeat Muhammed Ali, fought HUSTLE owner Nobuhiko Takada in this infamous boxer vs. wrestler match. (HT: Reddit) FRANKIE EDGAR GETS HIS REMATCH Rematch anyone??.......it's on!! Thanks to @danawhite @lorenzofertitta. Me and Henderson 2. Here we go!! — Frankie Edgar (@FrankieEdgar) March 6, 2012 #SustainedExplosion!!! RT @danawhite: Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson rematch will be this summer — Benson Henderson (@SMOOTHone155) March 6, 2012 I will...whats the hurry???...RT @RevPhilBert: @SMOOTHone155 what about petitis? Don't u wanna get back that loss?@danawhite — Benson Henderson (@SMOOTHone155) March 7, 2012 RETURN OF THE CRIPPLER What's up everyone im back, cleaned up my act and you'll be hearing from me regularly — chris leben (@cripplerufc) March 7, 2012 MICHAEL SCHIAVELLO: NOT IN THE SONNEN FAN CLUB @KCBanditMMA @DaveHendrickTLW nope. Wanker. Plus he doesn't write his own material, Matt Lindland does from what I hear. — Michael Schiavello (@SchiavelloVOICE) March 5, 2012 FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS Announced yesterday (Tuesday, March 6, 2012): - Frankie Edgar (14-2-1) vs. Ben Henderson (16-2) rematch announced for summer - UFC 146: Junior dos Santos (14-1) vs. Alistair Overeem (36-11, 1 NC) confirmed as main event - UFC on FUEL 2: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (20-5) out, Thiago Silva (14-2, 1 NC) in against Alexander Gustafsson (13-1) FANPOST OF THE DAY Today's Fanpost of the Day goes to BE's SSreporters: UFC Fight Statistics For 1st Quarter of 2012 Easy numbers to digest. 62.5% of this year's finishes have come in the opening round, 25% in the 2nd, and only 12.5% in the 3rd. Obviously of the 5 to come in the final round, two have come in the last couple of weeks, with Tim Boetsch's comeback KO vs. Yushin Okami and Martin Kampmann's dramatic guillotine choke over Thiago Alves. Only four fights have been five-rounders and three of them went the distance, and since the switch to five-round non-title main events, not a single one has seen a finish past the 3rd round. This (next) table breaks down fight results for every weight class thus far, including the recently added flyweight division from last Friday's UFC on FX 2 card. Found something entertaining, brutal, or bizarre you'd like to see in the Morning Report? Just send it to @shaunalshatti and we'll include it in tomorrow's post.

Posted in: ufc, vs, rematch, frankie, march

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Well folks, the UFC Lightweight title rematch merry-go-round has not stopped: I hate this. I really, really do. There have been 4 men that have challenged for the 155 pound strap since UFC 112: Frankie Edgar, BJ Penn (rematch), Gray Maynard (twice and deservedly so) and Benson Henderson. BJ Penn got a rematch because he is BJ Penn. Gray Maynard fought Frankie to a draw @ UFC 125 and earned his trilogy fight beyond dispute. Now, Frankie Edgar deserves an immediate rematch because..........why? Frankie Edgar is not a draw like BJ Penn was. Frankie Edgar did not even come remotely close to finishing Benson Henderson the way Gray did to him but somehow he is being rewarded with a rematch. He does not deserve one. Benson defeated him across all cards 3 rounds to 2 on one card and 4 rounds to 1 on the other two cards. He looked like he had been on the receiving end of a 25 minute beating while Ben looked like he had just rolled out of bed. I don't understand this move at all. There are other contenders that have a legitimate claim to the #1 contender slot and the division could really benefit from getting away from endless rematches. The fight will probably be awesome when it happens but I don't think it should.

Posted in: bj penn, rematch, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie

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Frankie Edgar explains how the rematch with Benson Henderson came together and how it was like a weight being lifted off his chest when Dana White gave him the news he was waiting for.

Posted in: rematch, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, benson henderson

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Frankie Edgar’s wish has apparently been granted.

Posted in: rematch, work, edgar, frankie, summer

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Anthony Pettis will step aside once again. UFC president Dana White today announced via Twitter that former UFC champ Frankie Edgar will get his wish and take a second shot at the man that took his belt in February, Benson Henderson. A date for the matchup has yet to be planned, but White said the fight will take place "this summer."

Posted in: ufc, henderson, frankie, summer, benson

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Frankie Edgar got what he was looking for. He will rematch with Ben Henderson for the UFC lightweight title sometime this summer, UFC president Dana White said.

Posted in: ufc, title, henderson, ben henderson, frankie

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After much back and forth with UFC president Dana White, and an outpouring of fan support, former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar gets an immediate rematch against Benson Henderson.

Posted in: henderson, frankie, benson henderson, fan support, man rematch

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Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson are set to have a rematch of their UFC 144 title fight this summer, UFC president Dana White announced.

Posted in: ufc, rematch, frankie, summer, benson henderson

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [11 comments]

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The UFC lightweight title picture got a little more cloudy today. Prior to today’s UFC on FOX 3 press conference, it was believed that the next lightweight title shot would either go to Frankie Edgar or Anthony Pettis. Well, it seems Nate Diaz and Jim Miller may also be in the running as well. In response to questions about where Diaz and Miller fit into the picture, Dana White stated that the winner would get a title shot. Dana’s comments via MMA Weekly. “Well, I’m still obviously still dealing with the whole Frankie Edgar thing. I’m talking to Frankie and we’ll figure this thing out,” White said, before adding, “We did, we said the winner of (Diaz vs. Miller) would get the shot.” Pressed further by a fan, who asked, “From what I remember, the winner of Jim Miller facing Nate Diaz gets a title shot, is this correct?” White responded, “This is correct.” What’s not clear is if Dana meant the Diaz-Miller winner would get the next title or just a title shot later this year. As you may recall, Dana had previously stated at the UFC 144 post-fight press conference that he “thinks” Anthony Pettis will get first crack at Henderson, but he didn’t even mention him today. Meanwhile, the champ maintains that he’s still willing to fight whoever the UFC puts in front of him, but he does have his opinions about who that should be. And judging by his comments on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani yesterday, Frankie Edgar should be at the front of line. “Frankie had a very tough situation,” Henderson admitted. “He had a rough road with two rematches right away after his title defenses. So the fan in me feels that he deserves (the rematch). He had to put himself on the line, I don’t want anybody coming back to me and saying ‘oh, Henderson didn’t want to rematch Frankie because he was scared.’ I’m more than willing to give Frankie a rematch. Let’s do it. Set it up for tomorrow.” The one rematch Henderson still isn’t crazy about though, at least not now, is Anthony Pettis. He still thinks Pettis needs more wins to establish himself as the true number one contender. “Does someone who has a split-decision over someone who is not ranked, and then has a pretty good win against the No. 10 guy, is he deserving of a title shot because of those two wins? Or is he deserving of a title shot because he beat me last?” “Do I want to face Pettis again? Absolutely,” Henderson explained. “We will see each other again. Before I retire, before I die, I’m going to see Anthony Pettis again. But it’s not my job to give him a title shot. It’s not up to me be like, ‘oh hey, I want to fight this guy. Lets go see this guy.’ It’s his job to work his way up to me. I can’t jump the line and not fight the No. 1 contender, and then go fight the No. 4 guy or No. 3 guy or No. 10 guy.” Bottom line though, Henderson says he really “doesn’t care” who he fights because he’s going to “smash” everyone anyways. To summarize, the lightweight title picture is kind of a mess. It’s a problem the UFC will have to sort out no doubt, but it’s certainly a better problem to have than the one they have with Jose Aldo — not having any clear contenders at all.

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Newly named UFC lightweight champ Benson Henderson has cleared the air surrounding divisional contendership, saying he is open to fight former title-holder Frankie Edgar a second time to eliminate any doubt surrounding who should have the strap after their closely-contested bout a few weeks back at UFC 144. Edgar has been actively lobbying for a rematch since losing the five-round decision, as have fans, while UFC President Dana White has even gone on record saying he felt “The Answer” deserved the victory the first time around. “Frankie had a very tough situation. He had a rough road with two rematches right away after his title defenses. So the fan in me feels that he deserves (one),” Henderson explained Monday as a guest on The MMA Hour. “He had to put himself on the line, I don’t want anybody coming back to me and saying ‘oh, Henderson didn’t want to rematch Frankie because he was scared.’ I’m more than willing to give Frankie a rematch. Let’s do it. Set it up for tomorrow.” Henderson also addressed Anthony Pettis’ claims that he should be next in line based on a devastating knockout of Joe Lauzon in his most recent outing as well as being the man who last beat “Bendo”. While the 28-year old champion acknowledged Pettis’ abilities, he still doesn’t feel “Showtime” has done enough inside the Octagon yet to merit a title-shot. “Does someone who has a Split Decision over someone who is not ranked, and then has a pretty good win against the No. 10 guy…is he deserving of a title shot because of those two wins? Or is he deserving of a title shot because he beat me last,” Henderson asked rhetorically, referring to Pettis’ narrow outpointing of Jeremy Stephens and finish of Lauzon. Henderson Out to Become the Best of All Time While no indication has been given from the UFC brass on what they intend to do, Henderson’s support of Edgar’s cause certainly implies a second scrap between the two is far more likely now than it was as recently as last week. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC Tweet

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There has been less controversy than some expected coming out of Ben Henderson's title win over Frankie Edgar, but there still are some that feel a rematch is in order. After all, the fight was close and competitive, even if Henderson did deserve the nod. Henderson was on the MMA Hour yesterday and discussed the idea of giving Edgar a rematch: "Frankie had a very tough situation," Henderson admitted. "He had a rough road with two rematches right away after his title defenses. So the fan in me feels that he deserves (the rematch). He had to put himself on the line, I don't want anybody coming back to me and saying ‘oh, Henderson didn't want to rematch Frankie because he was scared.' "I'm more than willing to give Frankie a rematch. Let's do it. Set it up for tomorrow." Henderson was not quite as interested in the talk of a rematch with Anthony Pettis, the last man to score a victory over him. Last week Pettis made it clear (via his manager) that he was disappointed in Henderson's dismissal of him as a title challenger. Henderson expanded on this during the interview: "Of course he's going to go out and say that stuff because he wants his guy to fight for the belt," Henderson tensely responded. "What did you have Jeremy Stephens ranked before the Anthony Pettis fight? Not in the top ten. What did you have Joe Lauzon ranked before his fight? "Does someone who has a split-decision over someone who is not ranked, and then has a pretty good win against the No. 10 guy, is he deserving of a title shot because of those two wins? Or is he deserving of a title shot because he beat me last?" Later in the interview Henderson did make it clear that he does want to fight Pettis again eventually, but it's not up to him to decide the next challenger. Video after the jump... MMA Hour video:

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Surging lightweight division contender Nate Diaz believes that beating Jim Miller at UFC on FOX 3, which emanates from the IZOD Center on May 5, 2012 in East Rutherford, N.J., will earn him a shot at the 155-pound title. Not so fast. UFC President Dana White was asked about the division pecking order earlier today (March 6) at a special pre-fight press conference held at New York City's Radio City Music Hall. He was, not surprisingly, non-committal on making any kind of definitive plans for the plethora of eligible 155-pounders. And you can expect him to remain that way until he has a chance to talk to Frankie Edgar. "I'm obviously still dealing with the whole Frankie Edgar thing. I'd like him to go to 145. I'm talking to Frankie and we'll figure this thing out. We said the winner of this (Diaz vs. Miller) would get the next shot)." White needs an "Answer" from the former champion, who coughed up his lightweight strap to Ben Henderson last month in Japan, on whether or not he will take his advice and drop down to featherweight, where an immediate title fight against Jose Aldo awaits him. So far, mum's the word. While Edgar contemplates his next move, Henderson has his pick of the litter. Aside from the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Jim Miller, his World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) nemesis Anthony Pettis is currently knocking on the golden door after embalming Joe Lauzon at UFC 144 back on Feb. 25. An opponent Miller believes has yet to earn his spot. "Nate and I have proved that we're the top guys in the division. I personally don't feel that Pettis' win over Stephens and the knockout over Lauzon are a title run, but I don't make those decisions." Because the outcome of Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson was mired in (minor) controversy, White is currently handcuffed until he can spread out all the pieces in his puzzle. Edgar wants an immediate rematch. White wants him to drop 10 pounds. Miller, Diaz and Pettis all want Henderson. How does it all play out? We may not get much in the way of resolution until after the UFC on FOX 3 event. By then, Edgar may have made up his mind and at the very least, we'll have eliminated one fighter from the equation. Stay tuned. For more on today's UFC on FOX 3 press conference click here.

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Frankie Edgar should have won in Japan, Bendo and Rampage receive medical suspensions and the UFC on FX 2 returns to Sportsnet ONE Friday.

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Frankie Edgar should have won in Japan, Bendo and Rampage receive medical suspensions and the UFC on FX 2 returns to Sportsnet ONE Friday.

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Even with an immediate shot at Jose Aldo dangled before him, former UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar wants his rematch against Benson Henderson.

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If the words of UFC president Dana White are any indication, Frankie Edgar isn't going to get an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson, but he could get an immediate title shot.

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If the words of UFC president Dana White are any indication, Frankie Edgar isn't going to get an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson, but he could get an immediate title shot.

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“I’m saying it, and I’m saying it loud: I want my rematch. I’m not going to have these antics or play these games. I’m telling you want I want. This is what I want. I think it’s fair. I think the fans want to see it. It was fight of the night. Listen, even if these guys want to see me get beat up, I do get beat up in a lot of my fights, even in the fights I win, so it’s win-win for everybody… I think the rematch makes sense on several levels. Not only can UFC be good guys, I think I earned it. Economically, they’ve been investing money in me. I’ve been at the helm of this weight class for two years now. I think it just makes sense for them and obviously for me. Let’s do it… That [rematch] is what I want. I think it’s right. I think i earned it. I’m not trying to put down Ben or any other contender, but I think I earned my spot to deserve this rematch.” — Frankie Edgar on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani loudly proclaiming he wants his rematch against Ben Henderson Well, if Frankie Edgar’s manager didn’t already make his intentions clear enough yesterday, Frankie sure did today. Even if you don’t agree with Edgar that he deserves a rematch, you at least have to respect his tenacity. The kid has already proved he’s a fighter inside the cage and it looks like he’s setting out to prove he’s one outside of it too. I’m definitely liking this fired up version of Frankie Edgar, but the question is if the will like it enough to give him the rematch? Image via Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

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Don’t expect to see Frankie Edgar drop to featherweight anytime soon. Speaking to MMA Weekly, his manager Ali Abdel-Aziz made it clear that they are gunning for an immediate rematch with Ben Henderson before contemplating a move to 145. “Frankie deserves a rematch,” Abdel-Aziz told MMAWeekly.com. “We’re going to ask for a rematch. “I talked to Lorenzo (Fertitta) and he believes Frankie scored 3 to 2, Dana White scored Frankie winning the fight.” “Frankie in the future will go down to 145, but he’s not going to go down now, he’s not. He’s not getting manhandled, he’s not getting destroyed, he won the fight,” Abdel-Aziz stated. “Frankie’s not the type of guy to lose and then just cower and move to 145. This kid has so much heart and determination.” On one hand, Edgar really is better suited for featherweight. But on the other, he still managed to win the lightweight title and hold onto it for three straight fights. So while logic dictates that he should drop down to 145, who are we to tell Edgar that he doesn’t belong in a weight class that he was a reigning world champion in? Especially right after he lost said title in a close fight? I certainly can’t, so if he wants to stay at lightweight and prove once again that 155 is where he belongs, then I say he has every right to do so. Image via Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

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The judges unanimously ruled that Ben Henderson beat Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 to take the UFC LW title. The decision wasn't without some controversy. Both UFC president Dana White and matchmaker Joe Silva scored it as a win for Edgar, as did our own Brent Brookhouse during his live blog of the fight. The recent protocol of the UFC after controversial title fights has been to book an immediate rematch. After Lyoto Machida took a razor close decision over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 104, Shogun got a second chance at UFC 113. Rua made the most of that do-over with a KO win. After Frankie Edgar took a close decision over champ B.J. Penn at UFC 112, Penn was treated to a rematch at UFC 118. Penn lost the second fight emphatically. When Edgar then fought Gray Maynard to a draw at UFC 125, they had another do-over at UFC 136. The second time Frankie won by KO. So fans wouldn't be crazy to expect that Edgar would get the same courtesy that B.J. Penn got, right? Wrong. There's a very simple reason Frankie Edgar won't be getting an immediate rematch. It's bad for business. Frankie Edgar is the worst drawing lightweight champion in modern UFC history. As much as Dana and Joe Silva might think he won the fight, they've got to be immensely relieved at the end of the Frankie Edgar era. Despite putting in some incredible performances -- the pair of Edgar-Maynard title fights are possibly the best two fight series in MMA history -- Edgar just hasn't clicked with fans. The pay--per-view numbers for UFC 125 and UFC 136 were abysmal and it's no accident that they sent him to Japan to defend his belt. Rest easy Anthony Pettis fans, you'll get to see your man fighting for the title long before Frankie Edgar gets another shot.SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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Following a close decision that has people split pretty evenly on who actually won, Frankie Edgar sounds like he wants an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson. "I’m not trying to shoot anybody out of anything they deserve, but I had to do two rematches, so what’s right?" he asked rhetorically. Ironically enough, it's probably the last two years he's spent giving challengers immediate rematches that are now going to cost him his own chance to get another crack at the belt. People are now suffering from immediate rematch fatigue, so even though it's a total raw deal, it doesn't sound like the UFC will be serving up Edgar v Henderson 2 any time in the near future. Adding insult to injury, it doesn't sound like the UFC even has anything too exciting ready to go for the lightweight strap: "How would Pettis not be ready for a title shot? He's absolutely ready," said White. "But, there's a few guys in that division (who are ready). The problem is that division is so stacked it's tough to make a decision and that's a good problem to have." Aka they need to figure out what fight will make them the most money and go from there. While you'd think Frankie would fit that bill, Dana sounds like he has other ideas for the undersized 155er: "If you look at what he’s accomplished, for me to come in and… the kid's a world champion," he said. "He beat BJ Penn two times and everybody else in that division. His only loss is to Gray Maynard, which he avenged big time. It’s going to be up to him, but I'd love to see him do it. I think a fight between him and Jose Aldo would be fun." As fun as it would be, it just seems wrong to bounce Frankie out of the division he's basically owned for the past few years. Sure, he could go down to 145. He probably will sooner or later. But coming off a controversial loss that took the belt off him? Too much unfinished business at lightweight. If the UFC isn't going to give him another shot at the belt immediately, the least they can do is set him up for a #1 contender's match. There's not a lot of situations where a featherweight title shot seems like a bit of a screw, but this is one of them. (pic via Heavy's excellent UFC 144 gallery)

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UFC president Dana White looks back at UFC 144 and admits he had the main event scored for Frankie Edgar despite Ben Henderson taking the lightweight title.

