UFC 118 shook up the world off MMA and changed the landscape of the 155 pound weight class forever. First off, let me say I am a huge Frankie Edgar fan. However, going into his rematch with BJ Penn I didn't have him as the favorite. While I certainly didn't have him as a 4 to 1 underdog that some had, I had to give BJ the slight advantage. In April Frankie pulled off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history by fighting the perfect, albeit close, fight. While many people felt BJ was robbed, I watched the fight numerous times and every time scored the last 3 rounds for Edgar. But as I said, he fought the perfect 25 minutes against BJ. I wasn't convinced that he'd be able to repeat that performance, let alone out completely dominate 'the Prodigy'. And to my pleasure I was proved completely and utterly wrong. 'The Answer' set the tone right away with a single leg that face planted BJ in a way not even Georges St. Pierre could. That was just the beginning. When BJ was able to scramble back to his feet Frankie again was able to muscle him against the the fence, take him off his feet and slam him to his back. Anyone who has watched the perennial pound for pound contender in the past understands what a feat this is. I believe being taken down and controlled so dominantly completely demoralized Penn, as he gave up his go for broke knockout attempts and fell back into getting picked apart by Edgar. Penn was able to take Frankie to the ground in the fourth with a body lock and even mounted the champion. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu purple belt showed his prowess off his back, regaining guard on possibly the most dominant ground fighter in the game, then used his wrestling talents to scramble back to his feet. Edgar was also able to scramble back into BJ's guard after having his back taken by 'the Prodigy', something that is unprecedented at 155 pounds.
Needless to say, Frankie Edgar put on the performance of his life and proved he belongs in consideration for the top pound for pound spot in MMA. The fall out of UFC 118 leaves alot of questions. The most interesting, in my opinion, was brought up after Frankie's first win over BJ: Is Frankie now the greatest lightweight of all times? Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of unanswered questions about the champion in such a young career. However, he is now 13-1, with two victories over BJ Penn (who up until now was considered the greatest lightweight of all time and still is by some), former lightweight champion Sean Sherk, former WEC lightweight champion Hermes Franca, Tyson Griffon, Spencer Fisher, and Jim Miller. BJ Penn's highest caliber wins at 155 were against former champion Sean Sherk, Kenny Florian, Diego Sanchez, Takanori Gomi, and Joe Stevenson. This earned him the throne of greatest lightweight fighter ever. While BJ's competition is slightly more impressive, Frankie has now beaten him twice. If Frankie can get past the undefeated Gray Maynard, the only man to hand him a loss, he will further this claim.
That brings up the next topic: will Frankie be able to beat Gray this time around? It has been over two years since Maynard beat Edgar and both have progressed as fighters. However, I believe Frankie has progressed much further than Maynard. When looking back as to how the fighters have changed. The Sean Sherk fight introduced us to a new Frankie Edgar. While he had always been considered a great boxer for someone with a wrestling background, this fight showed what an elite level boxer (in MMA) he has evolved to. His foot work and ability to land quick flurries while avoiding being counter punched is simply amazing. This was highlighted even moreso in his first fight with BJ. He was able to stay light on his feet for the entire 25 minutes without taking any hard shots and wear BJ down with his footwork and dexterity. He looked even better in the second fight.
Compare this to Maynard's recent fights. While he looked decent enough against Kenny Florian, his performance did not exactly turn any heads. This fight was followed by two narrow split decision victories over Nate Diaz (a fight which I scored for Diaz) and Roger Huerta. It's not an accident Dana White gave the shot at BJ to Frankie before Gray; Frankie has looked like a world beater since the Franca fight and Gray has looked less impressive with each performance. This is one aspect that makes his rematch with Edgar that much more intriguing. Will Gray be able to bully Frankie into the fence and take him down at will as he did in the first fight? He certainly won't be able to outbox the current champion. And even if he does get Frankie to the ground, the champion has shown to be very adept off his back after seeing him able to reverse BJ Penn and escape 'the Prodigy's' mount. That opens up an aspect of the game that was completely unavailable to Edgar at the time of their first fight. Another factor is that the Fight Night they competed against each other at was in Denver, a mile above sea level. The champion's world class cardio was noticeably damaged, which may have over exaggerated Maynard's strength advantage.
Like I said, Frankie is still young in his career. However he has already beaten the greatest lightweight of all time twice and has racked up a number of wins over lightweight notables. A win over Gray would go a long way in helping Edgar stake his claim as the greatest lightweight of all time.
