A lot of people have waited a long time for this moment, and it's finally here: Frankie Edgar, the bantamweight.
If one were to try to identify the personification of "fighting above his weight class," Edgar would be a surefire candidate. The former lightweight champion cut no weight to compete at 155 pounds, where he won a title back in 2010. And he cut very little weight to compete at 145 pounds, where he fought for a title in 2013, 2016 and 2019.
Edgar's longtime coach, Mark Henry, has tried to talk him into competing at 135 pounds for years. This weekend, Edgar will finally do it in a UFC Fight Night main event against Pedro Munhoz in Las Vegas.
This bout was originally scheduled for July 11. It was then moved to July 15. Then Aug. 15. And finally, to Aug. 22. For a variety of reasons. But it's here and it's this weekend's headliner. Who wins? ESPN asked several experts to break it down.
Aljamain Sterling, UFC bantamweight
Beat Munhoz by unanimous decision on June 8, 2019
I'm super-excited to see Edgar come down to bantamweight for the first time. I like his boxing, good wrestling. We've got to see what that's going to do against Pedro Munhoz's jiu-jitsu. Munhoz has a great guillotine, front kicks and he's durable. He can take a lot of punishment and he can dish it out. He has those calf kicks, too.
It's going to be interesting to see how Frankie approaches this one. He's been touched up a little bit in his recent fights. I'm a little nervous about that. Can he endure those big shots from Pedro, who is a big hitter? If I had to pick, I'd have to go with the younger guy who still has some momentum. I know [Munhoz] took a loss against me in his last fight, but I think Father Time is starting to catch up with Frankie. He's been knocked out by Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung, and Pedro Munhoz hits just as hard as those guys.
Ray Longo, LAW MMA
The key is really for Frankie to go back to his wrestling. He's getting a little older [Edgar is 38], and that worries me. He's taken some shots. But I think this is a great fight for Frankie, coming down to 135 against an opponent who doesn't have a long reach, so he can't keep Frankie at bay. Frankie has great head movement and I think Frankie gets the job done. Mixing up boxing and takedowns. Pedro hits hard, but I don't think he can keep Frankie off him, and that's the difference.
I was a fan of Frankie at 155, and they kind of forced him to move down. It would have been great to see Frankie at 135 when he was 30 years old, I think he would have been a complete beast. But when a guy moves down in weight, the guys are faster. So, Frankie always had that at 155. You always saw his speed advantage, and that in-and-out movement. With these little guys, it's going to be hard to do that. They're just as quick. That's why I think Frankie needs to use his wrestling. Frankie when he uses his wrestling and boxing is tough to beat.
Eddie Cha, Fight Ready
The key to victory for Frankie is to mix up footwork, feints, combinations and not getting hit with the big, loopy hooks and power shots. And definitely watch the guillotine when he shoots in. But I don't think Frankie has ever been caught in a guillotine, and he's been wrestling his whole life, so I feel pretty good about that.
Pedro's key is definitely not to walk forward. It's similar to Henry Cejudo, when he fought Dominick Cruz. We were telling him, he fights like a bull and Cruz is a matador -- something has to give. So we created borders, just keeping distance and being patient, knowing in a five-round fight our shots would come. Picking those shots. Pedro can't constantly walk forward. Let Frankie come to him, which is what we did with Zombie. Frankie likes to lead with his right hand. If you watch the Zombie fight, we dropped our left hand down and just kind of pulled him in, throwing half jabs -- and when he came in, we caught him with the check hook. Frankie puts his head down and blitzes forward with the right hand, so however you want to address that: hook, step off uppercut, cross.
If I had to pick, I think I'd go with Frankie. I think the only way Pedro can win the fight is a guillotine or power shot, and I don't like putting all my eggs in one basket like that.
Tyson Chartier, New England Cartel
I think Pedro has a distinct power advantage. I think Edgar has the wrestling advantage. He has that nice knee-tap takedown, and if he can get that and get on top, that's fine, but if he has to go for a standard takedown, Pedro is going to use that guillotine he has. With an elongated camp, I just think Pedro will have had time to prepare for Frankie's wrestling, so he'll try that knee-tap once or twice and abandon it. I think Frankie will probably end up keeping it standing, and that's dangerous.
It's hard, because I'm biased. I coach Rob Font, and I don't want Edgar to win and move above us in the rankings, but in a five-round fight, I don't think Frankie is going to be able to put Munhoz away. And that leaves Munhoz a lot of time to clip him. Edgar hasn't been the most durable lately. Obviously, Munhoz has to keep it on the feet, block the takedowns, and just touch him. If he loads up too much, Frankie is too smart for that. Start touching him over five rounds, and he has the advantage in power to find that shot.
Frankie is getting a little older, and he's cutting to the weight for the first time, who knows how that's going to go? A lot of times, you see guys go down like this at the end of their career, and it usually doesn't help them. I think Pedro really has nothing to lose. All the pressure is on Edgar. And usually when that's the case, the guy who has nothing to lose does a little bit better.
Eric Nicksick, Xtreme Couture MMA
Tough fight for Frankie at 135 -- very tough fight. It wouldn't have been the one I would have picked for him, to be honest with you. I cornered against Pedro with Bryan Caraway [Munhoz knocked him out in the first round in November 2018]. This kid is a savage. He's good. I think in that fight I'd have to go with Munhoz.
Usually it's the other way around than what Frankie is doing. Most people go up in weight as they get later in that career; Frankie is going down. I thought this was something he could have done after one of the Jose Aldo fights. He could have come down, tested the waters early and seen how his body felt. But s---, he beats Jeremy Stephens, he beats Yair Rodriguez, and then he fights Max Holloway for the title. It's hard to say.
I could have seen Edgar rewriting the history books at 135 years ago. Him against Dominick Cruz would have been epic, just a chess match. I think Pedro at his age and his style and with Frankie cutting that weight -- I don't think the weight cut is gonna be a problem, necessarily -- I just feel Munhoz is gonna have a better arsenal right now at 135 to beat Frankie. And that pains me to say that, because I'm a huge Frankie fan.
But especially in a small cage with the movement that Frankie likes to have and the real estate he likes to move in, I like Pedro. I would think Frankie would probably come out and wrestle pretty good in this fight, but man, Pedro has a nasty guillotine, he has a great ground game. I just feel like this is kind of Pedro Munhoz's coming-out party. I think Pedro beats him via decision, because Frankie is a hard out. I think Pedro picks him apart on the feet. I think this is a Pedro Munhoz tailor-made fight.
Contributing: Marc Raimondi