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UFC 118 preview: B.J. Penn vs Frankie Edgar

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UFC 118 preview: B.J. Penn vs Frankie Edgar

It was easily the biggest upset of 2010 when in April lightweight champion B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn was defeated in a controversial unanimous decision by Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. Penn had looked all but invincible in his last two fights, taking out top contenders Kenny Florian and Diego Sanchez easily. Edgar on the other hand wasn’t really the clear-cut number one contender, and came into the fight as a 10-1 underdog on many bookmakers’ ledgers.

But to almost everyone’s surprise, Penn found himself outworked over the course of five rounds as Edgar kept coming in for brief boxing exchanges, and then ducking out before Penn could knock him down and pounce, like he did so well against Florian. While Penn did well in the opening rounds, as the fight progressed Edgar kept coming stronger and stronger, enough to win decisions of 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 to become the new UFC champ.

Most commentators scored the fight for Penn, based on the fact that it he seemed to landing the cleaner counters. But it was Edgar who kept coming forward, and there was no doubt he impressed almost everybody, even those who had Penn winning the fight. But now he’ll have to do it all again Saturday when he defends his titles against Penn in a rematch.

Fighters’ form

Penn is known for having some of the very best boxing in MMA, possessing excellent timing, good defence and pinpoint combinations to dismantle many an opponent. He also demonstrated some kicking ability against Sanchez in his last fight before Edgar. He threw just one high kick in the fight, in the final round, but it opened a massive gash on Sanchez’s head, stopping the fight.

The Prodigy also possesses excellent takedown defence, which he uses to nullify his opponents’ wrestling. Edgar’s excellent wrestling wasn’t much of a factor in the first fight, as his only takedowns were very short-lived, with Penn bouncing back up immediately. Don’t expect Edgar’s wrestling to be a factor here. And once he’s on his back, Penn is no slouch, with his fantastic Brazilian jiu-jitsu game.

Edgar on the other hand, in addition to possessing excellent wrestling, also possesses a very good boxing game as well. Whether it will be enough to overcome his opponent is another matter. But what Edgar does have is the ability to push a terrific pace, showing a kind of frenetic, relentless energy that makes him very difficult to stop. He’s also a very-small lightweight, who walks around at about 158lb, meaning unlike most fighters in the division he hardly cuts any weight, helping him maintain his terrific pace.

Betting advice

Edgar is the man to pick here. Penn, despite having lost the last fight is coming in as a 3-1 favourite, but this overlooks one thing: the only fighters Penn has ever had the slightest difficulty with are smaller fighters. Edgar is one of those fighters. Also, last fight was a close, fair fight and there’s no reason this one shouldn’t be the same. This is a toss-up. But with Edgar paying out $2.60 for a one dollar bet, he makes much better sense here.

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