Frank Edgar - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Frank James Edgar is an American mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight

Lightweight (MMA)

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...

in the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Ultimate Fighting Championship

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...

and is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. His first and only career loss came against Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard

Bradley Gray Maynard is an American amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist, who competes as a lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has recorded one of the fastest knockouts in UFC history, at 9 seconds against Joe Veres. He is the only fighter to hold a win over current...

in 2008, which marked the beginning of a noted rivalry

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

Frankie Edgar versus Gray Maynard is a series of lightweight mixed martial arts bouts held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . Between 2008 and 2011, the UFC booked three contests between the fighters. Edgar, the quicker of the two, utilized speed and precise striking...

. He is currently ranked as the #1 lightweight and #4 pound-for-pound fighter in the world by Sherdog.com
Sherdog
Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts . The site is a member of the Crave Online network and provides MMA related content for ESPN.com.- History :...

.

Early life

Born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...

, Edgar wrestled

Scholastic wrestling

Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...

at Toms River High School East

Toms River High School East

Toms River High School East is a comprehensive four-year public high school, the third high school built in Toms River, New Jersey, as part of the Toms River Regional Schools. It was built in 1979, after the first and second high schools; Toms River High School South and Toms River High School...

, 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

Clarion University of Pennsylvania

Clarion University of Pennsylvania, located on a campus in Clarion, Pennsylvania, is one of fourteen universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ....

, where he qualified for the nationals all four years there. Edgar is also an assistant coach for the Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

wrestling team.

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

Gracie family

The Gracie family is a prominent sporting family from Brazil known for their founding of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu . They have been successful in combat sport competitions including mixed martial arts, vale tudo and submission wrestling events...

system under Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida

Ricardo Almeida is a retired Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey.-Background:...

in Hamilton, NJ. Since seventh grade Edgar has wrestled with Steve Rivera at Elite Wrestling NJ 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
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts competition produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship , and soon to be shown on FX. The show features unknown, professional MMA fighters living together in Las Vegas, Nevada, and follows them as...

. Edgar tried out in front of Dana White and Joe Silva, but was not selected to be on the show. However, a month later the UFC contacted Edgar and asked if he would accept a fight with fellow undefeated fighter Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...

at UFC 67
UFC 67
UFC 67: All or Nothing was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada...

. 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
UFC Unleashed
UFC Unleashed is a television series produced by Spike TV and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It features matches from past UFC events. Episodes are one hour in length, showing several UFC bouts and "best of" compilations of popular fighters such as Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture.-Overview:In...

.

Edgar followed up with a first-round TKO victory over Mark Bocek

Mark Bocek

Mark Andrew Bocek is a Canadian mixed martial artist. He competes in the Lightweight division.-Background:Bocek is one of Canada's first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belts and has been studying the art for more than a decade...

at UFC 73
UFC 73
UFC 73: Stacked was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . It took place on July 7, 2007 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California and featured a total of nine bouts: four on the preliminary card and five on the main card. In the main event, Anderson Silva put...

. He made his main card debut at UFC 78
UFC 78
UFC 78: Validation was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on November 17, 2007 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey...

against veteran fighter Spencer Fisher

Spencer Fisher

Spencer William Fisher is an American mixed martial artist from Brevard, North Carolina. He currently fights in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship promotion. He holds notable victories over Thiago Alves, Matt Wiman, Sam Stout, Jeremy Stephens, and Caol Uno...

and won via unanimous decision.

Edgar suffered his first loss at UFC Fight Night 13
UFC Fight Night 13
UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 13 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 2, 2008 at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was a lead-in to the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7 on...

against Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard

. This fight marked the first bout of a series

Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard

. 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

Hermes Franca

Hermes França Barros is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes as a lightweight.-Early career:França made his professional MMA debut in November 2001. He quickly earned an undefeated streak of 6-0, drawing the attention of the UFC.-First UFC run:...

at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin
UFC: Silva vs. Irvin
UFC Live: Silva vs. Irvin referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 14 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 19, 2008 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event marked Anderson "The Spider" Silva's first foray into the Light...