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Frankie Edgar's manager Ali Abdel-Aziz is in Las Vegas to meet with UFC officials and simply said they are asking for an immediate rematch with Benson Henderson.

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Ah, controversy. It wouldn't be a memorable night of mixed martial arts (MMA) without it. Last night (Feb. 25, 2012) at UFC 144: "Edgar vs. Henderson" from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, was no exception. In the main event of the evening, Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson put on a thrilling back-and-forth, five-round fight that was exciting to watch, but difficult to score. Edgar -- the Lightweight champion coming into the night -- used movement and quick strikes to score points, while Henderson leveraged power and creativity to do the same. If there was a post-fight beauty contest, Henderson would have won hands down -- it didn't look like he had a scratch on him. Edgar, meanwhile, appeared as though he was stuffed through a meat grinder, with his eye swollen shut and nose likely busted thanks to a "Smooth" heal to the schnoz. The ringside judges, fortunately, score fights based on what happens inside the cage, not what the fighters look like when all is said and done. Regardless, in this case, the trio sided with Henderson, awarding him a unanimous decision. One that was apparently controversial, with fans, fighters and even Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) President Dana White thinking the judges got it wrong. White explains his difference of opinion after the jump (via MMAFighting.com): "Again, I'm not a judge and my opinion doesn't matter but I had it even going into that last round and I gave the last round to Frankie. (Four rounds to one for Ben Henderson) is crazy. Most of the judges had (Edgar) losing the last round, I don't know how you have him losing the last round. But I was on Twitter going into the third, fourth and last round asking people how they had it and there were some people who had it just like I had it and there were other people who had it the other way for Henderson. I said, 'Get ready for some controversy, this is going to be a controversial decision.'" It's a hot topic for debate, one which will seemingly never be put to rest. Henderson clearly did more damage and created more fight-ending opportunities. On the flip side, Edgar caught kicks, flicked punches and slipped shots. He also attempted, and secured, more takedowns ... even though he didn't do much with them, just like his strikes. Damage vs. Volume, one that UFC matchmaker Joe Silva, among others, feels that "Volume" wins -- at least last night -- by a "landslide:" "I’m not a judge, but I had the fight even going into the last round and I gave the last round to Frankie. Joe Silva had this scored for Frankie by a landslide, as well. But a lot of judges score on damage and Henderson didn’t have the damage. There wasn’t any question where the damage was done. I’ve got nothing but respect for Henderson, look at what he did tonight. I’m not going to make a decision about the rematch right now." That's an extreme view, considering that the FightMetric stats actually affirmed the judges collective decision -- Henderson scored more in the striking across the board, save for leg strikes. Then again, perhaps perception really is reality, especially when many feel it's required for a challenger to beat the champion definitively to get the nod. Where do you stand? For more on the controversial UFC 144 main event between Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson click here.

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Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 Post Fight press conference calls for a rematch with Benson Henderson starting that he had to deal with two rematches of his own. Check out what Frankie Edgar had to say at the UFC 144 post-fight press conference in Japan…. [...]

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UFC President Dana White looked back at the Ultimate Fighting Championship's long-awaited return to Japan, and the main event clash between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson. White admitted he scored the bout in favor of Frankie Edgar, but still agreed that the fight was too close to call. Another thing discussed in Dana White's interview is Frankie Edgar's potential move down to Featherweight, and the future contender in the UFC Lightweight division. Further Reading: Full UFC 144

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At UFC 144, three judges decided unanimously that Benson Henderson defeated Frankie Edgar in the main event to become the new UFC lightweight champion.

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Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar believes he did enough to retain his belt against Benson Henderson at UFC 144 and wants an immediate rematch with the newly crowned titleholder.

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Benson Henderson captured the UFC lightweight title from Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC 144 on Saturday night, busting up the former champion en route to a unanimous decision victory at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

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SAITAMA, Japan -- Watch below as UFC president Dana White talks about why he thinks Frankie Edgar deserved to beat Benson Henderson at UFC 144, what's next for both fighters, Rampage Jackson's performance, Mark Hunt's improbable UFC run, and more.

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This time, Frankie Edgar couldn’t pull off another improbable rally. The New Jersey native fought valiantly for five rounds in the UFC 144 main event against former WEC champion Benson Henderson

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In a night that personified the visceral splendor that is mixed martial arts, it seemed inevitable that Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar would deliver its crowning moment. And they didn't disappoint. Henderson and Edgar traded blows for five rounds in the main event of UFC 144, capping the year's most electrifying night of fights in aptly spectacular fashion. Ultimately the judges awarded Henderson the unanimous decision victory (49-46, 48-47, 49-46) and with it the UFC lightweight strap, despite a valiant effort from the fallen champion. Though once again the result was as razor-thin as they come, and while Henderson reveled in the afterglow of his greatest professional triumph, a slew of fellow fighters flooded the digital plains with their scorecards of the controversial title tilt. Agreed. I've got Edgar either 3-2 or 4-1. Great fight though. RT @danawhite: No matter who wins this will be controversy!!! — Dan Henderson (@danhendo) February 26, 2012 Wow. Even more controversial then I thought.Great fight, fans will def be asking for a rematch. — Dan Henderson (@danhendo) February 26, 2012 Ok I don't say this ever, but that was the absolute worst decision I have EVER seen. — Amir Sadollah (@amirMMA) February 26, 2012 I think Frankie should have won... — The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) February 26, 2012 Frankie Edgar is the real life Rocky Balboa!! — Rashad Evans (@SugaRashadEvans) February 26, 2012 Ill give ben the fifth. We might have a new champion. — Nam Phan (@NamPhanMMA) February 26, 2012 Wow!! Love Benson. It was a close fight but I had Frankie winning that fight. — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 26, 2012 Henderson winning isn't necessarily the issue for me. Inconsistency of the judging is. Bendo is the champ & put on a sick performance! — Kenny Florian (@kennyflorian) February 26, 2012 @kennyflorian I agree @FrankieEdgar was more busy striker and score more takedowns.. How the score that unanimous decision.. — Fabricio Camões (@fabriciocamoes) February 26, 2012 I thought Frankie won @UFC — Ken Stone (@K3nStone) February 26, 2012 I make a horrible judge! — Duane Ludwig (@DUANEBANGCOM) February 26, 2012 Frankie won IMO. — Yves Edwards (@thugjitsumaster) February 26, 2012 RT @jmercadoMMA: I'm getting sad.Frankie clearly won but people don't understand that visual damage is not apart of the scoring system — Conor Heun (@ConorHeun) February 26, 2012 I'm so inspired right now!! That fight was incredible !! Ben and Frankie are warriors . Thank u guys! #UFC144 — Joseph Benavidez (@JoeJitsu) February 26, 2012 It was a damn good fight. I feel Frankie definitely won it. Don't worry brother youll be back on top. Forget cutting weight 155 is your home — Rad Martinez (@radmFTW) February 26, 2012 Ben Henderson is the most well rounded fighter in the world (wrestling, cardio, stand up,jiu jitsu, big 155) #UFC144 — Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) February 26, 2012 They're both winners in my book #UFC144 — Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) February 26, 2012 I believe damage done needs to play a factor in judging a round. And I believe Benson Henderson did more damage in all rounds. #Champ — Pat Schilling (@PatSchilling) February 26, 2012 BJ and Gray got immediate rematches in close fights with Frankie, so Frankie should at least get a rematch after that war I thought he won — John Cholish (@JohnCholish) February 26, 2012

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Ben Henderson got gold back around his waist Saturday night. The former WEC lightweight champ is now the UFC lightweight champ after beating Frankie Edgar.

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Benson Henderson completed his climb to the lightweight summit halfway across the world.

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Benson Henderson punished former champ Frankie Edgar with kicks to win the title in a five-round epic in Japan.

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Benson Henderson punished former champ Frankie Edgar with kicks to win the title in a five-round epic in Japan.

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Benson Henderson punished former champ Frankie Edgar with kicks to win the title in a five-round epic in Japan.

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This night will be remembered. Without a doubt the UFC's grand return to Japan was an undeniable success. The 'Bushido Spirit' filled Saitama Super Arena to the rafters, and we were delivered a superb night of fights culminating in yet another gory Frankie Edgar 'Rocky' remake. After five rounds of high paced back and forth action that left Frankie a bloody mess and Benson Henderson unscathed (but not without a few stray hairs), Bendo took the lightweight championship out of the Jersey shore and into the Kingdom of Christ. Ben Henderson now joins Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, BJ Penn and the man he dethroned as one of the few UFC lightweight champs ever, but it's not without controversy. Honestly I don't know who won. The Twitterverse is up in arms, some picking Frankie some Bendo. 'You have to defeat the champion' they say, but looking at their faces should tell all the tales needed. Compustrike's Tweet's tell an interesting tale as well. Frankie to put it simply, was pissed about the loss. We don't know if he saw Compustrike's Tweet's above he stepped up to talk to Joe Rogan, but for a guy who had one eye open and blood gushing out of his face for fifteen minutes, he thought won the fight. Now it's official: Bendo/Pettis II is going down in an octagon near you for the UFC lightweight championship. WEC never die!

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Benson Henderson defeats Frankie Edgar by Unanimous Decision. The score cards were 49-46, 48-47, 49-46. Inside leg kick landed for Frankie to open the round. Ben Henderson threw his own leg kick and jumped up with a flying round house which missed. Edgar took Ben down momentarily but was unable to keep him on the mat. Henderson doubled up the kicks and Frankie hit another takedown. Ben threw a superman punch/low kick that landed low. Another Ben Henderson kick was caught and Frankie punished him with kicks to the thigh. Frankie timed Ben's kicks well, catching numerous shots to the body. Frankie completed a double and on the way up Ben attempted a standing kimura. Knee to the body from Ben. Frankie tossed Ben to the ground in the final seconds of the round. Frankie Edgar caught another kick and punished Ben's thigh with kicks. Another kick caught and the two trade punches. Henderson punched on one leg. Knee from the clinch landed for Benson. Another knee from Benson landed which caused Frankie to take a deep breath. Frankie missed a spinning back fist. Edgar with another takedown and Henderson defended with a standing kimura. Leg kick by Frankie found its target. Both fighters traded in the pocket with a minute left and Frankie hit a takedown with thirty left. Edgar stayed active and was dropped by an upkick. Benson tried a guillotine to finish the fight but time ran out. Frankie was leaking blood walking back to his corner. They traded in the pocket to start the third. Big right for Edgar landed as he moved in and out. Edgar with a four punch combination to the body and head. Benson defends two takedown attempts. Henderson countered Frankie's combination with a right hand. Frankie slipped and Henderson drove him down to keep the fight grounded. Frankie wall walked back to his feet and pushed off to escape. Edgar's eye almost swollen shut with a minute thirty left in the round. Edgar threw Benson but couldn't keep the fight on the ground. Frankie closed the round with a takedown. Double jab and kick from Henderson at the start of the championship rounds. Jab from Henderson is countered with a kick to the leg. Three punch combination landed for Edgar. Henderson's kick to the body landed low directly on Frankie's cup. Henderson wiffed an uppercut and Frankie countered with a right hand. Frankie with a takedown and Henderson dropped for a guillotine. It was very tight but Edgar survived. Edgar attempted to take Ben's back but again gave up when Henderson grabbed for a kimura. Frankie had timed Henderson's leg kicks. Takedown attempt from Frankie is defended and Henderson threw a kick to the body on the break. Benson was surprisingly fresh entering the final round. Edgar stepped in for a right hand and was countered with a straight left. Frankie failed on a takedown attempt but landed an uppercut on the break. A big left hand landed for Edgar. Frankie tripped Benson to the ground and attempted to take his back but again gave up when Henderson grabbed the kimura. Edgar landed a combination and Henderson countered with a right hand. Frankie dropped Ben with right hook but Henderson didn't look stunned. Head kick from Benson was partially blocked. The fight ended with Henderson landing a jumping knee and dragging Edgar down with a guillotine. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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When Frankie Edgar and Benson Henderson step into the Octagon at UFC 144 they will be fighting for more than just the UFC lightweight belt.

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In the salivating headliner of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson, undersized anomaly Frankie Edgar collides with the rapidly accelerating Ben Henderson with the UFC lightweight championship hanging in the balance. How odd is it that, a little over a year ago, the question revolving around the world lightweight class was: "Who in the hell is left to challenge B.J. Penn?" Excluding his rivalry with Georges St. Pierre a weight class north, "The Prodigy" had buzz-sawed through the relevant contenders, finally dedicating himself to 155-pounds and dominating as the prophecy foretold, which left a gaping hole for the future. When Frankie Edgar (14-1-1) was announced as Penn's next challenger, the news was greeted with shrugs of indifference and cynical quips like, "The guy Gray Maynard tossed around?" The setting for their showdown, which may have been a case of subliminally inclined marketing that portended another Penn trampling, was titled "UFC 112: Invincible." Even when Edgar skippity-hopped and boomeranged around the cage in perplexing circles while detonating light-speed combinations to acquire the strap in a close decision, we were still staunchly rooted in denial. "Stupid judges," we grunted irritably. "Making that damn 'psshhht' sound when you punch doesn't make you a better striker!" we bellyached dramatically. The pattern that emerged subtly in their first meeting then became crystal clear in the rematch. "The Answer" once again shucked and jived his way to victory, incomprehensibly moving at a faster clip as the fight progressed, this time leaving no leeway for excuses by triumphing definitively. Half the MMA world changed their tune and finally started to give Frankie Edgar the respect he deserves after that fight. More UFC 144 Dissections Hunt-Kongo | Okami-Boetsch | Hioki-Palaszewski | Gomi-Mitsuoka | Yamamoto-Lee | Fukuda-Cantwell | Mizugaki-Cariaso | Zhang-Tamura Though his pathway was different, the journey to the top for Ben Henderson (15-2) was quite similar. The WEC had always played second fiddle to the UFC and the impending merger was overshadowed by our googly-eyed infatuation with "The Showtime Kick" and its admittedly promising creator, Anthony Pettis. Bendo initiated his stellar sequence toward the title with a rugged dismantling of BJJ black belt Mark Bocek in his Octagon debut at UFC 129. It was the same frenetically paced format of tenacious striking and clinch-work with freakish scrambling and submission defense we'd witnessed from him in the WEC, but something about it was just eerily ... better. Henderson was then expedited to clashes with two of the toughest, hard-nosed scrappers in the game in Jim Miller and Clay Guida. Miller was mercilessly peppered with unending elbows while trying to chain together submissions, sweeps or escapes -- all to no avail. Guida, who's built a hard-earned reputation as the most tenacious and spirited contender in the division, was beaten at his own game. In just over a half-year, Bendo skyrocketed to the number-one contender slot and cemented himself as a top-five lightweight in the world. Gifs and analysis in the full entry. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson This is the kind of electric match up that can unfold a million different ways in a million different places. Both fighters are among the quickest and highest-paced lightweights in the biz who can transition back and forth from striking, clinching or grappling with supreme confidence. From a big-picture standpoint, I feel Edgar comes in with a strong edge just because his elaborate footwork, head movement and boxing has become a Machida-esque enigma with no clear weaknesses to exploit. While the same could be said for Bendo, I feel he'll have to make more adjustments. Edgar's overall boxing tendencies are at a level where some of the boxing purists that used to scowl at MMA's primitive brawling might appreciate his artful fluidity. Individually, his shelling, stance, punching technique, timing, control of range and footwork are absolutely phenomenal; the beauty being in how perfectly he ties them all together while also catering to the grappling aspects of MMA. To seal his trilogy with Maynard, there is a barely a discernible separation between striking and grappling -- still on his knees, he releases the single and pops him with a short right in one seamless motion. Against both Maynard and Penn, he drove them beyond frustration with his tediously elaborate in-and-out movement and they became careless in pursuit. That's when Edgar shifts from perpetual evasion to aggressive explosion by dropping levels and using their excessive pressure against them by snaring deep double legs. While he may not maintain position nor mount offense from the takedown, the damage is done by completely shutting down every option but to endure his elusive striking onslaught. Henderson's best asset should be his athleticism. Technique will always play a role but, against Edgar, just finding an available target for any semblance of offense is priority one. This means Bendo's method of pursuit will be pivotal. Rather than spring for takedowns from a distance, he's the type to apply a steady stream of pressure and methodically swarm opponents into the clinch, as he does with Miller to the left. Though he'll be inclined to engage at phone-booth range instead of on the fringe, Henderson is still highly unpredictable alternates from dirty boxing, Thai techniques in the clinch or takedown attempts. Just as Edgar's sweet spot is with erratic movement in open space, Bendo's lies in close quarters where he becomes a high-speed blender. "Overwhelming" is the best description for the way he suffocates opponents with vacillating attacks and, like Edgar, does so by transitioning from one to the other with the utmost grace. I can see his preference of locking horns in tie-ups versus shooting from outside unfolding very well when we can contain Edgar. However, the champ is so nimble that it seems he'll be harder to get ahold of with that more gradual approach. Henderson has excellent takedown defense as well, so the gist of this seems to boil down to his effectiveness in staying glued to Edgar. His choices are either to float in the center of the cage and joust, where Edgar is at his absolute best, or shrink the distance. In each of his monumental UFC wins, neither Bocek, Miller nor Guida shied away from tangling with him -- actually, they all embraced it. Henderson has never faced an elusive fighter like Edgar so, honestly, I have no idea how he'll attack or how effective it will be. That goes back to my original point that Henderson will be the one burdened with venturing into new territory and tailoring his customary style to fit the conundrum of Frankie Edgar, which is why my vote goes with the champion. Expect anything in this fight. I can't really think of an outcome that will shock me because I'm fully preparing myself to be shocked. Edgar slides in as the narrow favorite on the betting lines at an average of -140, which I'm in agreement with. My Prediction: Frankie Edgar by decision. All gifs via Zombie Prophet of IronForgesIron.com Poll Frankie Edgar vs. Benson Henderson Edgar Henderson   14 votes | Results

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Frankie Edgar's ability to take punishment and stay in the fight will be tested again at UFC 144 vs. Ben Henderson.

