Fast and furious Frankie Edgar, a major underdog, upsets the MMA applecart with a workmanlike victory over BJ Penn
to take the UFC lightweight belt in Abu Dhabi at UFC 112.More skilful ? No… Worthy champion ? Just about. Win all five rounds as one judge had Edgar on the cards ? Not a chance.
Penn finished the fight marked under both eyes, having had the belt slowly unbuckled from around his waist in five rounds of stand-up action. Penn should be kicking himself. I had him winning the first two rounds, Edgar the last three, as he outworked the champion. Most of the rounds were very close. But Penn, arrogantly, failed to listen to his corner who told him to take the fight to the ground for the last two rounds. It cost him his title – and potentially – part of his legacy. Penn will bounce back, and possibly back up to the welterweight division, where frankly, he is not the same machine, but this was poor from easily the best lightweight in the history of the sport.
The judges’ cards could not have come out with a greater differential if you’d rolled a die. The three cards… 50-45, 48-47, 49-46. How all five were scored for Edgar is beyond comprehension, from this perspective. But we’ve been here before…and 48-47 looked the best analysis. There will be widespread disagreement as the two men fought different battles, and inexplicably, Penn played completely to rote into Edgar’s favour and game plan. For one so inexperienced – or, as stated earlier, arrogant – it made no sense whatsoever. Penn was clearly more powerful than Edgar, and it showed in the brief moments they grappled, but great cardio and determination from Edgar earned him a win which seemed unlikely on paper. Yet on canvas, it was another story.
How the fight played out:
Rd 1
Good movement from Edgar, leg kicks in and out. Good left hook from Penn, then a jab. Edgar circles. Keeps circling. Wise game plan. Penn takes the centre of the Octagon. Penn patient. Grapple and uppercuts from Penn from his takedown defence. Combination from Penn. By the final minute Penn finds his range. Combination from Edgar. Penn 10-9
Rd 2
Penn stalks less in the second, Edgar’s movement not slowing. It’s all stand-up. Edgar’s head never stops moving, and his feints are canny. Penn scores with the left. Leg kick from Edgar. Takedown by Edgar, Penn up straight away. Penn’s round on my card. Penn 10-9.
Rd 3
Referee Herb Dean holds up the action and wipes excess water from Edgar at the start of round three. Freddie Roach, trainer to Manny Pacquiao, Amir Khan, and over 20 world champion boxers, has said that Penn has the best boxing/striking in MMA. His timing is being upended by Edgar’s incessant movement. It is a clever strategy, and it is working. Close range, Edgar lands with one solid right, Penn responds with a three-punch combo. It’s all about timing. Edgar lands with two left hooks. Edgar pushing Penn’s timing awry. Leg kick from Edgar then a takedown attempt. Great movement, feigns a takedown attempt and lands with a kick. This is Edgar’s round.
Edgar 10-9
Rd 4
Wisely, Edgar’s corner advises their man he needs to keep his eyes up when he is close in the pocket with Penn. On the other side of the Octagon, BJ Penn’s corner are advising him to take the contest to the ground. Edgar’s conditioning is staggering. Penn refuses corner’s advice. Stays in the stand-up. Head kick from Edgar just misses. Counter right and jab from Penn. Left hook counter, then a right-left from Edgar. He may have just levelled the fight on the judges’ scorecards. I had Edgar nicking the round.
Edgar 10-9
Rd 5
Penn starts the final round with puffy eyes. There is a huge moment in the fifth, when Penn misses with a left-right, and Edgar takes the champion down, the first time in years that Penn has been taken down fully in the lightweight division. Penn throws a lower leg kick, Edgar a counter left. Penn is now being pushed by Edgar – great straight right hand from the challenger. Signs of tiredness from Penn with two minutes remaining. Left hook Edgar. Left-right and kick from Edgar. He is now outperforming Penn, and he is getting quicker to the jab, and is still throwing kicks. Penn is slowing. Penn lands with a right and a body shot. A wild exchange in close in the last 10 seconds. If the fifth round is Edgar’s, we have a new champion.
Edgar 10-9.
Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk
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