Featherweight should be the only option for Frankie Edgar
Posted on February 26, 2012, 02:40 PM by Evan Holober"I tell you what Mike, they look like they are at least one weight class apart."
-Joe Rogan comparing the sizes of Frankie Edgar and Ben Henderson
Frankie Edgar is a beast. He's competed against some of the best lightweights in the world, and more then held his own with them. The in and out style coupled with his superb wrestling skills almost makes him the best 155lb mixed martial artist in the world. However, he often takes on two opponents come fight night. One is whatever top contender is standing across the octagon. The second (and maybe most difficult) is the large weight discrepancy Frankie gives up to said contender. Edgar has done well thus far taking on the big boys, but it's time for him to take on guys that don't outweigh him by twenty pounds.
Frankie landed close to an equal amount of strikes, and took down Ben four or five more times (depending on what stat checking website you believe). It was the force of the strikes landed by Henderson that made the difference on the judges' score cards though. Even while losing the wrestling battle, Ben was able to let loose with powerful kicks and hard straight shots that did damage to the diminutive champion. Frankie landed his own fair share of hard shots that were punctuated by straight rights and counter left hooks, but the damage to the bigger Henderson didn't show up as much.
Benson Henderson walked into the octagon weighing close to the middleweight limit of 185lbs Sunday morning in Japan. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. He's in great shape year-round, and trains his butt off to stay healthy. Cutting weight is as much of a piece of MMA today as strength and conditioning is, and the fighters that do it well get to enjoy an advantage when it comes time to scrap. When a combatant competes in their natural weight class, they are an exception to that rule. We all like to root for the underdog, and the "little guy". If a fighter comes into a match with an obvious size disadvantage we are automatically invested emotionally. It is nothing short of impressive when a competitor takes down somebody thought to possess the same amount of skill while also giving up mass. That has become common place whenever Frankie competes.
Frankie has beaten BJ Penn, Sean Sherk, Gray Maynard, Jim Miller, and Mark Bocek. All of those guys are ranked in the top ten, or were at some point of their careers. Edgar is a top tier lightweight. He has the skill set to beat any guy in that division on a good night. His speed is stellar, his wrestling is up there with the best in MMA, his grappling is good enough to hang with BJ on the ground (Google BJ Penn and BJJ if you don't know why that's impressive), and his will to win might just be the greatest in mixed martial arts. There's just no need for him to give up so much size in the UFC anymore. Featherweight was not an option for Frankie to fight at when he entered the UFC, but it is now.
Imagine what he could do against guys his own size.
Comments
Edgar has the Fedor complex about not dropping down in weight.
Fedor only went undefeated for 10 years, ya he was definitely at the wrong weight....
mannnn for everything he has done all the top ranked fighters he was suppose to lose to and for the guys he beat that cried cause a guy his size beat them he deserves his rematch ive watched for years back when he fought guys like Sherk and won now if he loses this time fuuck it go down
but the kid has earned his place more than most by far
I didn't say they aren't/weren't able to compete at their respected weight classes. Edgar and Fedor don't cut weight, when they could easily drop down a weight class. The quality of Fedor's opponents during his 10 year stint is a ballsack kicked dry so let's not talk about it because it's irrelevant.
sure thing, whatever you say pal. PRIDE had a ballsack.
NONSENSE. Look at the list of LW he's beaten Sherk and Maynard are some of the most powerful LW around. Not to mention he threw Bendo to the ground TWICE with ease in that fight using momentum and technique. Ken Flo has moved through so many weight classes chasing glory and yet he hasn't been good enough to get a title because of his skills are not up to scratch NOT size. Featherweight is an option for Edgar but not the only one. I didn't watch the fight live but saw the comments and response from the writers and fans on here and was shocked to see how close the fight was after reading that Bendo after reading articles on how dominant Bendo was. He blatantly deserves a rematch.
Wow, gotta disagree here- Frankie didn't do anything in that fight "with ease." He really couldn't hurt Ben- it looked like me playing around with my 6 year old kid.
So your kid drops you with punches and tosses you to the ground on multiple occasions?
Feel sorry for you bro
you up kicked your kid in the face?
except for one up kick I thought the same about Ben
I don't really disagree with any of the facts you pointed out.
My point is there is no inherent need for Edgar to compete at LW anymore. Sure he could stay there and possibly be the LW champion again. But it's also quite possible that he runs into guys who execute Ben's game plan against him again, and just do too much damage for him to win on points. Not to mention that the beatings he takes (even in wins), could very well shorten his career span exponentially.
If he moves down in weight effectively he very well could go on a run that rivals the best MMA has seen.
he for sure will be the underdog against aldo!! at the moment aldo doesnt have any true challenge so im sure dana is going to do everything he cans to make that fight happen. but i think aldo will be a really tough matchup for frankie and if he loses that fight whats next for him??
IMO he should stay at LW or go to bantham weight
Frankie wants to compete against the best and the hardest competition. Jose Aldo is no doubt one tough guy but who after that? The 55 division is full of tough guys and great competition. I think Frankie leaves a better fighting legacy even if it ends up being shorter showing that he has real grit. He wants to beat champions and former champions not go on a really good run. Its not the size of the dog, its the size of the fight in the dog and Frankies got it. He has too much pride to move down in weight. I'm not saying that Dana wont do something to make it happen. maybe a catch weight fight. I know I would like to see it but I would rather see Frankie stay at 55 like he wants to.