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Edgar’s lightweight title fight against Benson Henderson in Japan could provide another opportunity.

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Edgar’s lightweight title fight against Benson Henderson in Japan could provide another opportunity.

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UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar knows that fans are interested in a potential powder keg fight between him and Jose Aldo. But is the UFC's 155lb king interested?

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The main event of UFC 144 is a fight that has hardcore fans rabid in anticipation. Frankie Edgar and Ben Hendersonare two of the most gifted fighters in the Lightweight division, and indeed, in all of MMA. Both men are supremely technical in all areas - from striking to wrestling to submissions. Add the UFC Lightweight title belt into the mix and you have a recipe for a classic battle. Considering the talent on display, it's no surprise that both men have been featured in previous installments of our Bloody Elbow Judo Chop series. That series, designed to showcase the technique's used in fights, can tell us a lot about both Edgar and Henderson. To get ready for Saturday's UFC 144 title fight, take a look back at this collection of Edgar and Henderson Judo Chops. First up, chops by Kid Nate, KJ Gould, and myself all focusing on Edgar and highlighting his work against both B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard. UFC 136 Judo Chop: Uppercuts in Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 - Fraser Coffeen UFC 136 Judo Chop: The Grappling of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II - KJ Gould UFC 136 Judo Chop: The Striking of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard - Fraser Coffeen Bloody Elbow Judo Chop: Frankie Edgar Uses a Cut Kick to Sweep B.J. Penn at UFC 118 - Kid Nate Next, check out Ben Thapa's great 2 part series from earlier this week highlighting Ben Henderson's survival skills: UFC 144 Judo Chop: Benson Henderson And The Miracle of Survival Part 2 of 2 - Ben Thapa UFC 144 Judo Chop: Benson Henderson And The Miracle Of Survival Part 1 of 2 - Ben Thapa I hope these help build your anticipation for Saturday's clash. Will we have a new Judo Chop to add to the list after that battle? Given what these two men have shown us in the past, I expect so. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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The Rocky Balboa comparisons in MMA are kind of overdone, but this is pretty cool.

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Another "fan-made" promo for UFC 144, this time featuring Frankie Edgar as the "Rocky Balboa of the UFC".

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LowKick.com Staff predict tomorrow's UFC 144 Lightweight title encounter between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson. Who leads the predictions 4 to 2?

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The self-described “average Joe” will face Frankie Edgar in the lightweight main event at UFC 144 in Japan.

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UFC Undisputed 3 predicts UFC 144′s Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson and Rampage Jackson vs. Ryan Bader.

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UFC 144 is drawing near and that means everyone is eager to give their picks for the evening's action, especially the light heavyweight title main event between Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson. While we'll have our official Bloody Elbow staff picks going up tomorrow, Sherdog has their standard round-up of picks by MMA pros. With eighteen different pros offering a pick (and a nineteenth giving no prediction) Edgar has the 61% edge. Perhaps the most relevant prediction comes from a man who may well be in line to face the winner of the bout, Jim Miller: Jim Miller: I think Frankie's got better wrestling and better hands. If Ben is able to take him down, I think Frankie's going to pop right back up and get back to doing what he does and just outwork him. It's going to be a tough fight; can't count Ben out. He's a tough guy, very athletic, comes in good shape, he's got good striking and he's got good subs, but I don't think they're good enough to beat Frankie. I've only got a few hours left before I have to turn in my personal pick for our predictions post and I've been flip flopping back and forth on this fight for days. I like the boxing and wrestling of Edgar but don't feel that his edge is so big that it can't be offset by the pacing and tenacity of Henderson. It's truly set up to be a fantastic end to what has every chance to be one of the UFC's best ever cards. SBN coverage of UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson

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In its latest simulation, the folks at THQ put UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar and challenger Ben Henderson through the paces on UFC Undisputed 3. The game is predicting the title to change hands...

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Frankie Edgar fielded questions from the press at the UFC 144 pre-fight press conference in Tokyo, Japan.

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Benson Henderson talked to the press in Tokyo, Japan, before his fight against Frankie Edgar at UFC 144, stating that a fight is a fight no matter where it is, behind a 7-11 or in Tokyo.

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Part One: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson  Part Two: Ryan Bader vs. Quinton Jackson   Part Three: Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Jake Shields    Part Four: Joe Lauzon vs. Anthony Pettis  

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This Saturday, February 25, the UFC will head to Japan to present UFC 144. In the evening’s main event Frankie Edgar will defend his UFC Lightweight title against former WEC Lightweight Champion Benson Henderson. While the UFC’s Lightweight division may not be one of the “glamour” weightclasses, it is without a doubt one of, if not the, deepest weightclasses in the UFC and when the two top fighters in the division face off on Saturday it should be something to see. Here’s a

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar talks with HeavyMMA's Megan Olivi in Tokyo about his UFC 144 title defense against Ben Henderson and what it's like to be in Japan.

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It's time to break down the most important part of Saturday's title fight between the champion, Frankie Edgar, and the contender, Benson Henderson. Which man has the better walkout shirt? The champ brings an Affliction shirt that is thankfully free … Continue reading →

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MMAWeekly caught up with Frankie Edgar in Tokyo, Japan at the UFC open workouts. Watch the video here.

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TOKYO - Benson Henderson talks about being in the main event of UFC 144, his reception in Japan, possible holes in Frankie Edgar's game, if size will play a factor and more.

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Frankie Edgar Doesn't See Any Holes in Benson Henderson's Game Benson Henderson: Frankie Edgar Is Great Champ but Leaves 'Openings' 'Rampage' Jackson Talks UFC 144, Japan Glory Days and Joe Rogan Criticism Ryan Bader Hoping to Right 2011 Wrongs Against 'Rampage' Jackson Jake Shields Doesn't Regret Fighting Immediately Following Death of His Father Takanori Gomi Thinks UFC 144 Will Help Reignite Japanese MMA Cheick Kongo Wants Another Shot at Frank Mir submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [1 comment]

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TOKYO -- Watch below as UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar talks about his UFC 144 title defense against Benson Henderson, fighting overseas, a potential drop to featherweight and much more.

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The UFC sits down with lightweight champion Frankie Edgar to talk to him about his UFC 144 main event title defense against Ben Henderson this Saturday in Japan.

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Frankie Edgar knows that the loudest ones in the room are usually the ones that fall the hardest, so instead he just keeps his head down, works hard, and success keeps happening.

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On Sat., Feb. 25, 2012, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will pit its top two lightweight fighters against each other in the cage as UFC 144 comes rolling through Saitama, Japan, with guns blazing. Ben Henderson will try to do what no one has been able to accomplish since 2008 by defeating Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar and proving to mixed martial arts (MMA) fans that he is the number one 155-pound fighter in the world. That's the goal, but it could be easier said than done. Speaking of goals, here's what else "Bendo" has on his agenda: "I definitely have long term goals and short term goals, but that has been my goal since I first got into fighting, period: Just to be the best fighter on the planet -- no ifs, ands or buts about it," said the 28-year-old. "Not one of the best, not top three, top five, whatever -- I want to be the best fighter in the world, period. That goal is still in my sights, I still wake up thinking about that." Check out the rest of Henderson's "to do" list after the jump: One would think that just defeating the champion would be ambitious enough of a dream for Henderson. Apparently not. During a recent teleconference to promote UFC 144, Henderson announced that he has aspirations of "Silva" proportions: "I don't think me beating Frankie at all gets me anywhere near the conversation," Bendo went on. "I'd have to beat Frankie, then beat a couple other guys, defend the belt -- what is Anderson up to? He's up to like, twelve right now? Thirteen? After I beat Anderson's record, whatever he stops at -- fourteen times, fifteen times -- after I beat that, then the conversation can begin." Henderson is a perfect 3-0 during his time in the Octagon. In his last fight, he won a very impressive decision victory over Clay Guida at UFC on Fox on Nov. 12, 2011 in Anaheim, Calif. He's gone a long way to show fans that he's more than just the guy who became the recipient of a highlight reel move at the hands of Anthony Pettis on Dec. 16, 2010 at WEC 53. But is he biting off more than he can chew by comparing himself to "The Spider?" Is it too early to be making those kind of correlations? What do you Maniacs think? Does "The Smooth One" have potential to be the greatest of all time? Got any bold UFC 144 predictions? Sound off!

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MMAWeekly Radio is back for the attack on Monday with UFC champ Frankie Edgar, Strikeforce contender Tyron Woodley and Team Alpha Male's Lance Palmer.

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“For this fight I am bringing in UFC Bantamweight Champion Dominick Cruz to lend us a hand. He’s a bit quicker and faster than I am. He can emulate Frankie and help me deal with the speed and footwork Edgar possesses… The first thing I took away is that he does make mistakes and can be hurt. He got hurt very badly in both fights in the first round. He does leave openings and make mistakes. He has holes and there are opportunities where you can go after him and throw him off of his game. You also have to take away the fact that he has a huge heart, a very good chin, and a never say die attitude. That’s not something that should ever be discounted… This fight is going to be good. It’ll be like two cats trapped inside of a bag. He’s a pretty aggressive fighter who moves a lot, but he remains very active and goes after it. He’s not a guy who will get on the bike and not engage. He moves around a lot, but comes to fight each and every time. We both have aggressive natures so you can expect us to get after it and put on a great fight.” — Ben Henderson talking to Five Oz. about his upcoming title fight against Frankie Edgar at UFC 144 There definitely won’t be a lack of action when Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson step into the Octagon this weekend. Both guys fight at a feverish pace and have plenty of experience doing it for five straight rounds. I’m leaning towards Edgar because he’s a bit more technical than Bendo, however there probably isn’t a more ideal training partner to emulate Edgar’s unique style and footwork than Dominick Cruz. Perhaps Henderson has a few tricks up his sleeve. Either way though, it should be a fun to watch Saturday night. Image via Jeff Sherwood for Sherdog

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Frankie Edgar defends his UFC lightweight title against Ben Henderson this Saturday, Feb. 25, at UFC 144.

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Over the last two years, Frankie Edgar has logged nearly 19 rounds in four fights against two opponents.

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Despite the Rocky comparisons and "Fight of the Year" awards, Frankie Edgar isn't looking for a repeat performance in Japan. At least, not exactly. After staging an amazing comeback from a heavy first-round deficit in both his second and third encounters with Gray Maynard, Edgar says he'll be looking to get off to a strong start when he meets Ben Henderson at UFC 144.

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Ben Henderson challenges Frankie Edgar for the UFC lightweight title on Saturday, Feb. 25, at UFC 144.

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Floyd Patterson, former heavyweight boxing champion of the world, decreed that to win in boxing all that is required is speed; speed of hands to win exchanges, and speed of foot to dictate when they take place. Frankie Edgar has both of these qualities and as the UFC lightweight division's "Cinderella man" upset BJ Penn twice before having two back and forth matches with the gigantic wrestler, Gray Maynard. Frankie Edgar is always entertaining to watch, but he is never going to be a big draw such as Anderson Silva or his predecessor, BJ Penn were - he is neither a submission finisher or a knockout artist. What is unique about Edgar, however, is his method of taking apart lightweights - exploiting the same lack of striking confidence and experience in the lightweight division that Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz does in his own weightclass: a lack of ability to deal with lateral movement. Is it possible for Benson Henderson to out-strike Edgar? Of course. Will he actually out-strike Edgar? That remains to be seen, but the opportunities do exist to pick Edgar apart, it is whether Henderson's coaches have noticed this and whether he can focus when he is face to face with Edgar's perpetual motion style. To understand how one might beat Edgar on the feet it is important to note his greatest successes and the times which he has shown weaknesses. In looking at Edgar's fight tape and record, nothing stands out more than his defeat of then number one lightweight in the world, BJ Penn. Penn was touted as a phenomenal boxer with a counter jab that jacked his opponent's head back, slick counter-punches and power which is rarely seen at lightweight. What Edgar exposed in Penn, however, was an inability to deal with lateral movement. Just as Nick Diaz does, Penn often stands in a boxing stance with his front foot turned in to maximize the reach on his dipping counter jab. This does, however mean that circling to the outside of this foot makes it hard for him to set up his punches and exposes the back of his leg for low kicks and his jaw for right hand leads. This circling is Edgar's modus operandi, and against Penn - whose dipping jab and emphasis on head movement is tailor made for inexperienced opponents who are willing to run straight at him, hoping to overwhelm him with combinations - it worked a treat. The fact that he kept having to turn and face Frankie meant that he was often unprepared from Frankie's own charging combinations. Edgar's weakest showings on the feet have been his slow starts against Gray Maynard. Though traditionally not a big finisher (his only notable KO coming over himself), Maynard caught Frankie hard in the opening rounds of both of their title fights. In the first of these two title fights, at UFC 125, Edgar was caught with a slapping left hook, which did not carry a full rotation of Maynard's hips, but caught Edgar so off guard that it was enough to send him stumbling backward and almost cost him his hard earned UFC title. In watching this knockdown, Frankie is circling away from Maynard's left hand, then pauses as if he is ready to circle back the other way, in traditional Edgar fashion - unfortunately his right hand is down by his chest when he intends to change direction so he meets the full force of the left hook while leaning into it. Edgar's habit of dropping his hands as he circles is a bad one, and while Penn was inadequate at chasing him, instead trying to bait him in, Maynard's aggressive pressure in the first rounds of both of their fights put him in position to punch into the space into which Edgar was moving. Circling into the left hook without adequate protection has produced some fantastic knockouts in the past, despite the hook lacking power it is hard to see coming and much of the force is provided by the opponent's movement into it. Here is Mitsuhiro Ishida, whose chin is fairly solid, circling into a short left hand of Hirota (the arm which Aoki went on to savagely break). Notice how Ishida is almost immediately out cold, and that the hole through which Hirota's punch entered was not especially large - Ishida could still be seen to have his hands up, but still lacked protection. Edgar showed the heart which has come to be recognized as his trademark in gritting his teeth and fighting to the draw in his first title fight with Maynard. He also showed a brilliant ability to change strategy on the fly - while he did not change his hand positioning in circling to the left, he pretty much abandoned circling into Maynard's left hook and instead dashed straight in, throwing combinations, before ducking out to Maynard's right side. As Maynard fights squared up, putting power in his left hook most of the time, his right hand lacks the power of his left as well as the room to loop in from the side, making exit to Maynard's right side a much safer option. That is not to say that Edgar could avoid the circling which had been hardwired into him from training, or that Maynard didn't catch him with good right hands once he realized Edgar had simply changed direction. Frankie's habit of dropping his outside hand on the side to which he is circling is very dangerous for someone who is fighting much bigger, heavier men. In their second title match Maynard was less able to take advantage of the left hook, but he did find massive success in another hole Edgar's new game exposed. Edgar, not wanting to take the punishment of the first fight, was no longer circling into Maynard's left hook, but firing combinations, ducking and circling into Maynard's right hand. Maynard's coaches had picked up on this from the latter half of their first title meeting and Maynard was stood more side on, waiting to throw a powerful right uppercut rather than his typical left hook. It met with Frankie's chin several times, and once again Edgar was forced to change up his style. Reverting to more wrestling, clinch boxing and even switching to southpaw, Edgar never looked truly comfortable on the feet in his title fights with Maynard as he did with Penn. In fact it was out of a sprawl which Edgar caught Maynard his own uppercut to rock Maynard before finishing him against the cage, rather than in a pure stand up domain. Of course these are only ways to exploit Edgar's circling, and Maynard got hit plenty of times while attempting to herd Edgar into his punching power. A factor which has been overlooked by many of Edgar's opponents is why he is able to circle so freely - something which also applies to UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz. In high level kickboxing and Muay Thai you will never see men circling as freely as Edgar and Cruz because they eat low kicks - something which neither of Edgar's recent opponents have brought to the table. In order to stop Edgar circling, it is important to kick his lead leg, particularly when he is circling to his right - which would make his lead leg the trailing leg and allow a sizable amount of damage to be done to the inner thigh as well as to slow him down. The objective of kicking Edgar's lead leg need not even be to hurt him, in order to shin check low kicks he will need to stop moving to lift his leg , and that is the time to barrel in and take him on in head to head exchanges where his lack of size and power will work to his detriment, rather than in the open where they simply make him a smaller, faster target. Even BJ Penn, who has reportedly never formally trained kicking in his camps, found remarkable success stifling Edgar when he attempted some kicks in the later rounds of their second fight. Being BJ Penn however, he was reluctant to acknowledge any success that he had which wasn't boxing related and so it was pursued no further. Benson Henderson, however, has decent kicks, and perhaps the defensive wrestling to stave off Edgar's trademark running knee tap takedown should he get his leg caught. Whether anyone will take advantage of these holes in Edgar's much vaunted footwork remains to be seen. It is unlikely that he will be matched with Maynard yet again, who seemed to be making decent progress in sussing out the champion, so it is up to the rest of the lightweight field to learn from Maynard's successes. Edgar and Cruz are not excellent strikers in terms of technical proficiency, but have found a gaping chasm in the understanding of striking in mixed martial arts circles and are able to move around their opponents on the feet in a manner which no experienced boxer or kickboxer would allow. It is ultimately Edgar's choice to stand most times, having the wrestling to take down even notable grapplers such as Maynard, Penn and Franca, and if he is being out-struck he has the good sense to adapt and avoid the tactics which are getting him hurt. What will be intriguing about this match is that Edgar has fought the same two opponents for the past two years, with his better performances always being in the rematches, it should be interesting to see what Edgar can do against Henderson with no previous experience against him. Jack Slack breaks down striking strategy and technique at his website www.fightsgoneby.com He can also be found on Twitter @JackSlackMMA

Posted in: penn, hand, edgar, maynard, frankie

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Benson Henderson, looking to exploit his size advantage over UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, says he put on some additional muscle for UFC 144 Japan.

