FRANKIE EDGAR VS. GRAY MAYNARD
Fight 1: UFN 13 — Maynard via Unanimous Decision
Fight 2: UFC 125 — Draw
Fight 3: UFC 136 — Edgar via TKO (Punches)
This is the only series on this list where the first fight was nothing special and I don’t mean for that to sound dismissive.
It was a quality matchup between two undefeated lightweight competitors who were looking to take a major step forward in the division and it ended up serving as the co-main event of the evening, but while all the other non-title bouts that kicked off a trilogy on this list were barnburners or part of a PRIDE Grand Prix, this was a solid battle where timely takedowns from Maynard proved to be the difference.
What’s interesting is that after this bout, both rattled off three straight wins through to the end of 2009, but it was Edgar who ended up being tabbed to challenge for the lightweight title. Maynard kicked off 2010 with a unanimous decision win over Nate Diaz, but in April, Edgar fought BJ Penn in Abu Dhabi, unseating the Hawaiian from the lightweight throne. After they ran it back a few months later in Philadelphia with Edgar securing an even clearer decision victory to retain the title, a rematch with the unbeaten No. 1 contender was set for the first day of 2011.
The second fight in this trilogy remains one of the most entertaining and unbelievable fights in UFC history, as Maynard beat Edgar from pillar to post over the opening five minutes, pummeling him to the point where many still believe to this day that the bout should have been stopped, only to have Edgar survive and come out in the second like nothing happened. It was incredible then and remains a “how did he do that?” mystery all these years later.
Over the final three rounds, the only frame all three judges agreed on was the fourth, which Edgar won on all three cards, and when the totals were tallied, the bout ended in a rare five-round split draw — 47-47, 48-46 Edgar, 48-46 Maynard — meaning a third bout was required to resolve things.
The third bout finally came together at UFC 136 in Houston, and once again, Maynard got off to an exceptional start, cracking Edgar with a sharp, stinging uppercut midway through the round. Maynard got a little ahead of himself and Edgar was able to start clearing the cobwebs, but just when it seemed like he was in the clear, “The Bully” blasted him with a right hand that put the champion on the canvas, kicking off a 90-second sequence where the challenger busted Edgar up and tried to put him away.
Edgar’s face was a mess but he survived, and just as he had done in their New Year’s Day classic, the champion came out fresh in the second round, taking the fight to Maynard and getting himself back into the fight in the process. In the third, Edgar picked his spots and drew level, sending the third fight into the championship rounds dead even.
This time, they wouldn’t see the fifth frame.
Over the first two minutes of the round, Edgar started finding a home for some cleaner shots, connecting with a crisp right hand and a stiff uppercut that clearly hurt Maynard. The challenger responded with a clean right of his own, but Edgar was unbothered, touching Maynard with combinations and slowly starting to pull away.
Coming out of a scramble with a little more than a minute left, Edgar hit Maynard with a short right uppercut that sat the challenger down, and the champion swarmed. Two heavy right hands crashed home as Maynard backed into fence, the second one putting him on the canvas. A series of left hands followed, and referee Josh Rosenthal stepped in, bringing the fight — and the trilogy — to an end.
The final two fights in this series were absolutely amazing and you can’t help but feel for Maynard, who came as close to winning championship gold as you possibly could while still falling short, while Edgar made it crystal clear to anyone who remained unsure that he was the top lightweight in the world.
