Only months after their epic trilogy came to an end, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard are now both trailing Benson Henderson in the battle to be considered the best 155-pound fighter on the planet. However, both fighters will have huge opportunities to bounce back with authority in their next outings.
After a narrow loss in his first meeting with the current champion, Edgar has been given an immediate rematch and will have a chance to regain his belt in August. Meanwhile, Maynard’s next fight will come against fellow lightweight contender Clay Guida in the upcoming weeks.
In many ways, fighters are defined by the way they respond to defeat. Even Anderson Silva, who is considered by many to be the greatest fight in MMA history, suffered four losses in his career and was able to turn things around and put together the most impressive title run ever.
Both coming off disappointment in title fights, let’s take a look at whether or not history favors Edgar and Maynard with an overview on how past UFC lightweights have bounced back from failure in title fights.