Frankie Edgar

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Frankie Edgar

Edgar in 2010
Born Frank James Edgar
(1981-10-16) October 16, 1981
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Other names The Answer
Nationality American
Height 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight 146 lb (66 kg; 10 st 6 lb)
Division Featherweight
Lightweight
Reach 72 in (183 cm)
Style Wrestling, Boxing, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Stance Orthodox
Fighting out of Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Team Renzo Gracie Combat Team
Trainer Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie
Boxing: Mark Henry
Wrestling: Steve Rivera
Muay Thai: Kru Phil Nurse
Rank      Black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Wrestling NCAA Division I Wrestling All-American at Clarion University
Years active 2005 – present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total 21
Wins 16
By knockout 4
By submission 3
By decision 9
Losses 4
By decision 4
Draws 1
Amateur career
Total 1
Wins 1
By knockout 1
Other information
University Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Spouse Renee
Children 2
Notable school(s) Toms River High School East
Website http://www.frankedgar.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
last updated on: March 7, 2012

Frank James Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion. As of February 3, 2014, he is #2 in official UFC featherweight rankings.[1]

Early life

Born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey by Frank and Mary Annese,[2] Frankie Edgar wrestled at Toms River High School East, making it to the New Jersey state championship tournament on three occasions, placing second as a junior and fifth as a senior. Edgar is the oldest of 3 children, Edgar went on to compete in the NHSCA Senior Nationals and placed second before he finished high school. He continued wrestling at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he qualified for the nationals all four years there.[3] Edgar is also an assistant coach for the Rutgers University wrestling team.[4] Frankie is mostly of Italian descent with his mother being 100% Italian as well as his step-father who raised him. He also has some German ancestry from his biological father's side which is reflected in his non-Italian surname.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

Edgar entered his first mixed martial arts fight with only a few weeks of training outside of his wrestling background. Edgar originally trained with Rob Guarino of Rhino Fight Team, but today he is part of the Gracie system under Ricardo Almeida in Hamilton, NJ. Since seventh grade Edgar has wrestled with Steve Rivera at Elite Wrestling NJ[6] in Jackson, NJ. His boxing trainer is Mark Henry of Millstone, NJ.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Edgar amassed a 5–0 record before trying out for season five of The Ultimate Fighter. Edgar tried out in front of Dana White and Joe Silva, but was not selected to be on the show.[7] However, a month later the UFC contacted Edgar and asked if he would accept a fight with fellow undefeated fighter Tyson Griffin at UFC 67. Griffin caught Edgar in a deep kneebar at the end of the fight, but Edgar refused to tap and lasted out the remainder of the round to win by unanimous decision. The fight has been frequently rebroadcast on UFC Unleashed.

Edgar followed up with a first-round TKO victory over Mark Bocek at UFC 73. He made his main card debut at UFC 78 against veteran fighter Spencer Fisher and won via unanimous decision.

Edgar suffered his first loss at UFC Fight Night 13 against Gray Maynard. This fight marked the first bout of a series. Maynard used his size and wrestling skill to overpower Edgar en route to a unanimous decision. Edgar rebounded with another Fight of the Night victory against Hermes França at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin. Edgar then defeated former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, outworking him all three rounds to earn the unanimous decision victory over the stronger and heavier fighter.

Edgar was expected to face Kurt Pellegrino on December 5, 2009 on The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale,[8] but Pellegrino was forced to withdraw due to an injury.[9] Matt Veach was named as Pellegrino's replacement, moving up from an undercard bout. [10] After being on the defensive for most of the first round, Edgar became the aggressor in the second round by punishing Veach with strikes, Ultimately knocking Veach down with a straight right, Edgar then proceeded to take Veach's back and finishing him with a rear naked choke at 2:22 into the second round. Edgar has some of the best boxing and foot work in the UFC, he also has amazing heart and determination.[11]

UFC Lightweight Champion

At UFC 112, Edgar was matched against lightweight champion BJ Penn. After a long, back-and-forth, predominantly standing fight, the judges' scorecards were called on for a decision. The scores were 50–45, 49–46 and 48–47, all for Edgar. The unanimous decision win awarded him the UFC Lightweight Championship.[12]

On June 24, 2010, ESPN announced Edgar as a nominee for Best Upset of the Year at the 2010 ESPY Awards.[13]

The bout at UFC 112 was deemed close enough that Edgar's first title defense took the form of a UFC 118 rematch against Penn on August 28, 2010.[14] Edgar defeated Penn via unanimous decision to retain the UFC Lightweight Championship, this time with no controversy after taking Penn down multiple times and out-striking him throughout all five rounds. All three judges scored the bout 50–45 for Edgar,[15][16] making him the second fighter to defeat Penn in the lightweight division [17] (the other being Jens Pulver), and the second fighter ever to beat Penn twice (the other being Georges St-Pierre).

Edgar's next title defense was against Gray Maynard, the only man to have defeated Edgar, in a rematch from UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon. Maynard earned the #1 contender spot at UFC 118 with a win over Kenny Florian.[18] The bout took place on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125, with the fight ending in a draw (judges scorecards: 48–46 Maynard, 48–46 Edgar, 47–47). In the first round of the bout, Maynard dropped Edgar multiple times, but Edgar would survive. His fight with Maynard marks the third time in UFC history that a championship fight ended as a draw.

