Frankie Edgar is no stranger to fights that go 25 minutes, and on Saturday he pulled himself back to .500 in them.
Edgar (24-8-1 MMA, 18-8-1 UFC) moved to 5-5-1 in fights that went into the fifth round with a split decisive win over Pedro Munhoz (18-5 MMA, 8 -5 UFC). Edgar won with a pair of 48-47 scores. A dissenting judge had it 49-46 for Munhoz. It was Edgar’s debut in bantamweight after years of fighting at lightweight, and years at lightweight before that, a division in which he was a UFC champion.
The bantamweight fight was the UFC at the ESPN 15 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It was broadcast on ESPN and streamed on ESPN +.
‘It’s good to be on the winning side. That was a great fight – Pedro is a stud, “Edgar told UFC play-by-play Jon Anik after the fight.” I heard a lot of MFers barking that I’m old, I’m slow. I would miss them all I still have some fighting in this tank, baby, and we’ll make a big run at (1) 35. He was (rank) No. 5, and that could put me right in the top five. Three weight classes “I have shown that I can compete with the best at the age of 38. I do not want to hear from anyone.”
Munhoz swung big early, then landed a kick from the legs that took Edgar short of his feet. But seconds later Edgar landed a quick combination and moved quickly to the outside. Edgar jumped Munhoz’s head back with a right hand, and then turned around again. Munhoz appeared to be looking for one big shot, while Edgar put his offense in combinations more often than not in the first half of the round. Munhoz continued to work on Edgar’s lead leg, but Edgar landed a jab that kicked Munhoz in the eye. A large right hand landed for Munhoz, and Edgar lost his mouthpiece. When he hit it again, Munhoz landed another right hand.
Edgar landed a solid right hand early in the second and Munhoz blew from close to his left eye. Munhoz continued to chase Edgar on the outside, but Edgar kicked him up for a takedown, followed by another one, though he did not keep Munhoz with her on the canvas. Both fighters continued to touch each other, but Munhoz showed the effects on his face at the end of the second round much more than Edgar.
The strategy seemed to remain the same in the middle frame: Munhoz was looking for something big, and Edgar was content to circle, and then stepped out several punches when he came inland. Midway through, after a few stumps, a large left hand landed in front of Edgar. Edgar also began to see some blood on his face, but not quite as much as Munhoz.
A minute into the fourth, Munhoz continued to work footwork on Edgar and still found himself behind Edgar, who was running both directions to the outside when he had the first three laps. The storyline remained mostly the same – big strikes for Munhoz, and punches in bundles for Edgar.
Munhoz continued to work on big steps to Edgar’s lead leg, and he showed some of its ill effects. With three minutes left, Edgar got a big right hand, but Munhoz went through it like he had done most of the fight. Munhoz landed a big right with 90 seconds left. Then he went back to the lead of the leg. A right hand for Edgar grabbed Munhoz’s head back, but Edgar put nothing on top of it.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN includes 15 results:
Frankie Edgar def. Pedro Munhoz via split decision (48-47, 46-49, 48-47) Mike Rodriguez def. Marcin Prachnio via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:17 Joe Solecki def. Austin Hubbard via Submission (back-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:51 Shana Dobson def. Mariya Agapova via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:38 Daniel Rodriguez def. Dwight Grant via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:24 Amanda Lemos def. Mizuki Inoue via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Jordan Wright def. Ike Villanueva via TKO (stop of doctor) – Round 1, 1:31 Matthew Semelsberger def. Carlton Minus via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-28) Trevin Jones def. Timur Valiev via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:59
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