In one of the gutsiest performances seen in the octagon, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar retained his lightweight belt against Grey Maynard at UFC 136 in an enthralling seesaw battle. Much like the pair’s last encounter Edgar looked all but out in the first round - seemingly surviving on instinct alone, after eating power punches from Maynard. And much like the pair’s previous dual Edgar clawed his way back into the fight with his humming bird in and out foot movement and volume yet precision striking. Unlike the fighter’s last two battles though, Edgar well and truly breached Maynard’s defenses and to the surprise of many KO’d his previously undefeated foe.

It was an astonishing performance by Edgar, a fighter who despite defeating the revered BJ Penn and now putting the first major blemish on the career of the feared Maynard remains criminally underrated. In fact, many a keyboard warrior still feels that he’s overreaching himself at 155lbs and should compete at 145lbs where he wouldn’t be so undersized. Such a theory is backed up by none other than UFC head honcho Dana White.

In an interview after UFC 136 he said:

"Honestly, I'd like to see [Edgar] move to 145 and fight Aldo.

"All these other guys that [Edgar] fights are so much bigger than him. I think that fighting out of your weight class isn't healthy. I don't think it's healthy long-term. I don't think that guys that fight out of their weight class and fight a weight class above them and take damage can have the longevity that other fighters can have. I think when you fight with guys that are your own size, you don't take the punishment that you take when you fight bigger guys."

On the issue of dropping down a division Edgar one said:

“Cutting weight can be detrimental, so I’m on the fence about it. That’s why I’m trying to chip away and get a little bit bigger, a little bit more size and keep some strength as I go on”.

However, Edgar’s size, or lack thereof, has given him an unlikely advantage over opponents - an advantage that has taking him into the upper echelons of pound-for-pound rankings.

Standing at just 5ft 6ins and walking around at his actual fighting weight of 155Ibs, Edgar has a natural cardio and speed advantage over nearly all his opponents. This combined with a very crisp boxing game, a genuine wrestling background and, perhaps above all, a massive heart. These attributes are proving pretty hard tools for his opponents’ to get to grips with. Suffice to say if you can out strike BJ Penn and not be bullied by Grey Maynard…then you’re on to something.    

Since Royce Gracie wowed everyone in the early UFC’s by besting much larger opponents’, successes for under-sized fighters’ have been pretty rare in MMA - while weight cutting monsters have enjoyed a great amount of dominance. “The Answer” though has somewhat turned the tables and pushed forward the case for the smaller guy once more.

Obviously Edgar has only defended his belt three times so he is far from clearing out what is a pretty deep division. If he stays at 155lbs (which he surely will for the time being) then the winner of November’s Clay Guida-Ben Henderson bout might provide his next test. Also the imminent arrival of Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez is an obvious money spinner. Indeed against Melendez, Edgar would probably once more be underdog but that seems to suit the likeable New Jersey fighter. After all to date whatever been thrown at him in the lightweight division he’s always found “The Answer”.  

Matt Hyde

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