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'''Frank James Edgar''' (born October 16, 1981) is an American [[mixed martial artist]], who competes as a [[Lightweight (MMA)|lightweight]] in the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship]] and is the current [[List of UFC champions#Lightweight Championship|UFC Lightweight Champion]]. His first and only career loss came against [[Gray Maynard]] in 2008, which marked the beginning of a noted [[Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard|rivalry]]. He later avenged the loss to Maynard with a knockout victory in 2011. He is currently ranked as the #1 lightweight and #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by ''[[Sherdog|Sherdog.com]]''.<ref>[http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/6/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-35587 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings] Sherdog.com September 13, 2011 and</ref><ref>[http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/Sherdogcoms-Pound-for-Pound-Top-10-36383 Sherdog's Pound-For-Pound Top 10] Sherdog.com October 12, 2011</ref>
'''Frank James Edgar''' (born October 16, 1981) is an American [[mixed martial artist]], who competes as a [[Lightweight (MMA)|lightweight]] in the [[Ultimate Fighting Championship]] and is the current [[List of UFC champions#Lightweight Championship|UFC Lightweight Champion]]. His first and only career loss came against [[Gray Maynard]] in 2008, which marked the beginning of a noted [[Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard|rivalry]]. He later avenged the loss to Maynard with a knockout victory in 2011. He is currently ranked as the #1 lightweight by ''[[Top10mmaRankings.com]]''.<ref>[http://www.top10mmarankings.com/lightweight-division/ top10mmarankings Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings] top10MMArankings.com </ref> and #1 lightweight and #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by ''[[Sherdog|Sherdog.com]]''.<ref>[http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/6/Sherdog-Official-Mixed-Martial-Arts-Rankings-35587 Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings] Sherdog.com September 13, 2011 and</ref><ref>[http://www.sherdog.com/news/rankings/Sherdogcoms-Pound-for-Pound-Top-10-36383 Sherdog's Pound-For-Pound Top 10] Sherdog.com October 12, 2011</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==

Revision as of 12:44, 24 February 2012

Frank Edgar
Edgar in 2010
BornFrank James Edgar
(1981-10-16) October 16, 1981 (age 42)
Toms River, New Jersey, U.S.
Other namesThe Answer
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Weight154.5 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
DivisionLightweight
Reach68 in (173 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofToms River, New Jersey, U.S.
TeamRenzo Gracie Combat Team
TrainerBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie
Boxing: Mark Henry
Wrestling: Steve Rivera
Muay Thai: Kru Phil Nurse
RankBrown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
WrestlingNCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active2005 – present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total16
Wins14
By knockout3
By submission3
By decision8
Losses1
By decision1
Draws1
Amateur record
Total1
Wins1
By knockout1
Other information
UniversityClarion University of Pennsylvania
SpouseRenee
Children2
Notable school(s)Toms River High School East
Websitehttp://www.frankedgar.com/
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Last updated on: January 2, 2012

Frank James Edgar (born October 16, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. His first and only career loss came against Gray Maynard in 2008, which marked the beginning of a noted rivalry. He later avenged the loss to Maynard with a knockout victory in 2011. He is currently ranked as the #1 lightweight by Top10mmaRankings.com.[1] and #1 lightweight and #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Sherdog.com.[2][3]

Early life

Born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey, 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.[4] Edgar is also an assistant coach for the Rutgers University wrestling team.[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 a featured fighter on True Life: I'm a Mixed Martial Artist leading up to his fight with Maynard.[8] Edgar appears in UFC 2009 Undisputed.

Edgar was expected to face Kurt Pellegrino on December 5, 2009 on The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale,[9] but Pellegrino was forced to withdraw due to an injury.[10] Matt Veach was named as Pellegrino's replacement, moving up from the undercard bout. [11] 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 thus finishing via rear naked choke at 2:22 into the second round.[12]

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.[13]

On June 24, 2010 ESPN announced Edgar as a nominee for Best Upset of the Year at the 2010 ESPY Awards.[14]

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.[15] 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,[16][17] making him the second fighter to defeat Penn in the lightweight division [18] (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 ever defeat 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.[19] 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). 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[20] at UFC 130.[21] Dana White confirmed on May 9, 2011 that both Edgar and Maynard had sustained injuries and that their bout was pulled from event.[22] The fight was re-scheduled as the main event of UFC 136.[23] At the event, Edgar defeated Maynard via KO at 3:54 of round 4 to retain the title. After a first round similar to the first round in their bout at UFC 125, Edgar was able to close in on Maynard landing more shots and becoming the aggressor. He finished Maynard with a flurry of punches, starting with an uppercut that rocked Maynard. The fight was subsequently stopped resulting in a KO for Edgar, earning Knockout of the Night honors.[24]

Edgar is expected to face Benson Henderson on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.[25]

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,[26] and Santino James, born in May 2010.[27]

Edgar is a resident of Toms River, New Jersey.[28]