I don't think Frankie would be a huge underdog against anybody in the world under 155lbs.
Frankie's not Chad Mendes, he sets up his shots as good as anybody in the sport.
If he beats Aldo the sky is the limit there. If Aldo beats him then that's another high profile scalp on Aldo's record, and makes him even more of a draw. Win-win for the UFC (and the fans).
I see Frankie as the favorite against Aldo. How could you not? He has beaten much harder competition.
I think some people ignore the point of motivation when trying to force Edgar into the FW division. He has said a hundred times that he loves being the underdog and thats something he would lose when dropping down into a lower weightclass.
Edgar's mindset means that he thrives on this challenge and thats what earned him 2 straight wins against BJ and 2 huge comeback wins over Maynard... overcoming the odds.
I agree he would be a force in the FW div but not if he doesnt want to be there or if he feels like he;s been relagated there after a loss.
The second big factor is that Edgar has unbelievable cardio right to the final horn of the 5th round and its not a coincidence that the guys who cut the least weight have the best stamina... A guy that earns wins by applying pressure late in the fight might lack that when he starts cutting weight for the first time in his career.
I'd love to see him fight some top FW guys but when and only when he is as motivated and hungry in that division as he was stepping into the octagon against BJ Penn.
i think you got it right with relegation, thats what dropping down in weight after a loss feels like, "you lost, you're not welcome here anymore, maybe if you fight small guys you can still be a champ"
to people who love being the underdog and proving everyone wrong thats another reason to stay where he is and beat top competition
"and its not a coincidence that the guys who cut the least weight have the best stamina.."
This statement isn't true. Cardio is and has always been strictly on each fighter no matter how much weight they cut. GSP has cut close to 15 lbs for over 8 years now, and still has some of the best cardio in the sport. Ben Henderson (the guy who looked better at the end of the fight in every way possible except wrestling) has amazing cardio and cuts over 20 lbs. Dominick Cruz, Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, Jon Fitch, Rashad Evans, and Luke Rockhold have all shown great cardio while cutting an immense amount of weight.
As for Frankie, we'll never know if he doesn't try. And I doubt he will be unmotivated to fight against Jose Aldo, or to build one of the best legacies in UFC history (which is a possibility if his skills translate to FW well).
Rashad Evans regulary slows down a lot in the third round?
He hasn't in his most recent decision matches. Against Rampage (even after being rocked), and Phil Davis was strong the entire fight.
It was a great fight not a blow out. Ya he looked much smaller but if he doesnt even belong in the weight class than shame on Benson for not being able to finish him even after breaking his face with an insane upkick. It was a close fight, now that Frankie knows what to prepare for Id love to see a rematch.
I was amazed at the difficulty Henderson had keeping Edgar down, even with the size difference.
The only issue i see for Frankie is all the damage he is taking in fights to maintain his place at LW
If Frankie is going to move down to 145, he needs be compensated financially by the UFC, that's what it comes down too. A fight with Jose would be huge, but after that, he'd be left in a division of guys with zero draw power, especially when you consider Jose will eventually move up to 145. The UFC would be relying on him to help build the division.
I want to see Edgar at 145, because that's where I think his abilities would be optimized. His size does serve him an advantage at LW in some ways, but he'd be quite small at 145 anyways.
If it was up to me, I'd wait about a year for Edgar drop down in weight and possibly face Aldo. I want to see Aldo fight Eric Koch, Dustin Poirer/Zombie and Yuri Alcantra after a few more wins. Edgar could fight some other top LW's in the meantime, probably fight for the title again and maybe get it back.
this article tries to imply that frankie would have alot more power at feather wheight...... not sure how that works, are the featherwheights chins more fragile? frankie is not a powerful puncher thats just a part of his style, nothing about that is going to change at feather wheight. i would bet any amount of money that aldo would beat edgar.
The fact that he's has TKO's of Gray Maynard, Mark Bocek, and hurt Matt Veach before the rear naked choke proves that he does have a little bit of power.
Since his flush punches would now be landing on fighters not naturally 20lbs bigger than him, they would undoubtedly have more effect.
I would take that bet in a heart beat.
I read all the article and all I could see was praises for FE. Usually a fighter moves around in weight-classes when they're on a loosing streak. I say let him fight a couple of fights and depending on the outcome FE will choose what's best for his career. I think Ben Henderson has made other fighter look worst than what he did to Frankie.
Why do people believe that with this lost Edgar should cut weight? It's one lost and we can all agree that the major damage was done with the up kick right? and yet it was a close fight even after that devastating up kick what would have happened if he won? Would we still discuss Edgar going down a weight division? Edgar in my opinion will stay in LW cause he has a heart of a champion and this lost will only motivate him to regain his belt. In saying that Edgar would be better suited to go down a weight division just so he can fight people close to his weight and size.
Even if you've won quite a bit, if your the small guy in your division and most of your fights go to decision, you might at least think about it. But in the end, its all up to Frankie.