Frankie Edgar showing MMA world he's a big force

Daddy's got a boo-boo.

That's how Frankie Edgar's son, Francesco, reacted to the bloody, swollen and stitched-up left eye. He turns 3 in January.

To the rest of Edgar's fan base, it represents the UFC lightweight champion's toughness, his resiliency, his heart.

If the facial alteration went with retaining the title at UFC 136 last Saturday against Gray Maynard and puttting to rest any claims of unworthiness or lack of respect, so be it.

"No one should get respect right away until they prove themselves," said Edgar, the Toms River, N.J., native who turns 30 on Sunday. "For me, I never had to prove it to myself because I know the work I put in to get where I'm at. It's up to them to make the decision."

Edgar won the title from B.J. Penn in an upset in Abu Dhabi in April 2010. Since then, he defended it against Penn to prove the first time was no fluke, or worse, a scoring error by judges. Same result -- a unanimous decision win.

Then came Maynard at UFC 125 on New Year's Day 2011. Edgar got destroyed in the first round and nearly lost it all right there. But he clawed his way back and earned a draw. Last Saturday's rematch began the same way -- Edgar on the canvas in the first round just a few punches shy of losing to the only man he hadn't beaten in 15 previous pro fights.

But Edgar came back and dominated Maynard in the fourth round for the win by technical knockout.

"The improvements I wanted to make for this fight, I feel I made most of them," Edgar said. "But I have to identify the problem why I'm getting clipped so badly in the first round and maybe make that not happen. We'll see. Maybe I'm a slow starter, I don't know. We haven't put our finger on it yet. Maybe it was just something Gray did well."

That's four straight impressive displays of toughness. UFC president Dana White tried to put an end to the lack of respect angle at the post-fight news conference.

"I'm going to say it here tonight and I don't care who disagrees," White said. "You're wrong and I'm right. He's the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Period. The only thing that keeps him from No. 1 is that Anderson Silva has not been beaten in the UFC since 2006. If you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is No. 2. The guy weighs 145 pounds and he's beating people at 155 pounds."

When it comes to Edgar and pounds, everyone believes they know the right answer for the fighter nicknamed "The Answer."

They want him to drop to featherweight (145 pounds) and challenge Jose Aldo for the title. Why? Well, because Edgar naturally weighs around 155 and rarely has to cut much weight during fight week. Pay close attention at the weigh-ins and see if you notice any other non-heavyweights showing off less ribs and abs.

Edgar isn't sure yet who he wants to fight and what he wants to weigh when he does it. But there's something about vacating the lightweight title that doesn't sound right to him. White has said that if any champion wants to jump weight classes, they have to give up their title to do it. There's plenty of competition at lightweight right now, such as the Clay Guida-Ben Henderson winner and Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez.

"Until I understand what my options are, then I'll say I know what I want to do," Edgar said. "But as of right now, I'm just relaxing."