During the UFC 125 post-fight press conference, it was announced that Edgar's next opponent would be Anthony Pettis in a belt unification match. However, less than two hours later UFC president Dana White announced a change of plans. Edgar was then scheduled to fight Gray Maynard for the third time[19] at UFC 130.[20] Dana White confirmed on May 9, 2011 that both Edgar and Maynard had sustained injuries and that their bout was pulled from event.[21] The fight was re-scheduled as the main event of UFC 136.[22] After a similar first round to their bout at UFC 125, Edgar won via KO[23] at 3:54 of round 4, earning Knockout of the Night honors.

Edgar faced Benson Henderson on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.[24] Henderson defeated Edgar via unanimous decision to become the new UFC Lightweight Champion. The fight earned Fight of the Night honors.

A rematch with Henderson took place on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150.[25] In a close bout which was tightly contested, Henderson defeated Edgar again, this time via split decision.

UFC Featherweight Debut

On the August 21, 2012 edition of UFC Tonight, it was revealed that Frankie Edgar had announced his intentions to move to the featherweight division.[26]

Edgar was briefly linked to a December 2012 bout with Ricardo Lamas, but it was scrapped after Edgar replaced the injured Erik Koch to face champion José Aldo on October 13, 2012 at UFC 153[27][28] On September 11, Aldo pulled out of the match with a foot injury.[29]

The bout with Aldo was rescheduled for UFC 156, where Edgar lost to Aldo via unanimous decision (46-49, 46-49, 47-48). Both men earned Fight of the Night honors for their performances.

Edgar faced Charles Oliveira on July 6, 2013 at UFC 162 in his first non-title bout since 2009.[30] Edgar won via unanimous decision snapping his three fight losing streak. Both fighters received Fight of the Night honors.

On September 11, 2013, the UFC announced during UFC Tonight, that Edgar would coach against former two-time opponent, B.J. Penn for the 19th season of The Ultimate Fighter.[31] The season is set to air on Fox Sports 1, with the two coaches expected to face each other for the third time in April of 2014.

Personal life

Edgar and his wife, Renee, were married ten days after UFC Fight Night 13. The couple have two sons—Francesco, born in January 2009,[32] and Santino James, born in May 2010.[33]

Edgar is a resident of Toms River, New Jersey.[34]

Edgar was a featured fighter on True Life: I'm a Mixed Martial Artist leading up to his first fight with Maynard.[35] Edgar appears in all three "UFC Undisputed" video games (2009, 2010, and UFC Undisputed 3).

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

  • Sherdog Awards
  • Reality Fighting
    • Reality Fighting Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 16–4–1 Charles Oliveira Decision (unanimous) UFC 162 July 6, 2013 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 15–4–1 José Aldo Decision (unanimous) UFC 156 February 2, 2013 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Featherweight Debut. For UFC Featherweight Championship; Fight of the Night.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 15–3–1 Benson Henderson Decision (split) UFC 150 August 11, 2012 5 5:00 Denver, Colorado, United States For UFC Lightweight Championship.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 15–2–1 Benson Henderson Decision (unanimous) UFC 144 February 26, 2012 5 5:00 Saitama, Japan Lost UFC Lightweight Championship. Fight of the Night.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 15–1–1 Gray Maynard KO (punches) UFC 136 October 8, 2011 4 3:54 Houston, Texas, United States Defended UFC Lightweight Championship; Knockout of the Night.
style="background:#c5d2ea; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-draw" |Draw 14–1–1 Gray Maynard Draw (split) UFC 125 January 1, 2011 5 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Retained UFC Lightweight Championship; Fight of the Night; Fight of the Year.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 14–1 B.J. Penn Decision (unanimous) UFC 118 August 28, 2010 5 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Defended UFC Lightweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 13–1 B.J. Penn Decision (unanimous) UFC 112 April 10, 2010 5 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Won UFC Lightweight Championship.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 12–1 Matt Veach Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale December 5, 2009 2 2:22 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 11–1 Sean Sherk Decision (unanimous) UFC 98 May 23, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 10–1 Hermes França Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin July 19, 2008 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
style="background: #ffdddd; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="table-no2" |Loss 9–1 Gray Maynard Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon April 2, 2008 3 5:00 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 9–0 Spencer Fisher Decision (unanimous) UFC 78 November 17, 2007 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 8–0 Mark Bocek TKO (punches) UFC 73 July 7, 2007 1 4:55 Sacramento, California, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 7–0 Tyson Griffin Decision (unanimous) UFC 67 February 3, 2007 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 6–0 Jim Miller Decision (unanimous) Reality Fighting 14 November 18, 2006 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States Won Reality Fighting Lightweight Championship
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 5–0 Deividas Taurosevičius Decision (unanimous) RF 13: Battle at the Beach August 5, 2006 3 5:00 Wildwood, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 4–0 Steve McCabe Submission (guillotine choke) Ring of Combat 10 April 14, 2006 1 2:37 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 3–0 Jay Isip Technical submission (rear-naked choke) SportFighting 2 December 10, 2005 1 3:26 Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 2–0 Mark Getto TKO (punches) Ring of Combat 9 October 29, 2005 1 4:21 Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States For Leo Pegel Title Elimination.
style="background:#bfd; color:black; vertical-align:middle; text-align:center; " class="table-yes2" |Win 1–0 Eric Uresk TKO (punches) UCL: Underground Combat League July 10, 2005 1 3:38 The Bronx, New York, United States