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Benson Henderson, looking to exploit his size advantage over UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar, says he put on some additional muscle for UFC 144 Japan.

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http://sports.yahoo.com/blindsided/blindsided-ufc-champ-frankie-edgar-s-tow-truck-adventure-28163981.html Don't try and tow Frankie Edgars BMW.

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Charlie Brenneman used to drive 500 miles a week between Pennsylvania and New Jersey in part to find the solution to his striking deficiencies. A short spell from his Garden State pizzeria, Mark Henry, Frankie Edgar's coach, taught him the finer points of boxing. Lately, though, Brenneman has eased back to 300 miles. A shorter drive away, he spends more time with AMA Fight Club's Muay Thai coach, Kaensak Sor Ploenjit. His feet hurt from kicking so many elbows and knees.

Posted in: coach, brenneman, frankie, drive, mile

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From its very first day, when Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard staged a 25-minute classic for the ages at UFC 125 in Las Vegas, it was clear that 2011 would be a special year for MMA.

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [comment]

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Or so says Strikeforce CEO and General Manager Scott Coker, who is, admittedly enough, not an unbiased observer. In a recent conversation with MMAWeekly, Coker gave his take on the match-up we may never see, Gilbert Melendez vs. Frankie Edgar: "I believe (Melendez) is the number one lightweight in the world. Believe me, those other guys, I take nothing away from them. Listen, styles make fights, and I'm really looking at Frankie Edgar and Gilbert, that match-up as to who would win that fight and how that fight would look. Ben Henderson, Cowboy Cerrone, all those guys are extremely talented, but like I said, styles make fights. I think Gilbert and Frankie would be a great fight, but I think Gilbert would come out on top." It's an intriguing match-up. Melendez is 20-2 in his fighting career, and has avenged both losses. Edgar is 14-1-1 and has avenged the lone defeat of his career. Both are titleholders in their weight class in different promotions but Edgar surely holds the edge in strength of schedule. His finding "the answer" to B.J. Penn in back-to-back bouts is still one of the more impressive feats in MMA. The unfortunate issue in all this is that Strikeforce just recently re-upped with Showtime to continue broadcasting events on the network. The promotion needs a face and that honor has been given to Melendez. That means no superfights against Edgar, who is preoccupied, anyway. He's got a tough match-up against Ben Henderson coming up on Feb. 26 at UFC 144 in Japan. "El Nino" has said he'll be there, though, always watching and wondering when he'll get his chance to prove Coker correct. If that day ever comes, Maniacs, who are you putting your money on? Melendez or Edgar?

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UFC top lightweight contender Ben Henderson, who will challenge Frankie Edgar for the title in February, says his loss to Anthony Pettis a year ago made him a better fighter.

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar discusses his February title defense against Ben Henderson in this exclusive HeavyMMA interview.

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submitted by kingpape26 [link] [comment]

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar hopes to have a quick fight with Benson Henderson at UFC 144 in Japan on Feb. 26.

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My guess is Frankie og Cruz. While Frankie might truly be the greatest lightweight at the time the division is so fierce that one slip will make him lose his belt. Cruz, well, because... I don't really know! I guess the other champions are already legends in their own way, also I think he has a real handfull against Faber. submitted by Kingstein [link] [2 comments]

Posted in: champion, cruz, frankie, i dont, belt cruz

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Frankie Edgar headlines UFC 144 on Feb. 26 against Benson Henderson, and the UFC lightweight champion knows he has his hands full when he tries to defend his title for the forth time.

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Frankie Edgar says he's excited to fight in the Land of the Rising Sun and believes the Japanese fans will embrace his style.

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has agreed to give up his babyface to grow a moustache during the month of "Movember" as part of his "Answer" to men's health awareness. Find out how to support the champ and his epic 'stache (coming soon) by clicking here.

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submitted by alphahouse44 [link] [comment]

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"Frankie's tough. He's shown it again and again. But Gray kind of laid out a blueprint for how to beat Frankie for one round, so now if someone could figure out how to keep it up for two, three, four, five, I think they'll possibly be successful. He's an amazing fighter and I think he'll have the belt for a while, but there is no one that you feel can't be dethroned or that is unbeatable or anyone you fear, at least in my opinion. I think he's a great fighter, but, again, I don't (label) him untouchable." -- Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez tells Heavy MMA he thinks UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar is an "amazing" fighter. But that doesn't make him untouchable. In fact, Gray Maynard laid out the exact blueprint for defeating "The Answer" at both UFC 125 and UFC 136. In short, put the pressure on and knock the crap out of him for five rounds. That's easier said than done, of course, as evidenced by the fact that "The Bully" failed in his conquest, though he had one very successful opening round in both fights. Is Melendez the guy who can take that game plan and make it work for all five rounds? He may very well be but first, he'll have to get through Jorge Masvidal on Dec. 17. Edgar, meanwhile, has a date with Ben Henderson, who could also execute that strategy, on Feb. 26 in Japan. If both men emerge victorious, it's highly likely a unification bout will be in order. Anyone care to venture a guess on how that fight would play out? Would Melendez be the one to take Edgar's title away with the strategy Maynard couldn't keep up?

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Preparing to face Jorge Masvidal next month, Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez believes UFC 155-pound champ Frankie Edgar is beatable. Will he be the one to do it?

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The main event for the UFC's return to Japan is set as lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will face Benson Henderson.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - As MMAjunkie.com first reported, UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar will defend his belt and Japan. And of course, after a stellar UFC on FOX win over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson will take the role of challenger. UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking at Saturday's UFC on FOX post-event press conference and later stated the contest will serve as the main event for the February fight card.

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - As MMAjunkie.com first reported, UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar will defend his belt in Japan. And of course, after a stellar UFC on FOX win over Clay Guida, Ben Henderson will take the role of challenger. UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking at Saturday's UFC on FOX post-event press conference and later stated the contest will serve as the main event for the February fight card.

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Frankie Edgar isn't fighting this weekend, but his epic performance against Gray Maynard at UFC 136 is still felt among fans. In fact, his shadow will loom considerably as viewers get a look at future contenders in the Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida fight. Recent reports indicate Edgar may be fighting the winner on the February card in Japan, according to MMAJunkie. To get a crack at the title, however, the winner will have to look impressive. Just yesterday, I had the chance to speak to Frankie about training, a quick recap of UFC 136, the UFC on FOX, the Manny Pacquiao fight, and other peripheral topics. A major thanks to Frankie's boxing coach, Mark Henry (who I interviewed last month), for helping me set this up. And a thanks to Edgar as well: with the UFC now on FOX, first time viewers would do well learn about just who he is, and why he is so adored by the MMA community. David: Hey Frankie. I'd like to start out by asking how life away from the cage is, and if there is such a thing for you right now? Frankie Edgar: I'm a family guy and I have kids, so that's pretty much it. I'm either training or I'm with my wife. I don't like being away from my family for that long, but I set my schedule up so that training becomes a normal job like anyone else does. David: Can you take us back to the fight with Gray Maynard? From a technical standpoint, is the victory bittersweet? As in, you won, but once again had to bust out of a closed casket, it seems, to do so? Frankie Edgar: I don't think so. I think it actually adds to the story that much more. If anything it's better that it's bittersweet. I'm thankful I got that finish, and I think it just makes it that much sweeter. David: You've always shown thanks to your training partners, and to that end I'd like to ask you about your boxing coach. What is it about Mark's relationship with you that allows you to process specific advice, as he did after both rounds that saw you hurt in the last two Gray fights, in the middle of battle with all that adrenaline and testosterone? Frankie Edgar: Yea I definitely think there's something unique. First and foremost you have to have good chemistry. And me and Mark have great chemistry. And more than that he's a teacher. On top of the fact that we train these scenarios all the time, in different ways. In sparring when he tells me to adjust some, I do it. If you want to do something in a fight, to adjust like that, you have to be able to do it in practice. He's always on me, making me switch it up like that. And we bring in great sparring partners, like professional boxers, and so I have to adjust. David: I realize you can't speak for other fighters, but why do you think other fighters lack that ability? To process specific advice, and in turn, for coaches to often ignore specific advice? Frankie Edgar: I think it's just based on the fighter, and the trainer. Some fighters may not feel like they have to adjust. Or some fighters may feel the advice has to be general for them. I personally like the specific advice. So I guess emotion plays a role too, both for the fighter and the trainer. David: Does it bother you that you have the gold around your waist, and no one else at 155 does, yet you're the one asked to drop to 145? Frankie Edgar: Yea, well I'm used to it obviously, at this point. But I;m no different than what they tell other people. Just like people talk about George and Anderson. Or Anderson and Jones. I think it's just a matter of the megafight possibilities and the fights fans want to see. David: Well, speaking of megafights. The same night you beat Gray, Jose Aldo put on a rather brilliant performance too. Guys at LW seem unable to compete with your speed, and I think for fans, the assumption is that here's a guy that can. Can you talk a bit about Aldo's performance, and a potential matchup? Frankie Edgar: I think Aldo's a stud man. He's got it all. He's really fast. He's got a lot of power. He's fun to watch, and so I'm a fan. But in terms of a fight, I think I match up well with anybody. With Aldo, there are more things you have to worry about.  David: How do you think you'd deal with the leg kicks? It would be a unique look for you. Do you think it would simply open him up to takedowns? Frankie Edgar: He throws that leg kick quicker than anyone I've ever seen. That's probably one of his biggest strengths, and something I'd have to address. It's something I'd have to catch right away, and practice in the gym a lot. David: Obviously, this is a big weekend for the UFC. What are your thoughts on the UFC's signing with FOX? Are you hoping to get a spot on one of the FOX cards? Frankie Edgar: I think it's great. I'd love to be on a FOX card, with all the exposure, and being able to fight with that many eyes on you would be huge. Just to say I fought on FOX is a big deal, and it just goes to show you how far this sport has come, and where it's going. It's no longer 'are we mainstream', but 'how much more mainstream can we get?' David: Both Cain and Junior can box. With your emphasis on boxing, what aspects of their respective games do you like most? Frankie Edgar: Well Junior throws heavy punches, and is the knockout puncher of the two. He's got a great uppercut. And Cain on the other hand is very well rounded. He understands the technical boxing very well. I can't wait for it. It's definitely the perfect fight to introduce the world to the UFC. David: Wanna make a prediction? Frankie Edgar: I don't know man. I just hope for the best. I'm not good with predictions. David: Going back to boxing, do you study it much? Watching you fight, you certainly display the characteristics of a real student of the game. Frankie Edgar: Mark (Henry) always has me look a different guys. Obviously Marque, and Pacquiao just to show me certain things and what I can do better. He likes showing me what fighters do particularly well, and so I also watch guys like Gamboa, Mayweather. And sometimes he busts out some older tapes, and we watch some Sugar Ray Leonard. But it's mostly what Mark thinks. He puts them on, and I watch them. David: Speaking of boxing, who do you got in the Pacqiuao/Marquez fight? Frankie Edgar: I'm definitely a fan of boxing. I got Pacquiao in that one. He's a little bit bigger now, and on such a roll. David: I feel any interview wouldn't be complete without both a food and music question. So...what is your favorite item on the menu at Mark's pizzeria in Woodbridge? Frankie Edgar: My favorite item is the upside down pizza. David: What? (laughing) Frankie Edgar: Upside down pizza. I don't even know what it is (laughing). It's just this pizza with cheese on the bottom and sauce on top. David: Isn't that a conflict of interest? Eating pizza and being a professional athlete? Frankie Edgar: I'm from Jersey man. We're all about pizza. That's where I get my muscles from. David: (laughing) Just one more question. First, great selection of Kick in the Door by Biggie as a walkout song at UFC 136. Mark tells me you guys train to hip hop. Do you ever mix it up with rock music of your era, like Soundgarden, Tool, or Rage Against the Machine? Frankie Edgar: I listen to everything when I'm driving. You name it, I'll listen to it. But when I'm boxing or working out, it's usually hip hope. You'll hear some rock music when I'm in the wrestling room but it's hip hop for the training room.

Posted in: fight, david, edgar, frankie, im

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According to both MMAWeekly.com and MMAJunkie.com, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will return to the Octagon on February 26 when the promotion heads overseas to Japan. His opponent? Both reports indicate that the winner of Saturday night's UFC on Fox preliminary bout between Clay Guida and Ben Henderson will likely determine the number one contender to the crown: Sources close to the fighter's camp confirmed to MMAWeekly.com that Edgar will likely appear in the main event on the card set to happen at Saitama Super Arena for the UFC's return card to Japan. MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from multiple sources close to the promotion that the winner of the Guida vs. Henderson matchup is expected to receive an immediate title shot against current lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC). Since the UFC scrapped the whole idea of leading the UFC Japan show into a stateside pay-per-view, we can surmise that attempting to appeal to the local fanbase isn't of the utmost priority for the promotion anymore. The audience that the UFC will likely care about more is their paying customers in North America, and Frankie Edgar vs. Guida/Henderson is a great match-up.  The news also lays to rest any theories that the bout wouldn't determine the division's number one contender. It was previously opined by fans and media, including myself, that the inability to spotlight the fight on the UFC on Fox broadcast would create another step on the stairwell to a title shot. If the report is true, it assures that the UFC will find a way to reach a broad audience with the match-up, possibly during the UFC 139 broadcast or on an upcoming free event.

Posted in: ufc, title shot, japan, edgar, frankie

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Frankie Edgar's next defense of the UFC lightweight title could come in February in Japan against the Saturday winner of Clay Guida vs. Ben Henderson.

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Two respected MMA media outlets are reporting that Frankie Edgar will cross the Pacific to defend his title next February when the UFC returns to Japan. And word is UFC on FOX 1′s Ben Henderson vs. Clay Guida will likely determine his opponent. From MMA Junkie: MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from multiple sources close to the promotion that the winner of the Guida vs. Henderson matchup is expected to receive an immediate title shot against current lightweight champ Frankie Edgar (14-1-1 MMA, 9-1-1 UFC). While an exact date for the fight with Edgar would certainly depend on the condition of the Guida vs. Henderson winner, multiple sources suggested the UFC’s planned February event in Japan is the preferred destination. The organization, which hasn’t promoted a show in the country since UFC 29 in late 2000, heads to Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, on Feb. 26, 2012. The UFC hasn’t confirmed this news yet, however MMA Weekly is reporting the same thing so chances are there’s some truth to it. The match-up isn’t much of a surprise, but I don’t think anyone expected the UFC would bring Frankie Edgar over to headline their return to Japan. Most expected one of the former PRIDE stars like Rampage Jackson or Shogun Rua to get that honor. They at least have some semblance of drawing power over there whereas Frankie Edgar is only some American UFC champ they barely know to what’s left of the Japanese fanbase. I’m not gonna lie, I’m struggling to figure out what the UFC’s reasoning is behind the decision if it does in fact pan out. Image via Esther Lin for AOL Fanhouse

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will look to make his next title defense in Japan in on Feb 26, 2012.

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Frankie Edgar doesn't want to drop to featherweight just yet. He is the UFC lightweight champion. "I want to defend that," Edgar today told MMAjunkie.com. Has he considered 145 pounds? Absolutely. And it's nice, in theory, to have the option of fighting in either weight class. But the way he feels right now, he'd like to stay put.