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
16 matches 14 wins 1 loss
By knockout 3 0
By submission 3 0
By decision 8 1
Draws 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 14–1–1 Gray Maynard KO (punches) UFC 136 October 8, 2011 4 3:54 Houston, Texas, United States Defended UFC Lightweight Championship. Knockout of the Night.
Draw 13–1–1 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; Won MMA awards Fight of the Year.
Win 13–1 B.J. Penn Decision (unanimous) UFC 118 August 28, 2010 5 5:00 Boston, Massachusetts, United States Defended the UFC Lightweight Championship
Win 12–1 B.J. Penn Decision (unanimous) UFC 112 April 10, 2010 5 5:00 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Won the UFC Lightweight Championship
Win 11–1 Matt Veach Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale December 5, 2009 2 2:22 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 10–1 Sean Sherk Decision (unanimous) UFC 98 May 23, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 9–1 Hermes França Decision (unanimous) UFC: Silva vs. Irvin July 19, 2008 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Fight of the Night.
Loss 8–1 Gray Maynard Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Florian vs. Lauzon April 2, 2008 3 5:00 Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Win 8–0 Spencer Fisher Decision (unanimous) UFC 78 November 17, 2007 3 5:00 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Win 7–0 Mark Bocek TKO (punches) UFC 73 July 7, 2007 1 4:55 Sacramento, California, United States
Win 6–0 Tyson Griffin Decision (unanimous) UFC 67 February 3, 2007 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States UFC Debut.
Win 5–0 Jim Miller Decision (unanimous) Reality Fighting 14 November 18, 2006 3 5:00 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 4–0 Deividas Taurosevičius Decision (unanimous) RF 13: Battle at the Beach August 5, 2006 3 5:00 Wildwood, New Jersey, United States
Win 3–0 Steve Macabe Submission (guillotine choke) Ring of Combat 10 April 14, 2006 1 2:37 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States
Win 2–0 Jay Isip Technical submission (rear-naked choke) SportFighting 2 December 10, 2005 1 3:26 Hoboken, New Jersey, United States
Win 1–0 Mark Getto TKO (punches) Ring of Combat 9 October 29, 2005 1 4:21 Asbury Park, New Jersey, United States

See also

References

  1. ^ top10mmarankings Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings top10MMArankings.com
  2. ^ Sherdog Official Mixed Martial Arts Rankings Sherdog.com September 13, 2011 and
  3. ^ Sherdog's Pound-For-Pound Top 10 Sherdog.com October 12, 2011
  4. ^ Feitl, Steve. "BACK TO HIS ROOTS: Frank Edgar part of fight card in UFC's return to New Jersey"
  5. ^ http://www.frankedgar.com/node/2
  6. ^ http://www.elitewrestling.net
  7. ^ "Q&A With Frankie Edgar". Bumpyknuckle.com. November 30, 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  8. ^ "True Life Update: The Fight Continues For MTV's Mixed Martial Artists". Remotecontrol.MTV.com. October 24, 2008.
  9. ^ "Frankie Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino likely for The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale". MMAjunkie.com. September 10, 2009.
  10. ^ "Kurt Pellegrino injured, forced out of The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale bout with Frankie Edgar". MMAjunkie.com. October 30, 2009.
  11. ^ "Matt Veach in to face Edgar at TUF 10 Finale". MMAWeekly.com. October 30, 2009.
  12. ^ "Ultimate Fighter 10 Results". MMAWeekly.com. December 5, 2009.
  13. ^ Non, Sergio (April 10, 2010). "UFC 112 upset: Edgar answers riddle of Penn, takes lightweight belt". USATODAY.com.
  14. ^ Ariel Helwani. "Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar Nominated for ESPY Awards".
  15. ^ Bloody Elbow: BJ Penn Signs Bout Agreement against Frank Edgar
  16. ^ "Edgar beats BJ Penn again, silences doubters at UFC 118". USA Today.
  17. ^ Pugmire, Lance (August 28, 2010). "Randy Couture wins battle of MMA vs. boxing; Frankie Edgar retains UFC title". Los Angeles Times.
  18. ^ http://www.ufc.com/fighter/BJ_Penn
  19. ^ John Morgan. "Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard next; UFC boss says contest is marketable".
  20. ^ John Morgan (January 2, 2011). "UFC boss has change of heart, Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III up next". MMAJunkie.com.
  21. ^ "Dana White Confirms Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard III at UFC 130". MMAFighting.com. January 14, 2011.
  22. ^ Chiappetta, Mike (May 9, 2011). "Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard off UFC 130". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ Wagenheim, Jeff (October 11, 2011). "Edgar finds appeal in vulnerability". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  25. ^ "UFC champ Frankie Edgar faces Ben Henderson at February's UFC Japan event". mmajunkie.com. November 12, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
  26. ^ "Congratulations Renee and Frankie Edgar!". RicardoAlmeida.com. January 18, 2009.
  27. ^ "UFC LW Champ Frank Edgar has a baby boy". SHERDOG.com. May 25, 2010.
  28. ^ 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. "Frankie Edgar didn’t expect his life to change very much when he beat BJ Penn for the UFC lightwieght title on April 10. The Summit, N.J., native said he surrounds himself with friends he has known since high school and none of them was going to let success go to his head." One of the most notable things about Frankie Edgar is that he walks around at 160 lbs., almost all fighters in the lightweight division walk around at 170 lbs. Meaning Frankie Edgar is effectively fighting and winning one weight class higher than he really is. It has been suggested multiple times by Dana White that Edgar should move down to featherweight and fight opponents his size. Edgar has stated that as long as he's winning at lightweight then he has no reason to move down a weight class, but has determined the drop to featherweight as an, "ace in the hole", in terms of his career's success.

External links

Achievements
Preceded by 4th UFC Lightweight Champion
April 10, 2010 – Present
Current holder

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