Former UFC lightweight champions Frankie Edgar and B.J. Penn are going to battle of the season finale for The Ultimate Fighter 19, but Edgar is already up 2-0 in their bouts.
After spending a season opposite his rival, Edgar’s motivations haven’t dwindled at all. He told Submission Radio he not only wants his title back, but to put Penn away in such a convincing way that all talk about the two will stop.
“My motivation is, I just want to get back to the title,” Edgar said. “You know, in order to do that I’m gonna have to win every fight in front of me. And just the fact that I don’t wanna lose the third time out. I won twice (against B.J.), for sure I don’t wanna lose the third time out. A guy like B.J. is especially hard [to finish]. I think he’s maybe been stopped once. You know, and that was really in-between a round, not even during a round. It’s definitely gonna be a big mountain to climb, but that is my goal. I’ll try to give him a reason to quit, and maybe he’ll kind of do it for me.”
Penn and Edgar square off next on July 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Their bout will air on Fox Sports 1.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Jones says no to a fight in Sweden. UFC light heavyweight champion is willing to do a lot of things, but fighting a rematch with Alexander Gustafsson in Sweden isn’t one of them.
Revolutionary mouthguards. New data from a new type of mouthgaurd will enable researchers to make even more informed decisions about their health.
Twitter. That’s the medium by which welterweight Jason High found out he was no longer under contract with the UFC.
Mirko CroCop vs. Satoshi Ishii. Believe it or not, a MMA bout between the two heavyweights have been booked for IGF 2.
Bullying. That’s the tactic Jon Jones says UFC management used in trying to get him to sign to face Gustafsson in a rematch.
MEDIA STEW
Jay-Z’s ‘Static’ MMA series continues with a focus on Ronda Rousey vs. Miesha Tate:
Want to see a 3.5 second knockout in MMA? We’ve got you covered:
Urijah Faber introduces full-contact skydiving. Seriously:
Lyoto Machida once fought Anderson Silva. We have the exclusive footage:
Don’t forget. GLORY is staging their first pay-per-view event this Saturday. Here’s the full trailer for their event:
So, here’s an incredibly gross armbar break:
UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo is STILL saying he’s underpaid. Bitter:
TWEETS
Old man is still a beast.
275lbs. Dead Lifts. Tried 50 reps. Got to 40 so I did 40, 20, 10 with a 1 min break between each set. pic.twitter.com/G0LcYJLNrU
— Rich Franklin (@RichFranklin) June 16, 2014
You know fish oil contributes to over fishing, right?
I’d suck a school of fish dry for that sweet sweet fish oil right now. One by one.
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) June 16, 2014
In the words of Ali G, ‘that’s a bit racialist, innit?’
Watching the #USAvsGhana game on #Telemundo just made that last goal 1000 times worse. #WorldCup2014
— Kyle Kingsbury (@Kingsbu) June 16, 2014
Sketchy:
Ghana needs to think papa shanga! #GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL pic.twitter.com/IseINJomzB
— Jeremy Stephens (@LiLHeathenMMA) June 16, 2014
YES! indeed:
Yesss!!!! (Diego Sanchez voice) #TeamUSA
— Cub Swanson (@CubSwanson) June 16, 2014
Telemundo style:
Yeah USA!! #GOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLL
— Urijah Faber (@UrijahFaber) June 16, 2014
Love the last hashtag:
And @BuffaloWildWings just got so Effin Hype! ! ! #ChantingUSA #FIFA2014 #Merica
— Bubba McDaniel (@BubbaTheMenace) June 16, 2014
Yes, they did:
The USA was scaring me there for a second, retakes the lead 2-1 ! #WorldCup #USAvGHA
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunsonMMA) June 16, 2014
The Most Interesting Man in the World:
I don’t always watch soccer. But when I do, I watch the World Cup. Go USA! 2-1 win over a legit Ghana. #USAvsGhana #USA #WorldCup2014
— Joe Ellenberger (@JoeEllenberger) June 17, 2014
Overeem sharing the love:
And USA wins their match in football! #WC USA USA USA!
— Alistair Overeem (@Alistairovereem) June 17, 2014
He’s right about Portugal:
Portugal is next. After today they are very beatable!!! #FifaWorldCup #TeamUSA
— Ramsey Nijem (@RamseyNijem) June 17, 2014
That’s a bit racialist, innit?
I feel like im watching die hard when i listen to Jurgen Klinsmann
— Alptekin Ozkilic (@alpozkilicmma) June 17, 2014
All day:
— Jon Bones Jones (@JonnyBones) June 17, 2014
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s FanPost of the Day is brought to you by reader ‘Graham Douglas’ who argues there’s lots to like about Demetrious Johnson and his performance at UFC 174, but also plenty to be honest about as well:
The guys beside me left after round 3. Seriously? A $400 ticket and you’re leaving before the belt or decision is made? It says to me that people watching saw no finish in the cards. Is that indicative of flyweights? The intrigue of a finish is missing? That’s a harsh criticism but how do you explain getting up and leaving? The UFC is about drama and the fact that one shot can end a fight either way. People I guess turned a blind eye to that possibility.
If you’re the UFC it’s a tricky situation. Dana isn’t blind and as the media suggested, you simply don’t see fans getting up and leaving during a main event. I really think that most people didn’t know what to expect from the fight but once it started, people weren’t wowed. Speed, techniques and dominance were not enough for a lot of fans to stick around. I take Johnson at his word that he tries to finish fights. The reality is people in the building believed that there wasn’t going to be a finish.
Speed and technique are great but if that’s not keeping butts in the seats then I believe the UFC needs to be more selective in what market or what city they decide to put the flyweight headliners in. This was the third event in Vancouver and a lot of people were hoping for a bigger star studded card and main event. That feeling may have poured out in the form of a mass exodus. Perhaps it’s not fair to say, but come up with another argument why the fans left early. To suggest the fans in Vancouver are idiots isn’t valid so don’t go there.