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submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [1 comment]

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v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Of the last nine rounds Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have fought, Edgar has won the significant majority of them. The rounds Gray won were obviously the most dramatic (outside of their last round to conclude their trilogy), but no so much so that we forgot Edgar's brilliant and technical acumen required to overcome the deficit. Following Edgar's success, I wrote a bit of an essay regurgitating a recent article in the New Yorker on the importance of coaching. I felt like Edgar's boxing coach, Mark Henry, was a key player in both victories, knowing how to offer the advice Edgar needed. Mark was kind enough to reach out to me via email, and was subsequently kind enough to give me several minutes of his time. Edgar's a special fighter. I don't need to list the reasons. You know the reasons. While he still doesn't get the respect he deserves on "P4P lists" (in whatever sense they're meaningful to begin with), the fact remains that he's the best fighter at 155 in the world, whether he should be fighting below LW or not. And Mark has been a big part of that. His name isn't as familiar a, say, Greg Jackson, but he deserves as much acclaim when you look at his contributions in Edgar's last two fights especially.         David: How did you get started in this business, and how did you ultimately get connected with Edgar? Mark Henry: I wasn't looking to get started in this business. My son was doing wrestling, and at the time I wasn't looking to train anybody. I had fought in the army, fought in the clubs, and to Europe a couple of times for the US Army team. After that, I was just looking to be a father, and own a pizzeria. But Steve (Rivera) asked me a couple of times, I said 'no', and then one day I did, and Edgar and I hit the pads. At first he was a mess, but I could tell he was something special, given his speed, and athleticism. In the beginning I would only train with him once a week. It wasn't until the Maynard loss that we just put a lot more time into it.   David: I think what's interesting about your approach with Edgar is that under your tutelage, he seems to have worked his way from the ground up. You seem more concerned with the fundamentals of boxing than with how to take bits and pieces, and put them in an MMA context? Is that accurate? Do you stress boxing for the sake of boxing as opposed to boxing for the sake of MMA? Mark Henry: No, I gotta tell you. Since the Sherk fight I've become more of an MMA guy. Frank got the knockout but I'm more proud of the leg kick when he grabbed Maynard in the first round. I worked on that with him. In the second Maynard fight I worked with taking Gray down off his right hand. Also kicks, also something we emphasized. I'm more into that other stuff, because I've never done it. Even with Gil (Gil Martinez, Gray's boxing coach), right before Frankie took him down, I said 'Gil, he's gonna tell him to throw a right hand when Frankie turns southpaw'. And sure enough the minute Frankie went southpaw, Gray threw a right hand, which led to the takedown, and then he threw that uppercut which knocked him down. David: I noticed what I thought were improvements in Edgar's punching, mainly in his power, and the development of his left hook. Was this- Mark Henry: Yea exactly. That's what we worked on a lot. This last camp, or two camps rather. We worked on him not moving so much, and sitting down on his punches. Then we had to get him moving again because he enjoyed rocking people so much in camp. So that's what we worked on: getting him to sit down on his punches, knowing when to step in, and when not to step in. When to shorten up your punches. Like that first round, he threw that short right hand, and he never threw that short right (he's talking about the right Edgar lands on Gray shown on replay after the first). And that's what he learned how to do this past camp.  And now it's just a matter of what to add. We also worked in switching to southpaw a lot. Sky's the limit for this kid. Especially when you consider he's only been doing this for three years. David: Speaking of boxing, is there any one particular fighter you look up to in terms of who you'd like Edgar to emulate? Is there any one fighter you and Edgar watch a lot of tape on, and study? Mark Henry: No, not really. It's basically something we have to create from scratch. Mainly because of Frankie's style. I mean I watch everybody though. I watch Marquez a lot. I love his trainer.  But for Frankie we had to come up with a different style because Frankie weighs so much less than everybody. He can't stand in front of somebody the way others do. People don't understand that Frankie basically weighs as much as Dominick Cruz. Dominick weighs 160 come fight time. Frankie weighs 158. Frankie's basically a small 145'er. Florian probably weighs about 175. Aldo weighs 170, so he's got Frankie by 12 pounds. If Frankie went to 145 he's probably the smallest 145 pounder. David: Does that kind of bother you guys? Hearing people demand Edgar move down. Isn't the gold around his waist evidence enough that he can do this, and that despite his limitations, he can still be the best? Mark Henry: Ya know, Dana comes from a boxing background. He's been in the sport a long time, in boxing as well. And he knows the sport well. And he understands Frankie's a small 145'er. He knows how hard it is. Because usually you just don't fight guys two weight classes above yours. And Dana knows you just can't stand in front of someone for too long when they outweigh you by 20 pounds with 4 ounce gloves. Honestly I think it's just that nobody really knew how much Frankie weighed. But when you look at all these other guys, in other weight classes, they're not willing to take those fights in other divisions. When Adnerson fights at 205, he weighs more than 205. When Frankie fights at 155, he doesn't. That's why I personally think he's the best. Pound for pound.   David: Which is just all the more impressive. And also I think maybe you can't really blame these guys either. Like when you look at GSP, who seems hesitant to move up to fight Anderson. The weight discrepancy is simply massive. Mark Henry: Absolutely. Absolutely.It used to be discrepancies of 10 pounds, but now we're talking discrepancies of 20 pounds and more. It never used to be that you needed an IV just to cut weight. But it's not that they're doing anything wrong. I'd be right there with them if I could. But that's what makes Edgar so special. Other guys cut 10 pounds. Now it's 25 to 30 pounds. Or now it's Anthony Johnson. You know what I'm saying? The regular guy is at least 15 pounds over his weight. George (St. Pierre) walks into the cage at 190 Firas says. If you need a more dramatic example of these bloated weight classes just consider that Frankie Edgar is only one weight class below Georges St. Pierre. But who wants to see that fight? Look at BJ. He weighs in the 160 range, and I remember seeing him in the cage against GSP and thinking, 'wow'.    David: I kind of hate asking you about Aldo because I'm not one of those that feels like Edgar needs that fight right now. You see this a lot with other fighters, like Jon Jones who's had just one title defense, and already people are talking about Anderson Silva, and a move to Heavyweight. Are you cool with this attitude, or do you think it's more interesting to see Edgar try to establish his own legacy at 155? Especially with so many fresh opponents. Mark Henry: To be honest, it's up to Dana. Whether it's a fight with Aldo, or more challengers at 155 it's really whatever the UFC wants. But Frankie doesn't back down from anyone (Mark gave a more extensive answer but my damn recorder ran out of memory).  David: One of the reasons I was so interested in getting a word with you is that I think your coaching paid real dividends for Edgar. Of the nine rounds in the last two fights he's fought with Maynard, it could be argued Gray has only won two. You made a real effort to articulate for Edgar what kind of adjustments he needed to make after the first round in their last two affairs. Why do you think other coaches have a hard time making mid-fight adjustments? Where do you get that eagle eye? Mark Henry: (again I missed a portion of Mark's answer here thanks to that godawful recorder). Practice. And doing things differently. Sometimes we'll practice what to throw in different languages. One fight we did Japanese, one fight we did Korean. In another fight we mixed the languages. I always wanted to do it because I remember BJ talking about Florian, saying how with Florian, his corner would scream (he couldn't possibly be talking about Keith could he?) what combos to throw and so BJ would listen and react to the combos before Kenny would throw them. So that's what we did when he first fought BJ. Except against BJ we'd use Frankie's sons names. So we'd have one combination named after his son, another after his wife, and things like that. And so everything is in a different language and he listens. It's like playing a video game and having a cord stuck up his butt. Whenever Frankie fights somebody, I don't know if you remember that old Mike Tyson boxing game, but you'd fight a guy with a different skill set every time. So sometimes it's the tall, skinny guy. Then it's the shorter, stocky guy. And so this gives us the chance to take out the personality of the fighter, as we did against BJ, and just focus on technique. We're not fighting Gray Maynard, we're fighting the style. And guys like Ricardo and Renzo have helped out with that as well. And that's what I think makes us so good. We have a great team. Guys like Ricardo, who has rubbed off on me especially, and of course guys like Renzo treat each other and us with respect. And it's basically a great family that we have. So it allows us to treat the fighter first. Frankie's like a brother to me. So when he gets hit, it's like my little brother getting hit. And I've gotta tell him what to do so he can hit the other guy that much harder. But he really is like a brother. We go to church together and that's important. Especially for me personally. God's always first. And I try to pay my respect to that. Ya know. I read the Bible in the octagon. Something we did in Abu Dhabi..which was a dangerous place to do it (laughing). But I try to put God first, ya know. v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);} Normal 0 false false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Of the last nine rounds Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard have fought, Edgar has won the significant majority of them. The rounds Gray won were obviously the most dramatic (outside of their last round to conclude their trilogy), but no so much so that we forgot Edgar's brilliant and technical acumen required to overcome the deficit. Following Edgar's success, I wrote a bit of an essay regurgitating a recent article in the New Yorker on the importance of coaching. I felt like Edgar's boxing coach, Mark Henry, was a key player in both victories, knowing how to offer the advice Edgar needed. Mark was kind enough to reach out to me via email, and was subsequently kind enough to give me several minutes of his time. Edgar's a special fighter. I don't need to list the reasons. You know the reasons. While he still doesn't get the respect he deserves on "P4P lists" (in whatever sense they're meaningful to begin with), the fact remains that he's the best fighter at 155 in the world, whether he should be fighting below LW or not. And Mark has been a big part of that. His name isn't as familiar a, say, Greg Jackson, but he deserves as much acclaim when you look at his contributions in Edgar's last two fights especially.         David: How did you get started in this business, and how did you ultimately get connected with Edgar? Mark Henry: I wasn't looking to get started in this business. My son was doing wrestling, and at the time I wasn't looking to train anybody. I had fought in the army, fought in the clubs, and to Europe a couple of times for the US Army team. After that, I was just looking to be a father, and own a pizzeria. But Steve (Rivera) asked me a couple of times, I said 'no', and then one day I did, and Edgar and I hit the pads. At first he was a mess, but I could tell he was something special, given his speed, and athleticism. In the beginning I would only train with him once a week. It wasn't until the Maynard loss that we just put a lot more time into it.   David: I think what's interesting about your approach with Edgar is that under your tutelage, he seems to have worked his way from the ground up. You seem more concerned with the fundamentals of boxing than with how to take bits and pieces, and put them in an MMA context? Is that accurate? Do you stress boxing for the sake of boxing as opposed to boxing for the sake of MMA? Mark Henry: No, I gotta tell you. Since the Sherk fight I've become more of an MMA guy. Frank got the knockout but I'm more proud of the leg kick when he grabbed Maynard in the first round. I worked on that with him. In the second Maynard fight I worked with taking Gray down off his right hand. Also kicks, also something we emphasized. I'm more into that other stuff, because I've never done it. Even with Gil (Gil Martinez, Gray's boxing coach), right before Frankie took him down, I said 'Gil, he's gonna tell him to throw a right hand when Frankie turns southpaw'. And sure enough the minute Frankie went southpaw, Gray threw a right hand, which led to the takedown, and then he threw that uppercut which knocked him down. David: I noticed what I thought were improvements in Edgar's punching, mainly in his power, and the development of his left hook. Was this- Mark Henry: Yea exactly. That's what we worked on a lot. This last camp, or two camps rather. We worked on him not moving so much, and sitting down on his punches. Then we had to get him moving again because he enjoyed rocking people so much in camp. So that's what we worked on: getting him to sit down on his punches, knowing when to step in, and when not to step in. When to shorten up your punches. Like that first round, he threw that short right hand, and he never threw that short right (he's talking about the right Edgar lands on Gray shown on replay after the first). And that's what he learned how to do this past camp.  And now it's just a matter of what to add. We also worked in switching to southpaw a lot. Sky's the limit for this kid. Especially when you consider he's only been doing this for three years. David: Speaking of boxing, is there any one particular fighter you look up to in terms of who you'd like Edgar to emulate? Is there any one fighter you and Edgar watch a lot of tape on, and study? Mark Henry: No, not really. It's basically something we have to create from scratch. Mainly because of Frankie's style. I mean I watch everybody though. I watch Marquez a lot. I love his trainer.  But for Frankie we had to come up with a different style because Frankie weighs so much less than everybody. He can't stand in front of somebody the way others do. People don't understand that Frankie basically weighs as much as Dominick Cruz. Dominick weighs 160 come fight time. Frankie weighs 158. Frankie's basically a small 145'er. Florian probably weighs about 175. Aldo weighs 170, so he's got Frankie by 12 pounds. If Frankie went to 145 he's probably the smallest 145 pounder. David: Does that kind of bother you guys? Hearing people demand Edgar move down. Isn't the gold around his waist evidence enough that he can do this, and that despite his limitations, he can still be the best? Mark Henry: Ya know, Dana comes from a boxing background. He's been in the sport a long time, in boxing as well. And he knows the sport well. And he understands Frankie's a small 145'er. He knows how hard it is. Because usually you just don't fight guys two weight classes above yours. And Dana knows you just can't stand in front of someone for too long when they outweigh you by 20 pounds with 4 ounce gloves. Honestly I think it's just that nobody really knew how much Frankie weighed. But when you look at all these other guys, in other weight classes, they're not willing to take those fights in other divisions. When Adnerson fights at 205, he weighs more than 205. When Frankie fights at 155, he doesn't. That's why I personally think he's the best. Pound for pound.   David: Which is just all the more impressive. And also I think maybe you can't really blame these guys either. Like when you look at GSP, who seems hesitant to move up to fight Anderson. The weight discrepancy is simply massive. Mark Henry: Absolutely. Absolutely.It used to be discrepancies of 10 pounds, but now we're talking discrepancies of 20 pounds and more. It never used to be that you needed an IV just to cut weight. But it's not that they're doing anything wrong. I'd be right there with them if I could. But that's what makes Edgar so special. Other guys cut 10 pounds. Now it's 25 to 30 pounds. Or now it's Anthony Johnson. You know what I'm saying? The regular guy is at least 15 pounds over his weight. George (St. Pierre) walks into the cage at 190 Firas says. If you need a more dramatic example of these bloated weight classes just consider that Frankie Edgar is only one weight class below Georges St. Pierre. But who wants to see that fight? Look at BJ. He weighs in the 160 range, and I remember seeing him in the cage against GSP and thinking, 'wow'.    David: I kind of hate asking you about Aldo because I'm not one of those that feels like Edgar needs that fight right now. You see this a lot with other fighters, like Jon Jones who's had just one title defense, and already people are talking about Anderson Silva, and a move to Heavyweight. Are you cool with this attitude, or do you think it's more interesting to see Edgar try to establish his own legacy at 155? Especially with so many fresh opponents. Mark Henry: To be honest, it's up to Dana. Whether it's a fight with Aldo, or more challengers at 155 it's really whatever the UFC wants. But Frankie doesn't back down from anyone (Mark gave a more extensive answer but my damn recorder ran out of memory).  David: One of the reasons I was so interested in getting a word with you is that I think your coaching paid real dividends for Edgar. Of the nine rounds in the last two fights he's fought with Maynard, it could be argued Gray has only won two. You made a real effort to articulate for Edgar what kind of adjustments he needed to make after the first round in their last two affairs. Why do you think other coaches have a hard time making mid-fight adjustments? Where do you get that eagle eye? Mark Henry: (again I missed a portion of Mark's answer here thanks to that godawful recorder). Practice. And doing things differently. Sometimes we'll practice what to throw in different languages. One fight we did Japanese, one fight we did Korean. In another fight we mixed the languages. I always wanted to do it because I remember BJ talking about Florian, saying how with Florian, his corner would scream (he couldn't possibly be talking about Keith could he?) what combos to throw and so BJ would listen and react to the combos before Kenny would throw them. So that's what we did when he first fought BJ. Except against BJ we'd use Frankie's sons names. So we'd have one combination named after his son, another after his wife, and things like that. And so everything is in a different language and he listens. It's like playing a video game and having a cord stuck up his butt. Whenever Frankie fights somebody, I don't know if you remember that old Mike Tyson boxing game, but you'd fight a guy with a different skill set every time. So sometimes it's the tall, skinny guy. Then it's the shorter, stocky guy. And so this gives us the chance to take out the personality of the fighter, as we did against BJ, and just focus on technique. We're not fighting Gray Maynard, we're fighting the style. And guys like Ricardo and Renzo have helped out with that as well. And that's what I think makes us so good. We have a great team. Guys like Ricardo, who has rubbed off on me especially, and of course guys like Renzo treat each other and us with respect. And it's basically a great family that we have. So it allows us to treat the fighter first. Frankie's like a brother to me. So when he gets hit, it's like my little brother getting hit. And I've gotta tell him what to do so he can hit the other guy that much harder. But he really is like a brother. We go to church together and that's important. Especially for me personally. God's always first. And I try to pay my respect to that. Ya know. I read the Bible in the octagon. Something we did in Abu Dhabi..which was a dangerous place to do it (laughing). But I try to put God first, ya know. David: That's what I found so interesting, which is that you're giving him specific advice, but despite the adrenaline going in the middle of a fight, he's still listening and responding- Mark Henry: Oh yea, yea. I mean we're the ones that are blessed. Frankie and Gray are like Ferrari's. Even a busted up old man from Jersey like me can look good in a Ferrari. And as coaches, we just gotta get in those cars and drive them. Thankfully Frankie is a fighter that listen. And that's the thing too. Which is that fighters don't get enough of that one on one. Some guys just don't listen like others. I train Frankie five times a week. And that definitely contributes. David: Do you think that's part of it? Fighters move from gym to gym, and lose a little bit of that "intimacy", you might say- Mark Henry: When I'm with Frankie, we'll do almost two hours with just pads. I don't tell him to go hit the heavy bag. Or the speed bag. I know he does his cardio with his personal trainer, but when I train him, we'll hit the pads and then go over different scenarios. We'll go over what Frankie has to do if he gets rocked, for example. If you're doing good, you have to do this. And we'll go over every potential scenario. I have a whole list of these scenarios. In the gym I'll have a huge board that'll say just jabs, and then another one will be combos to takedowns, or how to take someone down from a right hand or jab. The next board will say power punches. So we really do have it down to a real science.      David: I've gotta ask you a hokey question, so here it goes. I consider you an important part of Edgar's success, as such, I think the UFC owes you your own walkout song- Mark Henry: (laughing) Oh man. I'm just a coach. Dana doesn't owe me a thing. David: (laughing) But hypothetically, what would be your walkout song? Mark Henry: Oh man, I don't know. It'd have to be some gospel music. Like the music Evander Holyfield walked out to (laughing). I don't know...honestly I like Vitor Belfort's walkout music. He comes out to a Christian song that I like. David: So you wouldn't be coming out to Biggie like Frankie did? (laughing) Mark Henry: No man, I wouldn't. I'd have to come out to something godly (laughing). Like Vitor.  David: Not even Creedance, or Stones in your life? Mark Henry: Nah. I mean I won't lie, I listen to some of it. Not that it's bad but I try to stay away from it, and keep to my own interests. I do generally listen to everything. I mean when Frankie and I work out we listen to hip hop. It's cool I got that IPad that my wife bought me for Father's Day, and it's such a phenomenal tool. Like I remember when Ricardo and Frankie got their flip from Dana for Christmas, like 2 or 3 years ago. That's when we skyrocketed, and I just started filming everything. So for example I'd film our training on Tuesday, and then I'd call him up the next day to talk about what he did wrong and what we need to work on.  I'll watch that kind of film for two hours just to see what we need to work on, and use what we study on film. That's another thing too. Frankie spars with a fellow named Dennis Douglin, who is a phenomenal kid. And that's the thing. If you spar with someone who isn't as skilled, and say, runs away a lot, you don't learn. You can't learn what's wrong with the fighter. So when he's in there with Dennis, it's Edgar who has to back up. And we get to see if Edgar is leaning back too much, and we get to see what we need to fix. And we can look at whether or Edgar's head is down, and his shoulder his down...to where we wouldn't have saw that if he was just beating up a guy all day. So the main thing too is to find guys that can beat his butt. So we got Ronald Cruz as well, who is 16-0 as a pro. And when he trains jiu jitsu, he's up there with Renzo and those wolves. When he trains wrestling, we go down to Rutgers, just to try to get rid of all the danger points Frankie has, say if his head is leaning back, or if he's leaving his leg out there for a shot, or if he's not lowering his level enough. So we constantly bring in the absolute best. Frankie's like a diamond. A diamond looks pretty good, until you put it under the microscope and see the imperfections. And that's what we do with him. We put him in there with great talents, and see what imperfections arise that way we can fix them. And that's pretty much how we've done it. It's something I did with Frankie after the second Maynard fight. We got guys who got in there and we focused on nothing but left hooks. For example, I got a guy that used to fight for Lou Duva, was a five time Golden Gloves champ, and who just threw a million left hooks at Frankie. Getting Frankie to learn how to relax, stiffen up his hips, stiffen up his hands, and so forth. We want Edgar to be offensive and defensive at the same time.     David: Also, I hear you run your own pizzeria. For me, Jersey's a long way from Texas, but for anyone passing through your part of town, what would you recommend from the menu? Mark Henry: Probably the marinated chicken wrap. It's just marinated chicken in balsamic vinegar with roasted peppers, sun dried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, a little balsamic on it in a fresh tortilla wrap.

