UFC 118 Preview: Frankie Edgar Vs. BJ Penn
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (12-1) vs BJ “The Prodigy” Penn (15-6-1)
Four months ago, this was “champion versus challenger.” This weekend, it’s “champion that some people don’t think deserves to be champion versus former champion who is now a challenger.” You know, that old chestnut. The first fight was underwhelming with Edgar earning a decision victory in a very close fight.
It would be unfair to say that Frankie Edgar didn’t earn the title. As the 5th round wound to a close at UFC 112, I told my friends that I wouldn’t be surprised to see Edgar win a decision. He was on the right end of the definitive moment in 3 out of 5 round in an extremely close fight. However, I figured that BJ would get the decision the same way that Lyoto Machida got the decision in his first meeting with Shogun by virtue of “in order to be the champ, you’ve got to beat the champ.”
When the scores were read, all three judges were in favor of Frankie. I was shocked that he was given a 50-45 nod.While you can argue that either guy should have won, the 50-45 solidified the decision as awful and controversial. Even thought it was kind of cool.
That’s the past now. We get an immediate rematch that is actually kind of immediate. This time BJ should be back with a vengeance. His sinus infection has cleared up. His book tour is over. And BJ generally does well bouncing back. The one time he lost two in a row and three out of four it was against Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and a 220-pound Lyoto Machida.
As for Edgar, he’s gone on two long winning streaks in his career. He hasn’t fought the level of guys that BJ has, but he’s a proven winner and he’s already got the 1-0 head-to-head advantage.
Look, I really like Frankie Edgar. He’s been a favorite since he was on MTV’s True Life in 2008. He’s a really good fighter. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really matter. The UFC’s lightweight division is BJ Penn’s world. As long as BJ is aggressive and motivated to finish a fight at 155 pounds, I don’t think there’s anyone that can beat him. So once again, this is on BJ. Frankie is going to come out with a solid game plan and try to win each round. If BJ is as motivated as I think he will be, he’ll finish Frankie by the end of the third round.
Yesterday, I took a look at James Toney versus Randy Couture. Tomorrow, I’ll preview the rest of the card – plus we’ll have the UFC 118 weigh-ins live on TBL. If you like the extended coverage, let TBL and FSV know. Maybe they’ll start flying me to Vegas. There have been worse wastes of money than putting me up in a casino for two nights every month, right? Right?
[Images via Getty]