See also

References

  1. ↑ UFC Fighter Rankings
  2. ↑ Fight Magazine "All in the Family"
  3. ↑ Feitl, Steve. "BACK TO HIS ROOTS: Frank Edgar part of fight card in UFC's return to New Jersey"
  4. ↑
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Steve Rivera's Elite Wrestling NJ – Youth & High School Wrestling Training for all Levels. Elitewrestling.net. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.
  7. ↑ "Q&A With Frankie Edgar". Bumpyknuckle.com. November 30, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-11. 
  8. ↑ "Frankie Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino likely for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale". MMAjunkie.com. September 10, 2009. 
  9. ↑ "Kurt Pellegrino injured, forced out of The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale bout with Frankie Edgar". MMAjunkie.com. October 30, 2009. 
  10. ↑ "Matt Veach in to face Edgar at TUF 10 Finale". MMAWeekly.com. October 30, 2009. 
  11. ↑ "Ultimate Fighter 10 Results". MMAWeekly.com. December 5, 2009. 
  12. ↑ Non, Sergio (April 10, 2010). "UFC 112 upset: Edgar answers riddle of Penn, takes lightweight belt". USATODAY.com. 
  13. ↑ Ariel Helwani. "Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar Nominated for ESPY Awards". 
  14. ↑ Bloody Elbow: BJ Penn Signs Bout Agreement against Frank Edgar
  15. ↑ "Edgar beats BJ Penn again, silences doubters at UFC 118". USA Today. 
  16. ↑ Pugmire, Lance (August 28, 2010). "Randy Couture wins battle of MMA vs. boxing; Frankie Edgar retains UFC title". Los Angeles Times. 
  17. ↑ BJ "The Prodigy" Penn – Official UFC® Fighter Profile. Ufc.com. Retrieved on 2012-03-08.
  18. ↑ John Morgan. "Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard next; UFC boss says contest is marketable". 
  19. ↑ John Morgan (January 2, 2011). "UFC boss has change of heart, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III up next". MMAJunkie.com. 
  20. ↑ "Dana White Confirms Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III at UFC 130". MMAFighting.com. January 14, 2011. 
  21. ↑ Chiappetta, Mike (May 9, 2011). "Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard off UFC 130". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011. 
  22. ↑ Helwani, Ariel (July 15, 2011). "Frankie Edgar, Gray Maynard Agree to Meet for a Third Time at UFC 136". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved July 15, 2011. 
  23. ↑ "UFC Results". Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. October 8, 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2012. 
  24. ↑ "UFC champ Frankie Edgar faces Ben Henderson at February's UFC Japan event". mmajunkie.com. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011. 
  25. ↑ "Benson Henderson vs. Frankie Edgar II official for UFC 150 in Denver". mmajunkie.com. May 8, 2012. 
  26. ↑ MMAjunkie.com Staff (August 21, 2012). "Report: Frankie Edgar heading to featherweight". mmajunkie.com. 
  27. ↑ "Ricardo Lamas Accepted Bout With Frankie Edgar Several Weeks Ago". fightline.com. September 5, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012. 
  28. ↑ "Frankie Edgar replaces Erik Koch, meets champ Jose Aldo at UFC 153". mmajunkie.com. August 31, 2012. Retrieved August 31, 2012. 
  29. ↑ Morgan; Erickson (2012-09-11). "Injury knocks Jose Aldo out of UFC 153 featherweight title main event with Frankie Edgar". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2012-09-11. 
  30. ↑ Franklin McNeil (March 28, 2013). "Edgar to fight Oliveira at UFC 162". espn.go.com. Retrieved March 28, 2013. 
  31. ↑ Dave Doyle (September 11, 2013). "B.J. Penn, Frankie Edgar to coach The Ultimate Fighter 19, fight at featherweight". mmafighting.com. 
  32. ↑ "Congratulations Renee and Frankie Edgar!". RicardoAlmeida.com. January 18, 2009. 
  33. ↑ "UFC LW Champ Frank Edgar has a baby boy". SHERDOG.com. May 25, 2010. 
  34. ↑ Marrapese-Burrell, Nancy. "Winning combination: Edgar preps for lightweight title defense by adding boxing to repertoire", The Boston Globe, August 28, 2010. Accessed February 18, 2011.
  35. ↑ "True Life Update: The Fight Continues For MTV's Mixed Martial Artists". Remotecontrol.MTV.com. October 24, 2008. 

External links

Achievements
Preceded by
B.J. Penn		 4th UFC Lightweight Champion
April 10, 2010 – February 26, 2012 		Succeeded by
Ben Henderson
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