MMA Coverage

Filed under: DREAM, UFC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Lightweights

No one can doubt Frankie Edgar anymore.

After Edgar beat B.J. Penn by unanimous decision in April, a lot of people believed that the fight was a fluke, that the judges erred, and that Penn was still the best lightweight in mixed martial arts. But now that Edgar has defeated Penn once again at UFC 118, there's no room for debate: Edgar is the undisputed champion.

Except that Edgar has one loss on his record, and that one loss is to Gray Maynard, who has been anointed the next challenger to Edgar's title. Maynard could make a case that he deserves to be considered the top fighter in the division, but unless he makes that case again in the cage, I'm sticking with Edgar at No. 1. The rest of the rankings are below.

Tags: B.J. Penn, Eddie Alvarez, George Sotiropoulos, Kenny Florian, MMA News by Michael David Smith
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

I don't know what's more troubling about B.J. Penn's most recent loss -- the fact that he posted a video to his website that sounded oddly like a precursor to a farewell the day after his defeat at UFC 118, or the fact that he hasn't been able to get too fired up about either of his losses to Frankie Edgar.

If it were anybody else, a little post-fight melancholy would be perfectly understandable. You lose your belt via narrow decision, then lose the immediate rematch by getting shut out five rounds to none, you're bound to be a little bummed.

But this is B.J. Penn we're talking about. He's been known to dabble in a conspiracy theory or two after a defeat, or turn his ire on the next unfortunate soul to get in the cage with him. He's the guy who Dana White once said would show up to your house every morning looking to fight if you somehow owned a win over him.

Now he gets beaten up and pushed around by a smaller, quicker fighter, and he can't even work up enough fire in the belly to demand a completely unreasonable third fight. What gives?

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News by Ben Fowlkes
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

After an interesting night of fights in Boston, the MMA Wrap-Up returns to break down UFC 118 and ask, in its own whimsical style, will MMA fans finally recognize Frankie Edgar as the world's best lightweight after his domination of B.J. Penn?

You'd think that would be an easy question, since Edgar just won his second straight fight over the top-ranked 155-pounder. But if we've learned anything from message boards and comment sections, it's that nothing is ever that simple when dealing when Penn and his passionate fans.

Join me for that conversation, as well as a few obligatory shots at James Toney, in this week's post-UFC 118 MMA Wrap-Up.

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News by Ben Fowlkes
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

The UFC's grand James Toney experiment is over, according to Dana White. Whether it was a success or not depends on the hypothesis you started with, but unless you happen to be Toney or one of his hype men, chances are you saw this coming.

But while this fight was undoubtedly a sideshow attraction from the very beginning, it did have some benefits. For one, it got some attention from the types of fans and media who might not otherwise have cared about this card. It seems a little doubtful that they all became instant converts upon seeing Gray Maynard lay on top of Kenny Florian, but who knows.

The important thing is that the opportunity to have a famous boxer compete on MMA's biggest stage finally presented itself, then refused to stop presenting itself, then mumbled some absurd, semi-coherent threats at everyone within earshot, and then the UFC finally made it happen. Now that we've done it, let's not do it again until we find someone willing to put in the work and take it seriously.

Now on to the big winners, losers, and everything in between from UFC 118.

Tags: B.J. Penn, Kenny Florian, MMA News, Nate Diaz, Randy Couture by Ben Fowlkes
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC, News

When Frankie Edgar beat B.J. Penn in April to win the UFC lightweight title, many fans thought it was a fluke. But Edgar did it again on Saturday at UFC 118, winning another unanimous decision and showing without a doubt that he's the best lightweight in mixed martial arts.

This time around it wasn't even close, with Edgar winning all five rounds on all three judges' cards.

"I want to thank B.J.," Edgar said afterward. "He brought the best out of me.".

---

---

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News by Michael David Smith
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

BOSTON -- Once again, the headlines were stolen from Frankie Edgar, this time by an out-of-shape boxer who was quite predictably beaten.

All Edgar did at UFC 118 was beat the guy considered the best lightweight of all time ... again.

All he did was silence any believers that BJ Penn was the better fighter the first time around, and that he'd never figure out a way to fool the judges twice.

Edgar didn't just shut out Penn; he hurled a perfect game.

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News by Mike Chiappetta
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

If you've heard MMA legend and former UFC champ Pat Miletich's contributions to the Strikeforce: Challengers broadcasts or his analysis on ESPN's "MMA Live," then it won't surprise you to know that Miletich had a lot of really insightful things to say when I called him to play Fighter vs. Writer for UFC 118.

So insightful, in fact, that it immediately made me wonder why I was dumb enough to choose Miletich to go up against, when I'm a dismal 1-4 in this series so far.

So the bad news is that I'm up against a superior MMA mind this week. The good news is that I got to hear Miletich break down the upcoming card, which includes one fight where "The Croatian Sensation" says there's an epic beating in store for one of the interested parties. Can you guess who?

Yeah, you probably can. But you should still read all about how both Miletich and I see the main card playing out on Saturday night.

Tags: B.J. Penn, Demian Maia, Kenny Florian, MMA News, Nate Diaz, Randy Couture by Ben Fowlkes
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

The UFC 118 weigh-ins take place Friday at the TD Garden in Boston, and if you can't be there in person, you can watch the video live right here at MMAFighting.com.

The most intriguing issue will be the weight of James Toney, who has been as light as 157 pounds and as heavy as 237 pounds in his boxing career. Toney says he's working hard and in great shape, but at times Toney has become grotesquely overweight. We'll find out on Friday afternoon whether he got himself into decent shape for his UFC debut against Randy Couture.

In the main event, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and challenger B.J. Penn will both have to make the limit of 155 pounds.

The weigh-in starts at 4 PM ET (replay will be available in the evening) and the video is below.

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News, Randy Couture by Michael David Smith
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC, News

BOSTON -- The 20 fighters competing at UFC 118 weighed in at the TD Garden. There were no complications as every fighter on the card made weight.

The UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar weighed in at 154 for his UFC lightweight championship defense against BJ Penn, who also checked in at 154. Meanwhile boxer turned MMA fighter James Toney checked in at 237 for his bout with multi-time champ Randy Couture (220).

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News, Randy Couture by Mike Chiappetta
No Comments »

Filed under: UFC

BOSTON -- If he wasn't so mild-mannered and quiet, you'd almost feel bad for Frankie Edgar. On the night he beat the odds and won the UFC lightweight championship by defeating all-time legend BJ Penn, Anderson Silva jumped, jived and danced to a decision that was so controversial, it eclipsed the underdog Edgar's historic win.

Months later, he's in his first main event, but it's hardly the most attention-grabbing fight on the UFC 118 card, not with spotlight-stealing James Toney in attendance.

Yet in some ways, that's just how Edgar would want it. Edgar quietly climbed the UFC ladder in relative anonymity, and he's more than happy to step aside and let the veterans take their bows while he walks away from UFC 118 as the only title-holder.

Tags: B.J. Penn, MMA News, Randy Couture by Mike Chiappetta
No Comments »