Posted in: fight, mark, guy, edgar, frankie

Read the full article at Head Kick Legend

UFC president Dana White believes UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar is the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in MMA today. Pollsters, though, weren't ready to declare the recently victorious champ the runner-up to Anderson Silva's top-dog status. In the latest Yahoo! Sports pound-for-pound rankings, in which 22 top MMA journalists vote, Edgar moved up two spots to a No. 4 ranking. But the No. 2 slot still belongs to Georges St-Pierre.

Posted in: champ, edgar, frankie, topdog status, poundforpound

Read the full article at MMA Junkie

(PIC) UFC Lightweight Champion, Frankie Edgar, who also moonlights as New York Jets motivational speaker, hits the sidelines in the Meadowlands with jiu-jitsu mentor Renzo Gracie to watch "Gang Green" attempt to sack the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football.

Posted in: frankie, jet, pic, miami dolphins, pic ufc

Read the full article at MMA Mania

Sorry I’m late getting this blog out. Thanks for being patient! Unfortunately Gray Maynard didn’t win his title fight in Houston. He trained really hard and was really well prepared and the fight could have gone either way. Perhaps this loss will be a blessing in disguise, as getting another crack at the championship is something that Gray won’t let go and we would love another shot at Frankie Edgar. As far as the actual bout, Gray was very focused and pumped up for the fight. The weight cut was extremely easy for him thanks to Mike Dolce (who I’m now calling “The Mad Scientist” because he’s the best). He felt good and when I got to Houston he looked good. He had a good warm up and everything. In the corner I was just playing it by ear and looking for certain things since I wasn’t exactly sure of everything he had been doing since I wasn’t completely involved with his camp this time around, though I wish I had been, but he looked great in the first round. The only thing better would have been a stoppage. He did a great job picking his punches and was more controlled. I don’t think he broke his hand on the uppercut but he messed up his knuckle when he hit Frankie with that first uppercut. I thought after the second round we were up one point since the first round was a 10-8. Third round could have gone either way so at worst it would have been tied. I later found out only one judge had the first round 10-8 which is crazy. I thought Gray was picking it up in the fourth but the next thing you know, Gray got caught and Frankie did a great job finishing. I have to give Frankie a ton of respect. He is a true champion. He took an ass whooping in that first round, then came back and would not be denied. You have to knock him out to beat him and I don’t know many people at 155 pounds who hit harder than Gray. I’ve gotten to know Frankie’s coaches since we’ve fought it three times and, even though its competition, I think they respect our camp and we definitely respect their camp. When we were in Washington D.C. for UFC Live 6 the week before, I was in the van with Frankie’s boxing coach Mark Henry. We talked a bit and it was a very friendly conversation. There had been some rumors after the second fight about trash talking so I called Frankie’s dad and let him know that I respect him and his son; that whatever was being said was nothing personal and that we were just trying to pump up the fight to promote it. Frankie is a nice person, a good guy, and a family man. I have nothing bad to say about him. It was just competition. Frankie did what he had to do. He won, and he and his camp did a great job. As far as the other fights at UFC 136, Jose Aldo is for real and is going to be around for a long time. I don’t think there are many people who can hang with him or take his belt. It would be a great fight to see him and Frankie mix it up at 145 pounds. I didn’t get to see much of the rest of the card though because I was warming up with Gray. I did hear about Chael Sonnen challenging Anderson Silva and I highly doubt Dana White would allow those stipulations would take place. Chael is a very nice guy, a great fight promoter, and I think he genuinely dislikes Anderson Silva. Maybe it is gamesmanship and he’s just trying to get under Anderson’s skin to throw him off his game, but I think there’s more genuine dislike involved than would be the case with any other fighter he might face. With Stann he didn’t really trash talk and definitely not to the extent that he talks about Anderson. Up next is getting Jay Hieron ready for his fight against Ben Askren and he’s looking good. We know what Ben is going to do and we gotta stop him from doing that. We know where we’re better than him and we have to use that to our advantage. Finally, as you know I’m a big Oakland Raiders fan. Regardless of my feelings toward Al Davis, I would obviously never wish death upon anyone. He has a family who loved him and I want to express my condolences to them. Hopefully his son can continue the legacy that his dad left and turn things around so the Raiders can get back on the winning side. Al had a full life and you could tell he loved his team. It was nice to see the team win again on Sunday for Al. Hopefully they keep that up. That’s it for now. I’m looking forward to checking back in with everyone next week. Until then, catch up with me on Twitter (@mastermitter) Tweet

Posted in: fight, round, ’t, i ’m, frankie

Read the full article at Fighters.com

UFC president Dana White says Frankie Edgar is the best boxer in MMA, but his boxing coach Mark Henry says we haven't even seen what he's capable of yet.

Posted in: boxing, coach, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

submitted by knees [link] [2 comments]

Posted in: showtime, challenge, shot, frankie edgar, frankie

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In 2010, the New York Jets enlisted the help of Frankie Edgar to provide a jolt for the team. This weekend, the team met with the champ again in preparation for Monday night's divisional matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Here is a pic of Frankie with Jets' coach Rex Ryan. Here is Frankie giving some gameplans to Jets QB Mark Sanchez. To top it off, the New York Football Giants watched Edgar/Maynard 3 to prepare for their home victory yesterday against the Buffalo Bills according to Dave Sholler: "The New York @giants watched Edgar-Maynard 3 last night to prepare for today's game. It paid off. Defeated Bills. @FrankieEdgar @ufc" WAR EDGAR!! submitted by MattyBlayze [link] [comment]

Posted in: edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, jet, york

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Gray Maynard allowed MMAWeekly videographer Conner Cordova a behind-the-scenes look in the days leading up to his UFC 136 challenge of Frankie Edgar.

Posted in: ufc, maynard, frankie, eyes –, leadup

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

Frankie Edgar is on his way up the rankings. But not as fast as UFC boss Dana White would like.

Posted in: ranking, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, edgar debate

Read the full article at Yahoo! Sports

In a fierce battle for the top spot, Frankie Edgar returns to No. 1 at lightweight, while Chael Sonnen makes a big jump back into the rankings after fulfilling his suspension.

Posted in: chael sonnen, return, frankie edgar, frankie, chael

Read the full article at MMA Weekly

On Oct. 8, Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo each affirmed their places among MMA’s finest, though in decidedly different fashions. For Edgar, it was another battle back from the brink of consciousness, another display of superhuman grit and determination to hang on to his UFC lightweight title.

Posted in: jose aldo, fashion, edgar, frankie, mma ’s

Read the full article at Sherdog

Underdog, fluke, one hit wonder: names like these have been associated with a lot of people but most recently, with UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar. Going into his third match (and third title defense) in a rubber match with Gray Maynard, many felt that history could repeat itself and Edgar may lose the belt at [...]

Posted in: title defense, edgar, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie

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submitted by model_minority [link] [1 comment]

Posted in: edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, model _minority, _minority

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Go behind the scenes with UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar on the day of UFC 136 with this exclusive photo gallery.

Posted in: ufc, photo gallery, edgar, frankie, scene

Read the full article at Heavy MMA

[div class="notice" class2="icon"]The following is from an article on LiverKick.com, part of the MiddleEasy Network.[/div] The sport of Mixed Martial Arts began as a concept that pit practitioners of different forms of martial arts against each other. Eventually in the United States, this led to fighters starting to cross-train in other forms of martial arts to help defend against certain techniques or simply add it to their repertoire. The UFC and MMA have grown a lot from the early UFC events (we aren’t going to touch Japan, different beast entirely), to where MMA has almost become a style of its own, just as it has become a sport of its own.At UFC 136 there were two championship fights, and both showed different displays of striking prowess, with one fight ending in a decision and one fight ending in a knockout. What I find interesting to take away from the event is how Dana White was quick to declare Frankie Edgar as the best “Boxer” in the UFC and how quickly fans and media followed suit, with many declaring Frankie one of the elite strikers in the MMA world. I have to admit that I was taken aback, as after watching the Jose Aldo fight and how it was an impressive display of striking, I did not feel the same thing about the Edgar fight. The only difference to the naked eye was that the Edgar fight finished with a knockout, while Aldo took Florian to a decision.What needs to be established first and foremost is that knockouts happen in combat sports, and a knockout does not always mean a superior display of “striking.” Fighters like Joey Beltran and Leonard Garcia are fighters who primarily like to strike in their recent fights and put on strike-heavy fights at UFC 136, but I’m not sure I’d rate either as a very good striker. Beltran holds eleven wins by knockout and Garcia has three, and both men are quick to turn fights into brawls that showcase a lot of heart and wild punches, but that does not make for a good striker, and I feel like many understand this concept in these scenarios. People like watching Leonard Garcia fight, but not many will say he is a great technical striker.What needs to be established next is that “Boxing,” “Muay Thai” and “Kickboxing” are not lone attributes in a fighter’s toolbox. They are not videogame-like attributes that are assigned and can simply be explained as, “they have good Boxing.” Many have been lauding over Frankie Edgar’s boxing skills through simple phrases like, “Frankie Edgar’s Boxing is Great,” or “Frankie Edgar has the best Boxing in MMA.” Boxing, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Wrestling, Judo and everything else in the MMA universe are sports and styles unto themselves, and include many, many facets to them. Frankie Edgar knows how to move out of harm’s way and not get hit and he also has very sound technique when it comes to throwing his strikes. On the other side of the coin, he drops his left hand a lot or doesn’t keep it in tight near his chest to defend his chin, leaving him open to take damage from time to time, while his head is also mostly stationary. Another thing to note is that he also tends to focus on the head when he strikes, rarely changing levels. Read More...

Posted in: ufc, fight, mma, edgar, frankie

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We take you back to Houston as Frankie Edgar "answered" the call against Gray Maynard and Chael Sonnen made a "double statement."

Posted in: houston, chael sonnen, frankie edgar, frankie, chael

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The Event Frankie Edgar Stops Gray Maynard In Four - Brent Brookhouse Live Results and Play-by-Play for PPV Fights - Brent Brrokhouse Jose Aldo Decisions Kenny Florian - Brent Brookhouse Chael Sonnen Challenges Anderson Silva After Dominating Brian Stann - Brent Brookhouse Nam Phan Wins Decision Over Leonard Garcia - Brent Brookhouse Joe Lauzon Makes Quick Work of Melvin Guillard - Brent Brookhouse Live Results and Play-by-Play For Spike TV Fights - Brent Brookhouse Demian Maia Decisions Jorge Santiago - Leland Roling Multimedia Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 Fight Video Highlights Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian Fight Video Highlights Bloody Elbow Radio - Episode 88: UFC 136 Results Review Analysis Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard Post-Fight Recap and Analysis - Mike Fagan Post-Hangover Thoughts and Reactions - Brent Brookhouse Frankie Edgar Embodies Rocky's Message in Win Over Gray Maynard - Leland Roling Aldo vs. Florian, Phan vs. Garcia FightMetric Reports - Mike Fagan Aftermath Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva II Will Produce Massive Interest Despite Skepticism - Leland Roling Dana White Says Frankie Edgar Is Top 2 Pound-for-Pound, Wants Him to Face Jose Aldo - Anton Tabuena

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Looking back at UFC 136 with some thoughts on where Frankie Edgar belongs in the pound-for-pound rankings.

Posted in: ufc, ranking, frankie edgar, frankie, pound-for-pound rankings

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Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returned to pay-per-view last Saturday night (Oct. 8, 2011) with UFC 136: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3," featuring Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar defending his 155-pound crown and doing away with his "Bully," Gray Maynard. But that's not all. Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo crushed Kenny Florian's hopes and dreams of ever winning a major mixed martial arts title by outclassing him for five rounds en route to a clear unanimous decision victory. And what else is there to say about the incredible performance turned in by Chael Sonnen? In cased you missed any or all of it -- or just want to keep the discussion alive -- below are links to all the major storylines borne from Saturday night's event in Houston, Texas. In we go. UFC 136: "Edgar vs. Maynard 3" Results and live blow-by-blow Recap and morning after discussion Post-fight press conference video Bonuses and awards Event photos gallery Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 3 fight video highlights Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar fight video highlights Facebook "Prelims" results and recap Spike TV "Prelims" results and recap Fight recap: Frankie Edgar knocks out Gray Maynard to end their trilogy with a bang Fight recap: Jose Aldo decisions Kenny Florian to retain his featherweight title Fight recap: Chael Sonnen submits Brian Stann in Octagon return Fight recap: Nam Phan gets his revenge on Leonard Garcia Fight recap: Joe Lauzon submits Melvin Guillard for huge upset Fight review and analysis: Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia Fight review and analysis: Joe Lauzon vs. Melvin Guillard Fight review and analysis: Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann Fight review and analysis: Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian Fight review and analysis: Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard UFC 136 post-fight fallout Day one at the Fan Expo in Houston Day two at the Fan Expo in Houston The Octagon girls sit cageside looking pretty Was this the best fight card ever? Who deserves to fight inside the Octagon? Big winners and lowly losers from the event A fan experience at the Fan Expo and event -- with lots of pics! Who will challenge Frankie Edgar next? Frankie Edgar describes his comeback knockout win Frankie Edgar is number two pound-for-pound now The scorecard for Edgar vs. Maynard before the knockout (Pic) Dana White wants to see Frankie Edgar vs. Jose Aldo at 145-pounds Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian Fight Metric report Will Kenny Florian's career be defined by what he didn't accomplish? Chael Sonnen sold at least one million buys for his pending rematch against Anderson Silva Chael Sonnen is the true champion, linear champion, peoples champion ... and more Chael Sonnen challenges Anderson Silva to a "loser leaves town" fight Dana White would be stupid not to make Silva vs. Sonnen part deux Dana White already lobbying for Chael Sonnen to get licensed in Nevada Uh ... wasn't Melvin Guillard supposed to knock Joe Lauzon out? Joe Lauzon loved submitting a cocky and overconfident Melvin Guillard Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia Fight Metric report Anthony Pettis: Get people down, hold them down and win fights Bellator 53 Results and live coverage Recap and post-event discussion Douglas Lima vs. Chris Lozano That my friends, should be enough to keep you talking -- at least for the time being. What gets your vote for the biggest story coming out of UFC 136? Sound off, Maniacs.

Posted in: fight, vs, recap, edgar, frankie

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submitted by theaceoface [link] [9 comments]

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Dana White doesn't want to hear fans say that GSP should be ranked higher than Frankie Edgar on the mythical pound-for-pound list.

Posted in: gsp, list, frankie edgar, frankie, pound-for-pound list

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I sincerely hope that Frankie Edgar has done enough to convince that he’s one of the best lightweight fighters in UFC history. One would think that he’s proven this already. If you ask any fan who the best fighter ever to compete at 155 pounds is, they’ll probably tell you B.J. Penn. Of course, Frankie beat him twice. He’s also beaten a number of guys that have been considered amongst the best lightweights in the world, and on Saturday night he avenged the only loss he’s ever had in the sport. On top of his recorded accomplishments he’s also showcased an ever-evolving understanding of the sport, as well as a true warrior spirit. His boxing has become second-to-none, and his wrestling still holds up against the strongest guys in the division. He also happens to have an iron will and an unbreakable spirit, as he once again came back from the brink of defeat to keep victory just out of Gray Maynard’s reach. So why does everyone still insist that he should fight at featherweight? Don’t get me wrong, I get it. Frankie would undoubtedly run game on a whole host of guys at 145 lbs. I wouldn’t want to pick a winner between him and Jose Aldo but I would love to see it someday. If and/or when he does lose the UFC Lightweight Championship he may want to consider dropping down in weight, but that’s his decision to make at the time he feels like making it. Frankie would make a great featherweight, but you know what? Roy Nelson would make a great light heavyweight if he decided to start dieting. Thiago Alves would make a great lightweight if he stopped lifting weights so much. Stefan Struve would make…actually I suppose he’s kind of stuck where he is, so nevermind that one. My point is this: I’m sick of people who aren’t fighters telling fighters what weight class they should be at. As Joe Rogan pointed out during commentary on Saturday, Frankie feels that his smaller size gives him an advantage. He’s quicker than most lightweights, and his conditioning has been simply outstanding in each of his five-round fights. If I was a fighter I would probably hate cutting weight too, so what’s wrong with Frankie being one of the few guys that doesn’t have to do it? The results should speak for themselves. Edgar is making a strong argument for the distinction of being the best lightweight in the sport’s relatively-brief history. Let him make his case and stop trying to tell him he’s too small, because he will just keep proving you wrong. PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

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Exclusive UFC 136 fight photo gallery featuring lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defending his belt in a rematch with Gray Maynard in Houston.

