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[kickass32]

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Why Doesn't Anyone Care About UFC Champion Frankie Edgar?

by Jonathan Snowden on Dec 23, 2010 11:27 AM EST in UFC Editorial

On paper it's absolutely the right matchup. The man who dethroned the best lightweight in the history of the sport defending his shiny new title belt against the only man to ever defeat him inside the cage. So why doesn't anyone care? As one of the sport's biggest websites, Bloody Elbow gets a sneak peak into the minds of MMA fans. What interests them? What moves numbers on the site? The answer is a long one and probably a trade secret. The short answer for our purposes? Not Frankie Edgar or Gray Maynard. The better question? Why not?

The challenger still possesses all the tools that made him such a bear for the champion in the first place, the same superlative wrestling and the same powerful punching, only more refined and nuanced than they were two years ago when he beat Edgar by unanimous decision. The champion, for his part, showed everyone that he could overcome size and even skill with speed and cardio. It's evenly matched, has a backstory, even has a reality television star - still no one seems to care about Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.

By all rights Frankie Edgar should be a rising star. They say to be the man you have to beat the man. Edgar did that, then came right back and did it again. He's good looking, friendly, talented - there's no reason he shouldn't be taking the world by storm. For whatever reason, it isn't happening. It's not a personal failing on Edgar's part. Some guys just never have that "it" factor, are destined to be respected but never feared, recognized on the street but never loved. But in this case it's too early to write Edgar off - part of the issue is with the UFC and their promotion of the young champion.

Fans can tell when the UFC is really getting behind a fighter, when the promotion has confidence it is worth their time to give a guy that extra oomph that seperates superstars from the fighters who headline run of the mill shows that draw average numbers. They clearly don't have that confidence in Edgar.

For years Frankie Edgar was the name that came up when UFC brass would speculate about which fighters might drop down to 145 pounds if the WEC and the featherweight division really took off. It's clear they still see him that way. It's why they haven't made the push to get Edgar in the headlines, haven't played their trump cards to get him on television or in the mainstream eye. They don't think he's likely to beat Gray Maynard. Investing that kind of promotional capital doesn't make sense for Zuffa if they think Edgar is keeping the belt warm for the bigger and stronger Maynard.

Maynard, of course, is the other factor in this equation, part of the mathematical calculus that doesn't seem likely to add up to big buyrates for the UFC 125 show. The Xtreme Couture wrestler is often derided as boring. Sometimes fans are dead wrong when they start up with the boos. I always loved watching Matt Lindland fight even though he had his detratctors. Georges St. Pierre is never not fascinating, despite a continous chorus of criticism. But sometimes, just sometimes, when there is smoke there is a raging fire. If boring is a flickering flame, Maynard is Mount Vesuvius. His style has resulted in seven consecutive decisions, none of them scintilating. His last finish was against Joe Veres in 2007, a nine second fight against a fighter who can charitably be called a tomato can.

Of course, Maynard is also an amazing athlete. A three time All American at Michigan State, Maynard has that grueling Big Ten style that served fighters like Mark Coleman so well in MMA. Since losing to Nate Diaz in the semifinals of The Ultimate Fighter 5, Maynard has been dutifully learning to defend submissions. It was his achilles heel, but one he's carefully armored. It will be hard for Edgar to win this fight, hard for anyone to penetrate his shell of defensive wrestling. Nornally the promise of a hard fought and competitive fight would attract fans in droves. But what if they know going in it will likely be a defensive battle between one man looking to dance and avoid contact and another looking to hold the champion down for a decision win?

Right now the fans who are voting with their dollars are betting on a title swap. For the third fight in a row, Edgar is the underdog at the sports book. Even after destroying the myth of B.J. Penn's lightweight invincibility, Edgar is still being overlooked and underestimated. What will it take to make him a star? Will a decisive win finally earn Edgar the respect he deserves?

[Pasha K]

I dont care about them because I dont find them to be entertaining fighters, they are obviously very good but they just dont interest me.

UFC always overhypes many fighters but in this case it looks that eve the UFC itself does not care about either of them.

[kickass32]

I think part of it with Edgar is, he beat a beloved B.J. and people are finding it hard to jump on a bandwagon of someone who beat a beloved veteran.

