UFC 118: Frankie Edgar Beats B.J. Penn

By Michael David Smith - Lead Blogger

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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.".

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Edgar took Penn down only 15 seconds into the first round, but Penn looked very comfortable on his back, controlling Edgar in his guard for a little over a minute before they got back to their feet. From the feet they traded strikes a little bit more before Edgar secured his second takedown, although once again Edgar wasn't able to do much to Penn once he got him to the ground. The round ended standing up, with Edgar landing a few more strikes, and Edgar won the first round on my scorecard.

In the second round Edgar continued his active stand-up style of sticking and moving, sticking and moving. Penn then started backing Edgar off with some stiff left jabs, but midway through the round Edgar took Penn down once again. It was surprising to see Penn taken down for a third time when so few Penn opponents have been able to take him down at all, and even though Edgar again didn't really do anything after securing the takedown, he probably did enough to win the second round as well.

The third round showed Penn starting to look frustrated, as Edgar was landing good strikes, and even when Penn would land in return, Edgar seemed perfectly capable of shaking it off and continuing to attack. Edgar was the faster fighter from the beginning, but in the third round it started to become clear that he was the better conditioned fighter as well. Penn was breathing deeply, and although Edgar had a bloody nose from a Penn punch, Edgar looked fresh and fast.

At the start of the fourth round Penn took Edgar down, and it looked like Penn's opportunity to win the fight decisively. But Penn never got anywhere on the ground before Edgar got back up. After a brief exchange on the feet Edgar knocked Penn down with a hard leg kick and ended up in Penn's guard, and he battered Penn with some hard punches before Penn managed to get off his back. By the end of the fourth round it was clear that the only way Penn could win was to knock Edgar out or submit him in the fifth.

Penn started the fifth round the same way he started the fourth, taking Edgar down. This time Penn was a little more effective in improving his position, and he briefly looked like he'd be able to take Edgar's back. But Edgar managed to turn over and get inside Penn's guard, where he controlled the fight on the ground. With a minute and a half to go they got back to their feet, and Edgar continued to control the bout, battering away at Penn until the final horn sounded, and Penn could raise his hands to celebrate his victory.

Penn is widely regarded as the best lightweight in the history of mixed martial arts, but he's now lost two in a row to Edgar and is out of the UFC lightweight title picture.

"He fought me twice, he walked away with the decision twice," Penn said. "What can you say?"

All we can say now is that Edgar is the undisputed champion.

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