In the main event of tonight’s The Ultimate Fighter 19: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn finale, Frankie Edgar made it 3-0 against mixed martial arts legend BJ Penn. While their first bout was relatively controversial, their rematch at UFC 118 was clear-cut, and tonight’s bout was even more definitive and about as uneasy a fight as I can remember.
Penn Has No “Answer” for Edgar
From the opening bell something looked amiss with Penn as he stood straight up rather than assuming any sort of typical defensive stance. While Edgar employed his fanciful footwork, bouncing in and out of range and constantly landing with his right hand, Penn was content to stalk him down and paw out the occasional jab. When Edgar decided to go for the takedown, he secured it on the flat-footed Penn with relative ease. Edgar then took turns between attacking Penn from inside his guard and standing up and delivering repeated kicks to the thighs of his downed opponent. Meanwhile, the Hawaiian seemed content to serve as Edgar’s practice dummy, mustering nary a modicum of offense.
The following two rounds were more of the same as the fight grew increasingly uncomfortable to watch as Edgar’s ground and pound began to connect more and more. The fight was eventually, and mercifully, waived off by referee Herb Dean in the third round. Penn looked as if he’d been through a meat grinder; Edgar, a light sparring session.
Afterwards, Edgar (17-4-1) stated that he wanted a bout to put him back in title contention. His wish just might be the UFC’s command, as the promotion is in desperate need of a main event for next month’s UFC 176 after featherweight champion Jose Aldo was forced to pull out with an undisclosed injury. A match-up between Edgar and Aldo’s previously scheduled opponent, Chad Mendes, could prove best for all parties involved.
As for Penn (16-10-2), the sure-fire UFC Hall of Famer acquiesced to the writing on the wall in his post-fight interview with Jon Anik. A sullen Penn acknowledged that he no longer belonged in the Octagon as he simply doesn’t have what it takes anymore to compete with the best the UFC has to offer.
TUF Alum Finish Ferociously
Edgar’s dominance wasn’t confined to the main event however, as he also took a clean sweep of The Ultimate Fighter with all four of the night’s finalists calling themselves members of Team Edgar.
In the middleweight finals, UFC Middleweight Champion Chris Weidman’s longtime friend and teammate Eddie “Truck” Gordon absolutely starched Dhiego Lima, winning via (T)KO in just 1:11. Not to be outdone, his teammate Corey Anderson won TUF 19’s light heavyweight crown by (T)KO as well, but needed ten fewer seconds to get the job done.
Scoggins Upset
In the main card opener, highly touted flyweight prospect Justin “Tank” Scoggins was upset by Dustin Ortiz via split decision. The result was disappointing for the moderately favored Scoggins, but at just 22 years old he has more than enough time to get back on track.
Later on, in one of the poorer post-fight interviews you’ll ever see, Ortiz attempted to call out #8 ranked Chris Cariaso, but was unable to even pronounce his last name correctly.
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