[born2kill]

I dont care about Frankie because he flutters around like a hummingbird so much, that i can hardly see which punches landed and of those which were solid shots. It looks like hes slap fighting most of the time. It was a real chore for me to watch the BJ fight. Because even thou it was clear Frakie did much more than BJ, What that much more ammounted to was so hard to see in between his 500 flick faints and his seizure like movements. It gave me a headache more than anything else.

Gray is okay. But his last fight was painfully uneventful.

[beau420]

Originally Posted by born2kill

I dont care about Frankie because he flutters around like a hummingbird so much, that i can hardly see which punches landed and of those which were solid shots. It looks like hes slap fighting most of the time. It was a real chore for me to watch the BJ fight. Because even thou it was clear Frakie did much more than BJ, What that much more ammounted to was so hard to see in between his 500 flick faints and his seizure like movements. It gave me a headache more than anything else.

Gray is okay. But his last fight was painfully uneventful.

Agreed...well put.

I would rather watch fighters who try and finish and fail than watch someone jab their way to victory.

Before unranked replacement fighter Matt Veach got RNCd in the 2nd round, the last time Frankie finished a fight was in 2007 against Mark Bocek (who at the time had very limited standup)

6 fights went to decision....where he either through weak jabs or just tried to grapple his opponent.

I hope he keeps improving his skills...I hope that in 2011 he finds a way to finish a fight.,...or at least attempts to finish a fight...even if he doesn't succeed.

I could care less if he beat BJ....I think there are just as many BJ haters and BJ lovers out there....especially around the time BJ was about to fight GSP.

[TBEAR]

^^^^all the post above is what the article is talking about. Noone respects Frankie.

He beat BJ twice and is a hell of a fighter with real skills. If he is to fast moving for you to watch then try and figure out how to fight him. He is a hard guy to prepare for.

There is also no rule that says you have to finish a fight to be the champ....so I dont buy that "has to finish a fight" bulls*&T

[mma #1 fan]

because he goes by Frankie and not frank

[Bones McGee]

His resume is impressive and reveals that he is indeed a world class fighter, but doesn't give you the sense of dominance that would proclaim him the next great UFC lightweight. At this point I feel that he matched up with BJ stylistically more than competitively, but with a win over Maynard and another top contender I'll change my opinion of style to skill. His style will fail the first time he fights a strong muay thai fighter.

[DaSpiderFan24]

Originally Posted by TBEAR

^^^^all the post above is what the article is talking about. Noone respects Frankie.

He beat BJ twice and is a hell of a fighter with real skills. If he is to fast moving for you to watch then try and figure out how to fight him. He is a hard guy to prepare for.

There is also no rule that says you have to finish a fight to be the champ....so I dont buy that "has to finish a fight" bulls*&T

The article also asks what it would take for him to be a star... Not finishing or attempting to finish a fight and put on a show doesn't help...

[beau420]

Originally Posted by TBEAR

^^^^all the post above is what the article is talking about. Noone respects Frankie.

He beat BJ twice and is a hell of a fighter with real skills. If he is to fast moving for you to watch then try and figure out how to fight him. He is a hard guy to prepare for.

There is also no rule that says you have to finish a fight to be the champ....so I dont buy that "has to finish a fight" bulls*&T

I don't discount his skills or his speed....but that doesn't mean I care about him or want to pay money to watch him fight.

Another thing I noticed is that Frankie doesn't do the press that other fighters do....definitely doesn't do what Cain has been doing recently....going around talking with fans at UFC events...things that get him new fans.

Frankie not having power in his hands to knock most people out (or even trying) and Frankie showing any signs of working on his submission game is why I don't look forward to his fights.

I think he will beat Gray Maynard in his next fight because of his speed, but in my opinion, unless he hurts Gray or goes for a submission attempt then I again, won't have any want to watch him fight.

If we look at BJ or Frankie after their last two fights, neither guy looks like they were in a fight. Makes me wish they were fighting under Japanese rules....or maybe old school no time limit rules.

When I see a fight where in the 5th round both guys seem to have enough energy to go another 2+ rounds then I think that neither guy fought to their true potential....and both guys could have tried harder.

Some people have that killer instinct, and I haven't seen that in Frankie....I see a quick striker with quick feet and great wrestling....it wins championships but it doesn't win over many fans. Playing it safe doesn't win over many fans.