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Before you boycott all future columns with my name on them, those are UFC President Dana White's words. He made that bold claim at the UFC 136 post-fight press conference last night (Oct. 8) when he was asked to break down Frankie Edgar's unbelievable comeback knockout victory over Gray Maynard at UFC 136 in Houston. He even compared him to Rocky and Arturo Gatti: "Frankie Edgar. It's funny because I grew up a boxing fan and watching Rocky movies, I love Rocky, but even when you watch Rocky you're like, 'This is such bullsh*t. Nobody would take that many punches and be able to come back and actually win a fight, it could never happen. Yeah, well. He reminds me... he's like the Arturo Gatti of MMA. I mean that's really what this kid is. I have so much respect for him and I'm going to say it here tonight and I don't care who disagrees, you're wrong and I'm right -- he's the number two pound-for-pound fighter in the world, period." In fairness to White, he was very much a prisoner of the moment, having just witnessed one of the best fights in recent memory. Edgar put in a truly gutsy performance that deserves a lot of credit. But this much? White wasn't done heaping praise just yet. In fact, there's only one reason he doesn't rank Edgar number one pound-for-pound in the world: "The only thing that keeps him from being number one is that Anderson Silva has not been beaten in the UFC since 2006 and most of that time he's been the champion. That's the only thing that keeps Frankie Edgar from being the number one pound-for-pound. If you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is now number two. The guy weighs 145-pounds. He's beating people at 155-pounds. Tonight he beat a guy again who had him out of it, he was done in the first round and a guy who many people believed had his number ... he knocked him out tonight. I'm telling you, man, I've never seen any sh*t like that in my life. ... What he did tonight was amazing and he's the number two pound-for-pound fighter in the world, I don't give a sh*t was anybody else says, it's the truth." Georges St. who? According to White, the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world are as follows: 1. Anderson Silva2. Frankie Edgar3. Jon Jones Those are the three he has confirmed but again, both Jones and Edgar earned their placement in the immediate aftermath of impressive victories at UFC 135 and UFC 136, respectively. But what about Jose Aldo? Well, White really wants to see Edgar vacate the 155-pound title and move down to featherweight to battle the 145-pound king. I suppose then we would better get to gauge White's analysis. Until then, agree or disagree? Did Edgar's victory last night bump him all the way up to number two on your pound-for-pound rankings list? Sound off, Maniacs.

Posted in: number, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, pound-for-pound

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Now that UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar has finally erased Gray Maynard from the 155-pound title picture, it's time to find "The Answer" to the biggest question following the UFC 136 pay-per-view event: Who's next? It certainly isn't Melvin Guillard. That's because the "Young Assassin" expected to shoot down the threat of Joe Lauzon with relative ease -- until his unindustrious offense earned him a one-way ticket to Tapsville via the "J-Lau" express. Jim Miller and Anthony Pettis are still working their way back into contention, Gilbert Melendez remains chained to the Strikeforce doghouse and Ben Henderson and Clay Guida have yet to settle their differences. So why not just drop to featherweight and take on 145-pound champion Jose Aldo? According to UFC President Dana White (via USA Today), it's the fight he wants to see. "I don't know [who fights him next]. Honestly? I'd like to see him move to 145 and fight Aldo. Who knows? I'm not going to make him do it. How do you make a guy who's been so dominant at that weight class -- who am I to say, you can't stay here? You beat everybody in this division, it's a tough argument to have with him ... Frankie Edgar has proven himself again and again ... I just think that Frankie's a 145-pounder walking through 155-pound guys. So when you really look at what pound-for-pound means, Frankie Edgar's pound-for-pound. He's the man." Frankie Edgar vs Jose Aldo? At first glance, it may sound like just another fantasy match-up between two dominant champions, that despite all the lip service, we know we'll never see. Yes, I'm talking to you Georges St. Pierre and Anderson Silva. Aldo still has some work to do at 145-pounds, as Chad Mendes has been patiently waiting for his crack at the crown. But if "Junior" is "Money" in his next title defense, he would almost certainly entertain the notion of challenging Edgar. He even called it his "dream fight" just last year. The lightweight division has more than enough talent to keep Edgar busy well into 2012, but after compiling wins over Jim Miller, B.J. Penn and now Gray Maynard, I don't think anyone would feel slighted to see him head south for the winter. And he's already contemplated the ten pound drop, and the trade-off between speed and size. So how about it fight fans? Is this a bout that interests you? Is Frankie Edgar fighting above his natural weight class? If so, does that make his accomplishments at 155-pounds even more impressive? Opinions, please.

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Reigning Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar, who avenged his sole career defeat by knocking out Gray Maynard at UFC 136, looks back on the match-up and discusses what may lie ahead in his fighting future. Edgar feels there are plenty of tough opponents for him at 155, but says a title unification bout with Strikeforce Champion Gilbert Melendez seems "sexier."

Posted in: gilbert melendez, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, career defeat

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“No matter how down you are in a fight you’re never out”Once again Frankie Edgar proved that, for the second time in ten months the lightweight champ put on an Oscar-winning performance en route to keeping his belt.Edgar met Gray Maynard for the third time Saturday night with his back against the wall. After two meetings Edgar had failed to leave with a victory so far.The sold-out crowd at the Toyota Center in Houston were greeted with an event of the year nomination capped off with the ninth round and beyond of the Edgar-Maynard saga.Deja-Vu struck from the get-go with Edgar implementing his strategy to stick and move using his speed, agility and footwork to keep the challenger off guard.But just as their New Year’s Day meeting went “The Bully” staggered the Jersey Shore native with an uppercut and stalked him with his striking trying to put him away but somehow Edgar made it through the round.Just like UFC 125, Edgar had a few moments to gather himself in his corner before dusting off the cobwebs and getting back to action.Throughout the next two rounds Edgar found his rhythm and was doing what he did best against the much slower Maynard.Edgar made sure that this time there would be no controversy about his title, with a little over a minute on the clock in the fourth Frankie dazed him with an uppercut before going in for the kill and getting the stoppage.Before tonight, Maynard had the longest winning streak in the history of the UFC lightweight division.Now that the championship isn’t in limbo anymore we can finally clear up the logjam at the top of the 155-pound division. Minutes after Edgar provided “The Answer” to the game of Gray Maynard discussions erupted between keyboard warriors about where Edgar ranks as one of the all-time greats at 155-lbs.Widely considered to be the most talent-stacked division in mixed martial arts, the lightweight division has produced some of the most thrilling bouts in the sports short history.So is Frankie Edgar the best lightweight we have ever seen? No, not yet.If we look up and down the UFC roster there are plenty of talented combatants who stylistically could poke holes in the game of the reigning champ.With word that Strikeforce lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez Is working on a deal with the UFC as well as Clay Guida and Ben Henderson looking to make a statement in November the lightweight division is wide open.It’s no secret that Frankie is a natural featherweight but with his frenetic pace and a well-rounded game he is able to play with the big boys.The next few years will determine where he ranks as one of the best we’ve seen in the lighter weight classes once he faces the cream of the crop in challengers. Poll Who is the best lightweight we have seen thus far in MMA? Frankie Edgar BJ Penn Takanori Gomi Jens Pulver Other (Comment below)   1 votes | Results

Posted in: ufc, &rsquo, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie

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UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar says Gray Maynard brought out the best in him, now he's ready for the UFC to bring on Strikeforce champion Gilbert Melendez.

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Dana White, after Frankie Edgar defeated Gray Maynard at UFC 136, declared his lightweight champ the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Do you agree?

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Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar's dramatic fourth-round knockout victory over Gray Maynard not only assured he would leave Houston with the belt still wrapped firmly around his waist, but it also cemented his place as the number two pound-for-pound fighter in the world.At least, that's according to UFC President Dana White. Speaking at the UFC 136 Post-Fight Press Conference, White bestowed the honor upon Edgar, insisting the New Jersey native ranks only below Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva on the

Posted in: pound, edgar, frankie edgar, frankie, pound-for-pound fighter

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After a stirring win over Gray Maynard, Frankie Edgar is staking his claim near the top of the pound-for-pound list.

Posted in: edgar, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie, pound-for-pound list

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At UFC 136, UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar successfully defended his belt against the much larger Gray Maynard in their all-important third fight.

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Video highlights of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard and Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian at UFC 136.

Posted in: vs, kenny, kenny florian, maynard, frankie

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Frankie Edgar held onto his lightweight title and finished Gray Maynard at UFC 136. Read here to find out how the champ retained the belt and prevented a repeat draw of UFC 126.

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After another phenomenal fight, "The Answer" remains the UFC lightweight champion with a fourth round TKO win.

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How do you not love Frankie Edgar? Unbelievable submitted by WreckSpecks [link] [13 comments]

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Frankie Edgar is your new hero, and unfortunately you probably didn't even know until tonight. Judging from Frankie Edgar's last TKO (over four years ago), you assumed that he was just a tiny little guy that squeaked out decisions and continued to improve his ridiculous winning streak. Well, for those people -- how silly do you feel now? Edgar becomes the only human being on the face of the earth to ever stop Gray Maynard in an MMA bout. Well, that's if you disregard Nate Diaz's gully choke over The Bully in The Ultimate Fighter Season Five. It's ashame those matches don't count because Nate Diaz would have derailed the Maynard Frate Trane back in 2007. However, I think we should all take off our hats to Frankie Edgar for shutting up a large portion of people on The Underground and the Sherdog forums. If you don't have a hat, just pretend like you have one and then take it off. Your friends may think you're peeling out imaginary hair from your head, but you know what's going down -- and that's all that matters. Tonight, Frankie Edgar weathered through a hurricane -- but can he make it through an El Nino? Now excuse my while I dust my shoulders off, because that's probably the smoothest ending to any UFC 136 article that will be composed this weekend.

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Top ranked lightweight Gilbert Melendez is making his statement clear. He wants to face the winner of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard after UFC 136 concludes.

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It's arrived. The trilogy will conclude in the headliner of tonight's UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III event, a blockbuster pitting the two best lightweights in the world in a sure-fire dogfight. For all the hoopla surrounding this match up, anyone who's watched their previous collisions should know what variables are at play here. Frankie Edgar will wield his hyperspace agility and abstract cage flux to combat the sheer power Gray Maynard packs in his monster punches and enveloping takedowns. It's no secret that Edgar will surely look to avoid being clobbered by Maynard's rocket-fueled left hook, which robbed him of his faculties in their last encounter and burdened him with climbing back from a 10-8 round right off the bat. While Maynard's crushing meathooks put him in the driver's seat early, the siren call of his killer instinct was almost too loud, as he overzealously pounced with an extreme level of aggression that left his defenses exposed in later rounds. The see-saw affair resulted in a very clear list of successes and failures scribbled on the drawing board for the rubber match. Edgar is the superior technician standing who must "box the brawler" and finesse his takedowns; Maynard is a ravenous gorilla who must intelligently create scenarios where he can impose his overwhelming will. Gifs and analysis in the full entry. First and foremost, make sure you peruse Fraser Coffeen's Judo Chop that analyzes the striking exchanges in their last fight, as well as K.J. Gould's Judo Chop on the grappling. What makes this a great match up is that even though Edgar's edge is his speed and Maynard's is power, neither are weak by any means where their opponent excels. Maynard has good hand speed and agility for such a strong lightweight; Edgar has powerful takedowns and saying he has "pillow hands" is a bit of an exaggeration. Maynard uses nothing but basic boxing backed with skull-splitting heft to rock Frankie. In both fights, Maynard connected with his biggest blows while lunging forward and leading rather than waiting to counter Edgar's incoming combinations. Therefore, "getting off first" becomes a priority for Maynard. Edgar's poetic explosion of crisp combinations from unexpected angles is better left defended than attempted to pick apart. Maynard's bread and butter punches are his lunging left hook and uppercut, both of which are anchored by his absolutely devastating short right hand. The flip side is that Edgar excels in counter punching, especially against the more basic combinations that Maynard throws. The fuse that sparks his comeback is the laser-straight one-two he responds with to the right. You can see that Maynard is much more of a stationary target with his hands low, playing right into Edgar's warp-speed "in and out" strategy. Again, Edgar is successful when he's leading the exchanges. Notice how Maynard is now on his heels and forced to react, both defensively (dodging the strikes with footwork and head movement) and offensively (trying to get a bead on some of the fastest hands and best head-work in the division). It's also worth mentioning that Edgar tones down the volume and breadth of his strikes, relying on just one- and two-punch combinations thrown straight and long. Edgar secures his takedowns one of two ways. His absence of significant striking power gives his adversaries the confidence that they can absorb the blows. They relent on reacting with urgent motion, enabling the surprise double leg (like vs. Penn). Or, his endlessly elusive tendencies are so unbearably annoying that his opponents barrel forward. This allows him to rapid-shift from reverse to high gear and use their own momentum to get ultra-deep with a simple and precise level drop, as we see to the left. Between two high level and prestigious wrestlers like this, I can't hammer on the importance of penetration enough for the takedown battles. Re-examine the gif above with this in mind. Facilitated by timing, Edgar gets so deep on the double leg that Gray's entire waist and torso are draped perfectly across Edgar's lowered shoulders. It's the perfect fulcrum to topple someone over. It's also the exact reason why Gray doesn't succeed on this attempt to the left. The ideal ploy for Gray is something I was surprised he didn't do more. Since Frankie doesn't elude the attempt entirely, makes contact and uses a little muscle to shuck him off, Maynard should play the game of dropping levels and then bashing hooks when Edgar lowers his hands to sprawl. Kevin Randleman executed the technique flawlessly in his knockout upset of Mirko Filipovic. While Edgar's motion alternates between in and out, Maynard's should be up and down from striking to takedowns. All in all, these two are incredibly even-matched and I expect another razor-thin decision. The overwhelming consensus seems to be that Edgar will prevail. I agree. Please insert all the recycled but truthful disclaimers about this statement, but a broad brush stroke on the last fight might be that Edgar "got caught" and was merely delayed on implementing his bulletproof gameplan. My feeling is just that it will be easier for Edgar to fine-tune and replicate his performance than it will be for Maynard. Frankie's chin has been phenomenal and, although Gray obviously broke it down, the big first round scare last time will probably give Frankie the right amount of confidence that he can trudge through Maynard's best punches and a spike in caution to avoid it, knowing that eating one punch can end his title run. I expect Edgar to start out overly hesitant -- much to the chagrin of the bloodthirsty audience -- and methodically needle straight punches for the first few rounds. I think a painfully safe onset early to avoid any of Maynard's haymakers or takedown attempts will boost his confidence and bait the challenger into upping his aggression. Mid-fight, I imagine Maynard will get antsy and succumb to the pressure to make something dramatic happen, which will open the door for Edgar to prey on openings and methodically pick him apart with pinpoint punches and evasive movement. My Prediction: Frankie Edgar by decision   All gifs via Zombie Prophet of IronForgesIron.com Poll Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard Frankie Edgar Gray Maynard   13 votes | Results

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Over the course of 2 fights, 3 years, 8 rounds, and 40 minutes, we have seen Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard go to war. Now, at UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III, we'll see their series conclude (for now at least) with the UFC Lightweight title once again on the line. If there's an overriding lesson to take away from their previous two fights, it's that these are two evenly matched competitors, and that Saturday night's fight could go either way. But if we take a closer look at those first fights, perhaps we an get an even better sense of what to expect in the third outing. In this Judo Chop, we break down the striking of Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, as seen in their first two fights. And later today, we'll have part 2 of this series as K.J. Gould breaks down the grappling. We start off back in 2008 with their first encounter. Both men have evolved and pushed their games forward in the intervening years, but this fight still showcases the basic strategies each brings to their stand-up game. During that 2008 fight, it was Maynard who tended to fare better in the stand-up exchanges. His stand-up was (and, to a large degree, remains) based firmly on basic, solid execution of the fundamentals. It's not a flashy game, but it does everything very well. In particular, Maynard found a lot of success with straight shots up the middle. The right cross would often come right inside and connect squarely on Edgar. Maynard also was able to frequently get inside Edgar's defenses with a lunging uppercut that came under Edgar's arms and landed on the chin. When the two fighters were close, Maynard used textbook hooks to try and connect. Overall, his game was built on landing powerful shots that would stun Edgar, and it worked well. The one area of weakness would be kicks, as Maynard was almost 100% punching in the fight. For Edgar, striking was not based on power but on speed. He used a lot of movement to connect. Edgar used angles to get inside and to land wide, looping hooks from the outside. He would also use movement defensively, moving his head and body well to slip incoming attacks. Edgar added speed to this movement, particularly in his combos where he would quickly string together a series of punches coming from a variety of angles. This work allowed Edgar to connect on Maynard, but seldom with the kind of power that truly leaves an impact in the eyes of judges. Add in a wrestling disadvantage, and Edgar was handed the loss on the scorecards. Fight #2 at UFC 125 continued much of these same patterns, but is worth a closer look to see the exact techniques each man used. Full breakdown of Edgar vs. Maynard 2, with gifs, after the break. When talking about striking in Edgar vs. Maynard 2, there's really only one place you can begin, and that's round 1, and the Gray Maynard barrage that very nearly won him the title. Gray begins the attack by stepping in with a left hook. Edgar is hurt, and Maynard decides to go for the kill, dropping his defenses and throwing everything at the champ. He hits some nice hooks while charging forward, but it's that right uppercut that really hurts Edgar. The champ goes down, and struggles back to his feet, only to be dropped again by an uppercut. There are a number of things to like about Maynard's work here, starting from the top. First, on that initial punch, he takes a strong step in and throws immediately. He begins the sequence off to Edgar's side and not in a great punching position. With his hands down as well, he gives the impression that he's not a threat. But with that step towards Edgar and inside, he is immediately in punching range, and connects before Frankie can respond.  Second, notice how, even as Maynard charges forward, he still plants the feet to throw that last uppercut. He's on the move, chasing down the retreating champion, but before throwing the most powerful punch of the assault, he takes the needed time to square his feet and get the power behind him. The result is Edgar crumpling. Finally, I love how he keeps his left hand on Edgar's neck as Edgar stands up. This gives Maynard a half clinch and lets him maintain control of Edgar's movement. He keeps his right hand free so that he can land more of those heavy uppercuts and drop the champ yet again. Rewatching it just reminds you what a miracle it is Edgar was not finished. Later in the round, Maynard uses similar hooks and uppercuts to once again put Edgar in trouble. Though Edgar gets hurt badly again, he does manage to escape once again thanks to good movement. Here, Maynard tries to use that same clinch and dirty boxing, but Edgar backs out very quickly to avoid the shots. Edgar also is in full retreat mode here, but is doing so with good cage awareness, circling when he can to avoid backing straight into the cage. But he's also dazed and his hands are down, and Maynard does an excellent job taking advantage of that defensive hole to connect. In round 2, we see almost a completely different Frankie Edgar, as the champion recovers, and begins using his own stand-up game to reclaim the advantage. Here is an excellent example of how Edgar uses movement so well. In this clip, he is constantly moving. But he always cuts right and left, never straight back. He also alternates right and left, keeping Maynard guessing and off rhythm. At one point, Maynard attempts to close the distance and drive Edgar back towards the cage - Edgar responds by firing out a quick jab that sends Maynard back. With Maynard moving in response to Frankie, and keeping his left hand a bit low, Frankie quickly steps in with a nice jab-cross combo that connects perfectly. There, it's the movement and accuracy that allows Edgar to connect. As the round continues, Edgar goes back to that right cross, taking advantage of Maynard's low left hand to keep coming over the top and connect the cross. Here are two good examples from the end of the round. Notice how Edgar is now putting more behind that cross. On the first cross, he steps in with his rear leg as he throws in order to give himself more power. On the second, he twists his entire body, bringing the momentum of the punch up all the way from his foot through the body. Excellent technique there from Edgar. In round 3 we see more of Maynard's striking. Here, he uses some nice hooks to connect. We also see how Maynard is able to come straight up the middle, this time with a left jab. This sequence is an example of the idea of Maynard's power vs. Edgar's speed. Maynard connects with the hook while Frankie's head is exposed because Edgar is throwing a combo. Both men connect, but because Maynard is throwing a single shot with greater power, Edgar is the one who is knocked off balance. Edgar recovers quickly, but Maynard keeps the pressure on with that jab. Here, the power shots are paying off again for Maynard, allowing him to trade shots with the smaller Edgar. And finally, below is the ending sequence of the fight. This last minute really encapsulates everything that has come before, as all the techniques we've talked about are on display here: Maynard's single power shots, hooks, and jabs up the middle vs. Edgar's movement, speed, and combos. It's just a beautiful display from both men, and really, this minute of action does a better job than I ever could at explaining just why this weekend's fight is one to watch. Don't forget to come back later today for K.J. Gould's Judo Chop Part 2 discussing Edgar and Maynard's grappling. Gifs via Zombie Prophet of Iron Forges Iron.

