BOSTON -- There's no question about Frank "The Answer" Edgar's mastery of BJ Penn now.
With a unanimous five-round decision Saturday at UFC 118 over, Edgar (13-1) defended his lightweight belt against the man he took it from four months ago. All three judges scored it 50-45 for Edgar, meaning Penn (15-7-1) did not win a single round this time."I feel like I walked on water," Edgar said. "I want to thank BJ. He brought the best out of me. Having to prepare for him for eight months has just done nothing but bless my career."
As he did in April, Edgar moved quickly, not letting Penn throw punch combinations. This time Edgar beat Penn to the punch even more often, and he was more successful with takedowns. The champion wrestled Penn to the mat several times and made him pay with punches each he scrambled up.
"I guess it looked like the same kind of fight as the last time, but he got off good," Penn said. "Much respect."
Penn answered with a takedown of his own to start the fourth round, but Edgar worked his way back up and deposited Penn on the canvas by sweeping his rear leg as Penn attempted to land a knee. In the fifth and final round, Penn again got the early takedown. But Edgar reversed the position and went to work with short punches.
Compustrike counted 95 strikes standing for Edgar, compared to 43 for Penn. The champion scored four takedowns and connected with 60 strikes on the ground; Penn had two takedowns and landed just 10 strikes on the mat.
Edgar's control of the fight's flow and his additional dominance in wrestling made the judges' decision easy. As soon as the fight ended, Penn walked to his corner with his head bowed.
"I've really got to go back and think about things," Penn said. "No quick decisions about anything."
Next up for Edgar will be another rematch, this time with Gray Maynard, who ground out a decision over Kenny Florian earlier Saturday to earn a title shot. Maynard took a unanimous decision over Edgar in April 2008.
Other results Saturday:
• Former champion Randy Couture easily overcame heavyweight boxer James Toney. Couture submitted Toney with an arm-triangle choke less than four minutes into the fight.
• Middleweight Demian Maia easily controlled Mario Miranda for a unanimous decision. Although Maia could not get the submission, he took down Miranda almost at will and kept him from mounting any significant offense.
• Welterweight Nate Diaz inflicted a nasty cut over Marcus Davis' right eye before leaving him unconscious with a guillotine choke in the third round.
• Nik Lentz, Joe Lauzon, Dan Miller, Greg Soto, Mike Pierce won their preliminary bouts.
Source: USATodayRead more…
}