The first time Edgar and Maynard faced off, they were both aspiring lightweight hopefuls, working their way up the divisional ladder. Maynard earned a clean sweep of the scorecards for his third straight victory since emerging from Season 5 of The Ultimate Fighter and knocked Edgar from the ranks of the unbeaten in the process.
They met again at UFC 125 on New Year’s Day 2011, but this time, Edgar stood atop the lightweight division and Maynard was the title challenger. That night inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the familiar foes delivered the Fight of the Year, with Maynard battering Edgar from pillar-to-post in the opening round, only to have “The Answer” show incredible resilience and heart while battling back, resulting in the fight being scored a split draw.
Maynard was gobsmacked by the result, but it meant an immediate rematch and a third fight between the two was guaranteed, and after a spring engagement was pushed back to October, they finally settled things at the Toyota Center in Houston at UFC 136.
Incredibly, the fight played out like their second encounter, with Maynard hurting Edgar midway through the opening stanza and battering him throughout the remainder of the round, leaving his face covered in blood when the horn sounded to signal the end of the first round. But once again, Edgar survived and came out fresh to start the second round, getting back on his bike and having success with his hands to show that he was very much still in the fight.
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Edgar continued to get the better of things without doing any real significant damage in the third, getting all the way back into the fight despite the hellacious first round, just like their second encounter, and in the fourth, the champion gave the rivalry a definitive ending.
A minute in, Edgar clocked Maynard with a right hand, and 30 seconds later, he landed flush again, clearly hurting the challenger. Edgar continued to mix things up and pick away at Maynard, leaving “The Bully” swinging at air when he looked to respond. With a little over a minute remaining in the round, Edgar looked to change levels and secure a takedown, but when Maynard looked to stand after defending, the champion connected with an uppercut that knocked him backwards to the canvas.
Three right hands followed as Maynard staggered to his feet and back to the cage, and when the challenger tumbled to his knees along the fence, Edgar unleashed a torrent of lefts that ended the fight and the rivalry.
