It's been exactly 14 years since one of the best rematches in UFC history took place.
On January 1, 2011, lightweight champion Frankie Edgar defended his title against the only man who had defeated him, Gray Maynard.
'The Bully' used his elite-level wrestling skills to defeat Edgar in three rounds in April 2008.
A few years later, Edgar had dethroned BJ Penn and Maynard was the number one lightweight contender after amassing a 10-0 (1NC) record that set up their highly anticipated second fight at UFC 125.
Photo by Donald Miralle/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
The Story of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard 2
A left hook from Maynard threatened to end his rematch with Edgar after just 77 seconds.
'The Answer' tumbled backwards and fell before acrobatically rising to his feet.
A flurry of punches took him down again moments later, but Edgar refused to give up his title easily.
Maynard bombarded him with ground strikes as he tried to get back to his feet. Unfortunately for the New Jersey native, when he did, he was floored a third time as the challenger connected with several clean uppercuts.
At this point only 90 seconds had passed and it seemed almost impossible for Edgar to survive the round. Amazingly, he did so while eating all of Maynard's shots and starting to land some of his own before the pulsating five-minute frame came to an end.
Edgar composed himself on the break and took advantage of Maynard, who might have taken himself out in the first round. From then on it was a back-and-forth affair, with Maynard and Edgar difficult to separate over the final three laps.
The judges found it a very difficult fight to score. All three agreed that the first round was 10-8 to Maynard, but they all turned in very different scorecards that led to Edgar retaining his title in the most unlikely way.
Judge Marcos Rosales awarded the fight 48-46 for Edgar, Glen Trowbridge saw it 48-46 for Maynard, and Patricia Morse Jarman scored it a 47-47 draw, allowing the champion to retain his crown after a shock split draw.
The fight is still fondly remembered all these years later. Six months ago, the UFC uploaded footage of Edgar vs Maynard 2 to YouTube, and MMA fans flooded the comments section to praise both men.
One person said: “Fight #2 is a true Rocky Balboa story (movie). That first round defeat was unreal. You need a baseball bat to take out Edgar.”
Another wrote: “Maynard looks like a miniaturized Wanderlei Silva from behind.”
This fan added: “It still baffles me how Frankie fought at 155 years old. Most of the time it seemed like some kind of David-Goliath fight. What a legend!”
What happened next?
Naturally, the UFC rushed to book a trilogy fight between the two lightweight rivals.
They clashed for the third and final time at UFC 136 in October 2008. It was a fight that started in a similar fashion to the main event of UFC 125, with Maynard coming out extremely fast and threatening an early knockout to score.
Once again Edgar showed he had a great chin and heart as he managed to survive the attack.
Edgar recovered and won the fight definitively. The MMA legend needed no help from the officials in the cage this time as he was showered with a flurry of punches to win by KO in the fourth round.
Maynard never really recovered from his first professional loss. The 45-year-old suffered defeats in six of the nine UFC fights that followed and was knocked out four more times before calling time on his MMA career in 2018.
Edgar lost the 155-pound title in his next defense against Benson Henderson, who defeated him twice by deciding to win and defend the title.
The 6-foot-2 icon then dropped to featherweight and fought for the title three times.
Jose Aldo defeated Edgar twice before Max Holloway submitted him at UFC 240 in July 2019.
Edgar ended his career at bantamweight. A win over top contender Pedro Munhoz started his run at 135 pounds, but it ended in disaster as he suffered three brutal knockouts before retiring at the end of 2022.
There will be no fourth fight, but Edgar and Maynard will always be remembered for their epic trilogy.
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