. Edgar then defeated former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk

Sean Sherk

Sean Keith Sherk is an American mixed martial arts fighter currently fighting for the UFC. He currently holds a professional mixed martial arts record of thirty-six wins, four losses and one draw. Sherk has fought in both the UFC and Pride FC, and is a former UFC Lightweight Champion...

, 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
True Life
True Life is a documentary series running on MTV since 1998. Each episode follows a particular topic, such as heroin addiction as in the first episode, "Fatal Dose." The show is created by following a series of subjects by a camera crew through a certain part of their lives.-Topics covered:True...

: I'm a Mixed Martial Artist leading up to his fight with Maynard. Edgar appears in UFC 2009 Undisputed
UFC 2009 Undisputed
UFC 2009 Undisputed is a mixed martial arts video game featuring Ultimate Fighting Championship properties and fighters developed by Yuke's Osaka and published by THQ. The game was released in the US on May 19, 2009, for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3...

.

Edgar was expected to face Kurt Pellegrino

Kurt Pellegrino

Kurt Joseph Pellegrino is a retired American mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the lightweight division of the UFC. Pellegrino's first fight in the UFC came in 2006...

on December 5, 2009 on The Ultimate Fighter 10

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale, also referred to as The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale, was a mixed martial arts event that was held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 5, 2009...

finale, but Pellegrino was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Matt Veach

Matt Veach

Matt Alan Veach is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He is known for his 3 fight stint in the UFC, including his "Fight of the Night" performance against UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar.-Mixed Martial Arts:...

was named as Pellegrino's replacement, moving up from the undercard bout.
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

Rear naked choke

The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...

at 2:22 into the second round.

UFC Lightweight Champion

At UFC 112

UFC 112

UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

, 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.

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

The bout at UFC 112

UFC 112

UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

was deemed close enough that Edgar's first title defense took the form of a UFC 118

UFC 118

UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 28, 2010 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The third UFC Fan Expo coincided with the event...

rematch against Penn on August 28, 2010. 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, making him the second fighter to defeat Penn in the lightweight division (the other being Jens Pulver

Jens Pulver

Jens Johnnie Pulver is an American mixed martial artist . He was the first Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion and was a coach on the The Ultimate Fighter 5 reality show, which aired on Spike TV. He was formerly signed as a featherweight with World Extreme Cagefighting , which is...

), and the second fighter ever to beat Penn twice (the other being Georges St-Pierre).

Edgar's next title defense was against Gray Maynard

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

Kenny Florian

Kenneth Alan Florian is a Peruvian-American mixed martial artist who competes as a featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He has a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai, and is known for his cerebral approach to the sport based on his meticulous game plans and...

. The bout took place on January 1, 2011 at UFC 125

UFC 125

UFC 125: Resolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 1, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...

, 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

Anthony Pettis

Anthony Pettis is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Pettis has made a name for himself mainly fighting in his home state of Wisconsin. He is a former fighter for the World Extreme Cagefighting , where he was the...

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 at UFC 130

UFC 130

UFC 130: Rampage vs. Hamill was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 28, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...

. Dana White confirmed on May 9, 2011 that both Edgar and Maynard had sustained injuries and that their bout was pulled from event.
The fight was re-scheduled as the main event of UFC 136

UFC 136

UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 8, 2011, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The event coincided with a two day UFC Fan Expo held at the George R...

. 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 TKO for Edgar, earning Knockout of the Night honors.

Edgar is expected to face Benson Henderson

Ben Henderson (fighter)

Benson Henderson is an American mixed martial artist. He currently fights as a lightweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Henderson, a former WEC Lightweight Champion, is known for his aggressive style and his ability to escape from deep submission attempts...

on February 26, 2012 at UFC 144

UFC 144

UFC 144: Edgar vs. Henderson is an upcoming mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event is expected to take place on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan....

