What’s next for Frankie Edgar?
Heading into the biggest fight of his young career, Frankie Edgar was considered a 7-1 underdog against B.J Penn. Edgar…
Heading into the biggest fight of his young career, Frankie Edgar was considered a 7-1 underdog against B.J Penn. Edgar was supposed to be too small and outmatched in comparison to The Prodigy who may go down in history as the greatest lightweight in the history of the UFC. Yet, much like his previous bouts, the kid from Jersey proved his critics wrong and shocked the world in front of a sold out crowd of 11,008 in Concert Arena on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Edgar’s in and out movements, quick striking and explosive takedowns earned him a unanimous decision victory over Penn in what could easily be dubbed one of the biggest upsets (at least betting line wise) the sport has ever seen. Now with the coveted UFC lightweight championship around his waist Edgar will look to hold on to the belt for a lengthy reign on his path to building a legacy. The first step was dethroning Penn. With that out of the way, Edgar must slash through his first challenger like the great champion he’s aspiring to become.
Edgar’s first title defense will expectedly be against either Gray Maynard or Kenny Florian. Maynard is unbeaten in the UFC and actually holds a dominant decision win over Edgar in a 2008 affair at UFC Fight Night 13. It was the only time to date where Edgar’s size disadvantage truly was a disadvantage as the bigger, stronger Maynard tossed the eventual lightweight champ around the Octagon like a rag doll.
The Bully might not be the most exciting fighter in the world, but he gets the job done. In his last five bouts, Maynard has defeated Nate Diaz, Roger Huerta, Jim Miller, Rich Clementi and Edgar. His latest victory over Diaz was not enough in the UFC’s eyes to warrant a title shot, which is why Edgar was chosen to fight for the title instead. But the fact of the matter is, Maynard dominated the current champion not long ago and that holds merit when it comes to selecting the next challenger.