Frankie Edgar (Photo/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)In every sport there is a Gulliver and there is a Lilliputian. For every Calvin Johnson, a Wes Welker; every Kobe Bryant a Muggsy Bogues. No matter the competitive arena there is an athlete, undersized and overmatched, who manages to do the incredible, to be not just a part of the team, but make an impact, win a championship.
In the UFC that gritty gnome has been current lightweight champion Frankie Edgar. In a weight class where many of his competitors cut thirty pounds to earn their paycheck, Edgar typically trims a third of that, his frame maxing out closer to 165 pounds, not 185. On fight night he's often outweighed by fifteen pounds.
But what Edgar has lacked in physical size, he's more than accounted for in heart, gumption, and sugary sweet boxing skills. He's not Rudy (that guy got one sack at the end of a meaningless game), he's not "The Little Engine that Could" (storybooks are for children who believe in fairy tales). Edgar is just an undersized son-of-a-bitch from Jersey with a rock-solid chin and the type of no-quit attitude that inspire armies, football teams and even other fighters.
The road to the championship hasn't been easy for the native of Toms River, N.J., this weekend's UFC 144 in Japan will mark his fourth title defense in 18 months. His first was a rematch against B.J. Penn, the man from which Edgar earned the belt in August 2010 at UFC 112. Penn, then the consensus selection as greatest UFC lightweight of all time, was kicked low, punched high and taken down -- something that had never happened to the Hawaiian in the Octagon previous to Edgar's arrival. The bout had been a close point scoring affair and fans murmured that Penn had been robbed. A rematch was guaranteed -- there were few fans, brass, or media that trusted in pull off a second victory against Penn.
Despite the Vegas odds that had him as a dog, or the pronouncements of know-it-all's Edgar once again beat Penn, retained his belt and in improving his game, silenced at least a few more of his doubters.
Edgar's next fight was against fellow NCAA Division I wrestler Gray Maynard, who had won their first fight in at UFC Fight Night in 2008 largely by manhandling Edgar. In the postfight interview Maynard told UFC announcer Joe Rogan that he'd known about the size advantage (Maynard wrestled 157 lbs. in college, Edgar 141 lbs) and had won because he was able to "toss around" the smaller Edgar.
If you haven't seen the second fight, then there isn't much chance that inspiring porse could match the intensity and raw carnage of the first period onslaught, or the improbably and gritty comeback, but for those who've seen it, it's well-worth reminiscing. The first round started with Edgar taking a massive uppercut that sent him spinning to the ground, legs buckling, eyes darting. Maynard pounced, seeing his chance to finish the smaller, and now injured Edgar, but the former Clarion wrestler dove in on a single leg and managed to avoid Maynard's barrage of hammer fists. The lopsided brutalization of the first round wasn't repeated, and the fight became a video game of back-and-forth momentum shifts, eventually ending in a draw.
Edgar, the clinger-on, the nipping gnat, had convinced the judges that he'd won the majority of the remaining rounds. Maynard was left irritated and Edgar unsatisfied, fans were blood-thirsty. The UFC declared an immediate rematch, the cap piece to the fighter's trilogy.
The third fight started much the same as the first, with Edgar eating an uppercut which not only wobbled his legs or sent him loopy, but challenged the referee to find an opportunity to not stop the fight -- for three minutes a stoppage seemed imminent. Edgar survived, and in just doing that proved that he's more than a brawler, or a stud, he's the guy in the room that can't be broken. Not by an uppercut, not by six. If God put an off switch on Edgar, it's yet to be found.
He survived and came back to win the second and third rounds. In the fourth he caught Maynard with an uppercut as the three-time Michigan State All-American sought to fight off a single-leg. Edgar followed it up with a few rights and put Maynard out, retaining his belt and leaving fans and media confused but inspired. It was any fan's Fight of the Year.
Edgar's saltiness is now undeniable. In a world of posturing (and the UFC Japan card is filled with media-crazed fighters anxious to sell you their toughness), Edgar seems to be one the last authentic tough guys. Don't buy into the Guido-Italian tough guy bullshit, that's as much an act as the scripting of the Jersey Shore; Edgar is a legend because he's consistently defeated bigger, more experienced opponents even if he takes a savage beating to do so. He's 155 lbs. but for anyone believing in Doomsday prophecies, he's the top pick for the All-Apocalypse team.
UFC 144 in Japan has recently been the subject of several independently produced commercials looking to connect the Japanese cartoon style of anime to popular octagon stars. Rampage Jackson, as much a leading man as any fighter, lends himself to such caricatures. His broad neck, howling interludes and massive chain each giving the artist a place to begin crafting their animation. With Edgar the derivations have been more difficult. He has no costumes or trademark maneuvers (save being punched in the face). Despite pressure to sell himself Edgar remains caricature-free, a loyalist to authenticity. Looking at the films the artists' seem lost for aesthetic inspiration. How do you draw a guy who's best known for what's on the inside?
The Henderson fight will be a challenge for Edgar. The Arizona native is almost un-submittable. He's athletic. He's fast. And he's coming off a recent destruction of Jim Miller, a fighter who prides himself on his wrestling ability. Like all Edgar's opponents Henderson will also be bigger -- much bigger -- on fight night.
If Edgar wins he'll have his fourth successful title defense at arguably the toughest weight class in the UFC, and he'll have done it mostly as the underdog.
How can someone that size, take all those beatings and yet still every time come out wearing the belt?
Simple, The Answer is heart.
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