Frankie Edgar's dominance over Penn could be the start of a new era
When Frankie Edgar defeated BJ Penn in UFC 12, a lot of questions surfaced. Was Edgar really that good? Was his win against the highly regarded Penn only a fluke? Can he pull off a win if they go at it again?
The first fight, which Edgar won, was not convincing at all but the results of their rematch in UFC 118 was clear—Penn just couldn’t deal with Edgar’s speed, movement, and deceptiveness. Frankie Edgar’s fighting nickname is "The Answer" and living up to his moniker, he answered all the questions and erased all doubts. He is the best lightweight in the UFC.
BJ Penn has lost a handful of fights but aside from the significantly larger, Georges St. Pierre, "The Prodigy" has never been outclassed and dominated by an opponent like the way Edgar did in their rematch. Penn’s loss in the first fight from the smaller Edgar was an upset but the Frankie’s domination in the rematch completely changed fans’ perspectives of both fighters.
Even though outweighed by almost thirty pounds, BJ was competitive against Lyoto Machida when they fought in Japan. That’s how good Penn was and it did not go unnoticed as he’s always considered as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters. He was also said to be unbeatable in the lightweight division of the UFC. However, Edgar handily defeated Penn. The Hawaiian never won a single round. Edgar’s quickness, takedowns, and variety of attacks confused Penn so much that the Prodigy seemed to break down as the rounds went on.
Dominating a fighter like Penn made Edgar a legend-killer and the one that slays the dragon is best knight of all. We should give Edgar the recognition he deserves.
Is this the start of Edgar’s domination of UFC’s lightweight division?
Frankie Edgar is now considered an elite fighter by many. He absolutely outclassed and embarrassed an exceedingly dominant champion in BJ Penn. However, it could be a case of different fighting styles. BJ might have found his kryptonite personified in Edgar as it has been known that Penn has difficulty dealing against smaller and quicker fighters. Edgar’s innate toughness and reliable wrestling skills added more to the Hawaiian’s dilemma.
Gray "The Bully" Maynard is likely to be next in line for the title shot. A spot he earned by convincingly defeating Kenny Florian. Styles make fights, and Maynard’s overwhelming wrestling strength could be Edgar’s very own kryptonite. In fact, Edgar’s only loss was from the hands of The Bully.
Maynard is just as tough. He may not be as fast and flighty but he has a deceptively quick and effective shot. His takedowns are strong and once the opponent is on the ground with Maynard on top, The Bully will dominate.
Edgar is primarily a wrestler with highly evolved boxing skills but he can’t match the strength of Maynard. A wrestling battle between two evenly skilled wrestlers will always favor the bigger and stronger fighter.
Edgar versus Maynard is an interesting match to say the least. The current champion will try his best to prove that he is the best lightweight by avenging his loss while Maynard will stop at nothing to get what is rightfully his—the lightweight championship. Maynard has never been defeated inside the octagon. If he came first for Penn’s belt, maybe he is the champ right now, who knows?
The Bully knows very well how to defeat Edgar and he believes that he can do it again. It is just a matter of who has improved more this past couple of years.
For Frankie Edgar, the real challenge is in his next fight. If he defeats Gray Maynard, it will be more believable to declare that we belong in Frankie Edgar’s era.
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