Posted in: fight, edgar, maynard, frankie, movement

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The weigh-ins for UFC 136 are in the books, with all fighters making weight including title holders Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo.

Posted in: ufc, jose, weigh-in, jose aldo, frankie

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They were the central figures in an epic New Year’s Day drama. Nine months later, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and unbeaten challenger Gray Maynard will toe the line one more time.

Posted in: figure, edgar, maynard, frankie, unbeaten challenger

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Gray Maynard says talking about his fight with Frankie Edgar and visualizing how it will play out helps with his motivation.

Posted in: frankie edgar, blogger maynard, maynard, frankie, motivation

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca

UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has been eating, sleeping and thinking about nothing but Gray Maynard for almost a year now and he's sick of it.

Posted in: ufc, edgar, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie

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Back again and, as you probably guessed, my focus is 100% on Gray Maynard’s fight against Frankie Edgar this weekend. I’ve never seen Gray this way. There’s a huge difference in everything, even his whole attitude leading up to the fight. He’s not the type of guy to talk sh*t, and he hasn’t, but with this one it’s more personal. He’s upset he’s the underdog even though we feel we’ve beat him twice. Camp went well. He’s fast and explosive. Frankly, there’s no way he’s not leaving Texas without the belt. Just like Gray said in the UFC Countdown show, he doesn’t need people around him to tell him he did well or he won the second fight. We’ve watched and analyzed the fight. There’s no way we lost the first, third, or fifth round. That fight shouldn’t have been a draw. He’s taking this fight personal. It’s not personal against Frankie, we respect him as a person and a fighter, but he’s standing in Gray’s way. Like in the countdown, Frankie’s people were talking and trying to boost Frankie’s confidence but nobody can be that foolish. During the fight, Frankie’s corner told him he needed to win the last three rounds because they knew they were behind. After the fight, Gray was disgusted with the decision while Frankie’s team was relieved because they knew they lost the fight. They were relived it was a draw. He knew he got a gift that night. After the fight, they did not have a confident look like they had won. This fight has been a long time coming. It has been canceled a couple of times due to Frankie being hurt, and to be honest, I’m upset Gray doesn’t get the respect he deserves. He’s the better fighter and he’s beaten better fighters. We don’t know how Frankie got the title shot first because Gray took him out beforehand and had beaten better fighters. It’s frustrating. Gray should have gotten the title-shot first and he should have gotten the decision at UFC 125. This has been brewing for ten months and finally we get our chance and we’re bringing the belt back to Vegas. We are looking to have a fight that goes 3-4 rounds because we don’t expect Frankie to want to engage early. They know Gray can hurt Frankie at any time and we know Frankie can’t hurt Gray. The kicks he throws have nothing on them and the punches don’t hurt him. We expect Frankie to just use a lot of movement. We know Gray is going to hurt Frankie and when he does he’s going to finish him. He knows how important it is to pick your shots and not punch yourself out. Gray can finish the fight with one punch and if there’s a submission, he’ll take that as well. As far as making 155 pounds, Gray is a pro at cutting weight. He knows his body better than anyone I’ve ever worked with. And for this camp, we’ve worked with Mike Dolce who is the absolute best at what he does. Gray has been eating more than ever and he’s still on weight. I have to give a big thanks to Mike. He’s the best. No one comes close to him. I don’t care about papers or where they went to college or degrees, Dolce is the best. Regarding the other title-fight this weekend, skill-wise I think Jose Aldo is a lot better overall. Kenny Florian is tough and has great elbows. The only way I seeing Florian winning is if Aldo gasses, which has happened before. Kenny always comes prepared but I give the advantage to Aldo in the first few rounds and Florian the late rounds unless Aldo can pace himself. I think Aldo will be victorious though. In regards to last weekend’s UFC Live 6, I cornered Mac Danzig this past weekend against Matt Wiman. The fight was really good but I thought Mac did enough to win the decision. I would have been happy with a draw though. I think Mac made a mistake by sitting against the cage and taking too many elbows. They weren’t hurting him but it just looked bad. He was out-striking Matt and he was taken down but he was never in any real trouble. He reversed Matt and took him down as well. It was a tough fight to judge. Mac showed that he can hang with anybody though. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t get together more with me living in Vegas and him in LA. We’re going to hopefully change that for his next fight though. Everything happens for a reason and hopefully this leads Mac to come train with us more often. The Anthony Johnson vs. Charlie Brenneman fight was a little controversial. I don’t think Brenneman would have beaten him regardless of the ref stepping in but you can argue it was stopped soon. But he was hurt from the kick and the punches before the kick. When you have a striker with that much reach, it was hard for Pat Barry against Stefan Struve. It was a little surprising how it ended but Struve showed that he keeps getting better. I think he’s going to have trouble with good wrestlers who can get inside though. Dominick Cruz did what he had to do to retain his belt but Demetrious Johnson came to fight. He pressured him the whole time and some rounds could have gone the other way. It’s hard to mimic and imitate the movement of Cruz, which makes it hard to time him during the fight. I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch down the line. That’s it for this week. I’m Looking forward to checking back in with everyone next week to talk about the *NEW* lightweight champ. Until then, catch up with me on Twitter (@mastermitter). Tweet

Posted in: fight, round, way, ’t, frankie

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Top Lightweight contender Gray "The Bully" Maynard, who will rematch division Champion Frankie Edgar for the 155-pound strap on Saturday, discusses his opponent, as well as his disappointment in fighting to a draw in their previous bout. Maynard insists that anything less than having the title around his waist is unacceptable and says that he'll be looking for a decisive victory this time around.

Posted in: pound, edgar, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie

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Frankie Edgar meets Gray Maynard for the third time on Saturday night at UFC 136. He's ready to put Maynard behind him, and in emphatic fashion.

Posted in: ufc, saturday night, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie

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UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard 3 play-by-play of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard on Saturday, Oct. 8, in Houston.

Posted in: ufc, vs, edgar, maynard, frankie

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The UFC website is offering the Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard rematch from UFC 125 available for free at their website. Fire up the link and follow along: 0:00 Looks like this is ripped straight from the UFC 125 broadcast. It's interesting to note how the betting odds have played out for these two fights. Maynard closed (at the best available line) as a -140 favorite. Edgar, as of the time of writing, sits at -138 (and a -148 average across sites) four days out from the event. That's a pretty wild swing, especially when you consider the information we have available to us. Maynard not only dominated the first fight, but the most memorable moment of the rematch is the beating he put on Edgar in round one. It will be interesting to see how things move heading into Saturday. 1:44 I forgot who I picked in this one, so I went checked the Bloody Elbow staff predictions for the event. (Who's this Luke Thomas guy?) What I said: If discussion about the Countdown show is any indication, a small fraction of people are interested in this fight. Which is a shame because this is as legit a title fight as you'll find. The smart money seems to be on Maynard continuing what he did in April of 2008, but I've fallen in love with Edgar's improved footwork and effective speed. Frankie Edgar by decision. I would have sworn I picked Maynard, but there you go. I fell in love with Frankie's footwork after the Sherk fight. Unlike Dominick Cruz, who relies on heavy movement, Frankie's footwork is fundamentally sound. He takes short steps, doesn't cross his feet, and is hardly ever in a position where he cannot attack or defend. 2:18 "Our judges for this contest are Patricia Morse Jarman..." - Things You Don't Want To Hear During Title Fight Introductions 3:00 Leading into the rematch, Frankie and Gray are a combined 24-1 with 1 NC. That fact is overlooked considering who they've fought and how long they've been in the UFC (20 fights between them including this one). It's a good thing Gilbert Melendez shanked Shinya Aoki a week after Frankie's first fight with Penn, because I don't know how long I would have lasted hearing people erroneously call Aoki the number one lightweight in the world.      4:20 I don't know if it's the way they mic'd this show or if they pumped it into the archive, but the corners are crystal clear. I remember checking this fight out with the free look at the new viewing tools (multiple camera angles, audio tracks, etc.) earlier this year, so maybe it has something to do with that. Either way, it's a cool little bonus. 4:48 I talked about Frankie's footwork earlier, but Gray's is solid as well. He's a little more deliberate in his movement, but he keeps a solid base and pushes off his back foot. 5:27 Joe Rogan hasn't said a word so far. Not sure if I missed something as I've been stopping/starting the video a bunch, but it's odd to hear Goldberg talk on his own for so long. 5:30 Just as I hit the play button, Maynard lands a huge, looping left hook which gets Rogan's classic "OOOOOHHHHH!" Sigh. 5:42 This is why you don't defend stoppages with "he was gonna finish him anyway." Gray visibly hurt Frankie with three punches, but Yves Lavigne gave Edgar the opportunity to get back in it. Why was Charlie Brenneman not afforded the same last week? Yes, he wobbled towards the fence. Yes, Johnson kicked him flush on the chin. I don't know if his lights went out on the way down, but he seemed aware of his surroundings when he hit the canvas. If you think that was a good stoppage then you need to argue that Lavigne's non-stoppage was atrocious here because Frankie took some serious punishment. 5:53 Edgar just stood up only to stumble around and fall back down with Gray swinging fists behind him. Again, if you agree with Yamasaki, you have to hate on Yves Lavigne here (who is strolling around the Octagon like he's at an art museum). 6:18 Joe Rogan: "Someone's bleeding." Now, I know it's not outrageous for Gray to be bleeding here, but c'mon now. We can see Gray's face and it ain't got a mark on it. We know who it is. 7:00 Edgar and Maynard trade takedown attempts. Frankie seems to have recovered at this point, but he doesn't have all his wits about him. 7:22 Maynard lands a two-punch combo that sends Edgar somersaulting like Brock Lesnar. Again, there's a huge chasm between this fight and Yamasaki's Brenneman decision. (And I don't mean to harp on it, but it's recent and controversial.) Either we give guys every opportunity to continue, or we stop fights at the first sign of trouble. There will always be a gray area when it comes to the line between a stoppage and allowing a fight to continue, but it can't be this wide. 7:40 Edgar does a masterful job of masking his knockdowns as sloppy takedown attempts. Gray might be credited with 3 (holy shit!) official knockdowns, but Edgar has hit the mat at least 6 times this round. 9:20 Edgar is in great shape for a guy who was just on the wrong side of an arguable 10-7 round. 10:22 That said, for a guy who just delivered an arguable 10-7 round, Gray's got a pretty good mouse and abrasion under his left eye. 11:00 It's less than two minutes since the end of round one, and Frankie's moving around like nothing happened. 12:55 Rogan talks about fighters who land a huge power punch that hurt their opponent and start headhunting. I'm not sure that's what's happening with Gray here. He landed 97 punches in the first round (as noted by Rogan later in the round), and he probably Carwin'd himself to a degree. There's an argument that he shouldn't let Frankie off the hook (he is who we thought he was!), but I think it's safe to say he took the round off. 14:10 Frankie slams Gray, and we get another "OOOOOHHHHH!" from Rogan. This is why I've grown to dislike him so much as a commentator. Everything is a "holy shit" moment. Big takedown? "OOOOOHHHHH!" Blocked head kick? "OOOOOHHHHH!" Foot stomps? "OOOOOHHHHH!" It's the same problem when a submission is applied, Rogan says it's "in deep," and the guy immediately escapes. It's hack. It's disappointing because, unlike with Goldberg, I expect more from Joe. 15:15 I wonder how many 10-8 rounds have been followed with a 10-9 for the other guy. It has to be less than 1%. Couture slaps Gray in the corner: "You're trying to knock him out now! You don't need to knock him out!" 17:25 Another area Frankie has an advantage in is the diversity of his offense. Gray throws a minimal amount of attack with his legs while Edgar mixes up his boxing with kicks to the legs and midsection. 18:47 Edgar stuffs a Maynard takedown attempt. That was a huge surprise for me in this fight. Gray is a big, strong lightweight, and he put that into great effect in their first fight. It didn't come into play as much in this one, outside of Gray's power strikes in the first round. 20:54 Gray finally gets Edgar down with 40 seconds left in the third round. Edgar gets up only to drop down for a kimura. Fun little scramble on the floor ends with Maynard trapped in a guillotine as the round ends. I think I scored this round for Maynard back in January. I'd probably give it to him after the rewatch as well. 23:30 Edgar has two takedowns IN THIS ROUND. 24:50 It's almost a full three rounds since the first. Gray's punches are a little more labored, but you still get the feeling that any punch he lands could floor Edgar. 26:00 Kim Winslow, my favorite female referee in MMA, getting a lot of face time in this one. Winslow would have let Anthony Johnson get his "Midnight" on with Charlie Brenneman. 29:12 Going back to that first round. What would the live betting odds have looked like at the bell? -10000 Gray? That's half-facetious, but I don't think it's that far off. 30:20 This is arguably the fight of the year (it still has my vote), and Goldberg/Roga don't give it that atmosphere. Goldberg: "It's such a close fight." Such prose! Such narrative! This is the final frame of one of the most dramatic UFC title fights in history, and Goldberg still falls back on "TWO MINUTES REMAINS IN THE FIGHT" and "FIFTH AND FINAL ROUND!" Unacceptable. 32:53 Crowd starts to come alive with a minute to go. Probably not as much as they should. 33:22 Seriously, the majority of Goldberg's call in the last half of the round is counting down the clock. This man is paid to describe the action happening on your screen. 34:20 If we judged the fight on the reactions after the final bell, Gray wins in a landslide. Edgar is much more wary of the upcoming decision. 35:50 Everyone seems disappointed in the draw announcement except one guy in Frankie's corner who understands that a draw's as good as a win for the champion. 36:28 Rogan: "How much do you remember of the first round?" Frankie: "Not much, dude." I love you, Frankie. 36:59 Rogan: "Do you think the scoring in the first round was probably the difference in the draw?" OK, first of all, Frankie just told you he doesn't remember much of the round. Second, WHY ARE WE ASKING FIGHTERS TO EXPLAIN THE JUDGES' DECISION? Outside the fact that the judges themselves probably have a hard time articulating their rationale, the fighters just got done, you know, fighting. The adrenaline is still racing. They aren't (well, most aren't, anyway) going to be able to analyze what just happened in any meaningful detail. 37:45 Gray thinks he won rounds 1, 3, and 5. The fifth, in my eyes, is the most contentious. If judges liberalized their scoring, we wouldn't be talking about a trilogy fight though. Score that first round 10-7 for Gray, and he only needs to take the third to win the fight.

Posted in: fight, round, nbsp, edgar, frankie

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The irony of Frankie Edgar's second bout with Gray Maynard is that it took place at UFC 125, a card entitled 'Resolution' by ZUFFA. However, nothing was resolved. It was like UFC 125 never happened. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II ended in a draw. One judge scored it definitively for Gray Maynard, the other slightly gave it to Frankie Edgar and the third obviously had a life-long problem with making and handling responsible decisions in his/her life. Technically, if you're a judge then you must come to a decision -- that's sort of why you're called a judge. You can't just throw your hands up and say 'Oh, I don't know. That was too crazy for me to effectively do my job.' Let's take for example the Casey Anthony trial. What would happen if the judge said, 'Screw it, I'm ruling this trial a draw?' That's a rhetorical question that doesn't have a set answer, but you can try to invent one. Sort of like this video of people debating who actually won the fight between Gray Maynard vs. Frankie Edgar. Personally, I believed Gray ran away with the fight, especially after scoring a 10-8 in the first round -- if not a 10-7 round.

Posted in: edgar, frankie edgar, maynard, frankie, maynard vs

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Bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz was mostly ignored this weekend. Will Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo share his fate? Kid Nate asks "Why don't UFC fans love the little guys?" at MMA Nation.

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Gray Maynard wants to let out all his pent-up frustration and show the world he’s better than Frankie Edgar.

Posted in: show, frankie edgar, blogger maynard, maynard, frankie

Read the full article at sportsnet.ca