Personal life

Edgar and his wife, Renee, were married ten days after UFC Fight Night 13

UFC Fight Night 13

UFC Fight Night: Florian vs Lauzon referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 13 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 2, 2008 at the Broomfield Event Center in Broomfield, Colorado. The event was a lead-in to the premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 7 on...

. The couple have two sons—Francesco, born in January 2009, and Santino James, born in May 2010.

Edgar is a resident of Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River, New Jersey

Toms River is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Toms River Township and is the county seat of Ocean County, New Jersey. It is part of a larger Toms River Township...

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world that hosts most of the top-ranked fighters in the sport...
- UFC Lightweight Championship (One time, current)
- Fight Of The Night (Three times)
- Knockout Of The Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

|-
| Win
|align=center| 14–1–1
| Gray Maynard

Gray Maynard

| KO (punches)
| UFC 136: Edgar vs. Maynard III

UFC 136

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Gray Maynard

| Draw (split)
| UFC 125: Resolution

UFC 125

UFC 125: Resolution was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on January 1, 2011 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States.-Background:...

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 13–1
| B.J. Penn
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn 2

UFC 118

|
|align=center| 5
|align=center| 5:00
| Boston, Massachusetts, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 12–1
| B.J. Penn
| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 112: Invincible

UFC 112

UFC 112: Invincible was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on April 10, 2010, on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates...

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 11–1
| Matt Veach

Matt Veach

| Submission (rear-naked choke)
| The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale

The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale

|
|align=center| 2
|align=center| 2:22
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 10–1
| Sean Sherk

Sean Sherk

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida

UFC 98

UFC 98: Evans vs. Machida was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 23, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada.-Background:...

|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 9–1
| Hermes França

Hermes Franca

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC: Silva vs. Irvin

UFC: Silva vs. Irvin

UFC Live: Silva vs. Irvin referred to by the media as UFC Fight Night 14 was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 19, 2008 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main event marked Anderson "The Spider" Silva's first foray into the Light...

Gray Maynard

Broomfield, Colorado

The City and County of Broomfield is a prominent suburb and tier of the Denver metropolitan area in the State of Colorado of the United States. Broomfield has a consolidated city and county government which operates under Article XX, Sections 10-13 of the Constitution of the State of Colorado. The...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 8–0
| Spencer Fisher

Spencer Fisher

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 78: Validation

UFC 78

UFC 78: Validation was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship , that took place on November 17, 2007 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey...

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 7–0
| Mark Bocek

Mark Bocek

| TKO (punches)
| UFC 73: Stacked

UFC 73

UFC 73: Stacked was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship . It took place on July 7, 2007 at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California and featured a total of nine bouts: four on the preliminary card and five on the main card. In the main event, Anderson Silva put...

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 6–0
| Tyson Griffin

Tyson Griffin

Tyson Lee Griffin is an American mixed martial artist from Albany, California. Griffin currently fights as a Featherweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship .-Early life:...

| Decision (unanimous)
| UFC 67: All or Nothing

UFC 67

UFC 67: All or Nothing was a mixed martial arts event held by Ultimate Fighting Championship. The event was held Saturday, February 3, 2007 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada...

|
|align=center| 3
|align=center| 5:00
| Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 5–0
| Jim Miller

Jim Miller (fighter)

James Andrew Miller is an American mixed martial artist. He has held the Cage Fury Fighting Championships Lightweight Championship and Reality Fighting Featherweight Championship. He currently fights for the UFC's lightweight division. He is the younger brother of fellow MMA fighter Dan Miller...

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

, United States
|
|-
| Win
|align=center| 4–0
| Deividas Taurosevičius

Deividas Taurosevičius

Deividas Taurosevičius is a Lithuanian mixed martial artist.-Career:Taurosevičius started his professional MMA career in 2002, primarily competing on cards in Massachusetts and New Jersey...

Wildwood, New Jersey

Wildwood is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area and is a popular summer resort destination. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's year-round population was 5,325...

Hoboken, New Jersey

Hoboken is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 50,005. The city is part of the New York metropolitan area and contains Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub for the region...

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...

, United States
|

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