Sometimes, a 50-45 card isn’t as one-sided as it seems.
Frankie Edgar won his UFC Fight Night 66 main event over Urijah Faber on Saturday in the Pasay City, Philippines.
The long-awaited featherweight bout between Edgar, the former UFC lightweight champion, and Faber, the former WEC featherweight titleholder, turned into a chess match of a fight, with each fighter sticking and moving and looking to pounce on the slightest advantage.
In the end, though, Edgar was a little slicker, a little faster, landed in more volume, and scored more takedowns. And while the fight wasn’t nearly the blowout the across-the-board 50-45 scorecards may indicate, Edgar was a little better than Faber in every round.
“I won 5-0, but Urijah is tough as hell, man,” Edgar said. “He’s the guy I looked up to when I got in. He’s a legend of the sport.”
Edgar set the tone in the opening round, using his classic footwork to dart in, land combos, and move out. Faber, who was coming up from bantamweight for the bout, mostly relied on his big overhand right to set up the rest of his offense. While he landed with it a few times, Edgar respected the power of his shot enough to mostly stay out of range.
The first two rounds were narrow, however Edgar asserted himself in the third, scoring takedowns and deftly maneuvering out of Faber’s attempts to work submissions on the ground. By the fifth, Faber had to know he needed a finish, but Edgar looked like he was just warming up as he parried Faber’s attempts.
The victory was the fourth in a row for Edgar (19-4-1), who continued to lobby for a rematch with featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
“I want that title,” Edgar said. “Dana’s not here again. I don’t know if Dana’s ducking me because he owes me a title shot.”
Faber (32-8) had a two-fight win streak snapped and lost a non-title fight for the first time in his 13-year career.