Canada Sports News

• Former UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar defeated Pedro Munhoz in the main event of the UFC on ESPN 15.
• Edgar’s debut in the bantamweight was exciting, and it wouldn’t be unfair even if Munhoz won it.
• The 38-year old American wants to have a title shot against Petr Yan in the near future.

Split Decision Lifts Edgar Over Munhoz

One of the iconic fighters in the organization showed that he still has the power to make notable results. Even though many doubted his abilities after two straight losses, Edgar rose to the occasion tonight, defeating the No.5 in the bantamweight rankings, Pedro Munhoz.

It was a split decision, which saw two judges scoring in Edgar’s favor with the same result, 48-47, while the third gave a substantial advantage to the Brazilian, 49-46.

The main event of the UFC on ESPN 15 was, in fact, his debut in this division, something all the colleagues and experts advised him to do much earlier. After losing to Max Holloway in the featherweight title fight, and suffering a first-round TKO against Chan Sung Jung, Edgar decided to drop down to bantamweight, which brought a positive result.

“I proved all them wrong,” said Edgar about all those who questioned his abilities. “I still got some fight in this tank, and we’re gonna make a run at [135].”

He and Munhoz were trading blows right from the start, not calculating for one second during the event. They opened the match furiously, and after that continued in the same manner.

The second round was when Edgar dominated with his stand up boxing, which hurt Munhoz, opening a cut above his eye. That round clearly went in his favor, but the next one didn’t.

Munhoz, or the “Young Punisher” as the fans call him bounced back in the third, with massive leg kicks to Edgar’s lead calf, which slowed down his movement around the ring. The latter two rounds were all in for both fighters who give and took hits, making this one of the best fights this year. It’s no wonder seeing the Fight of the Night bonus going to these two guys.

Edgar Wants Petr Yan

The American veteran spoke about his ambitions, stressing that he expects to have a title shot against the current bantamweight champions, Petr Yan.

“I just got my feet wet,” he said. “I think the sky is the limit. I didn’t look slow at all in there. … Pedro is a top dog. That makes me a top dog.”

Munhoz was the No.5 in the division rankings, coming out of a loss against Aljamain Sterling. This defeat definitely put an end on talks about him getting a match against Yan and introduced Edgar into the story.

Even though Frankie hopes to have another chance to win one belt, his first since 2011, the prospects for seeing that are pretty low. Sterling is on the rise, and all the UFC insiders are suggesting that the organization has a much bigger interest to book a title match with him in it than with Edgar.