Revered, respected, beloved. UFC fighters share their love for Frankie Edgar
Frankie Edgar speaks at UFC 281 media day in Manhattan on Nov. 9, 2022. Credit: Newsday/Ryan Gerbosi
Frankie Edgar’s fight resume rests comfortably among the best in mixed martial arts. Champion after champion, including his own run atop the UFC lightweight division.
His fight library, that collection of wars, stands on its own, unquestioned in its greatness and secure in its depiction of heart, toughness and the depths to which an undersized underdog can reach to achieve athletic greatness.
It is why when everyone in the fight game is asked about Edgar's career, which comes to a close this Saturday at UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden, “legend” is among the first words of their answer.
“When people say that to me, it almost makes me feel uncomfortable, to be honest, because I'm just the same person I was always,” Edgar, 41, said. “I did this for accolades, I guess, glory, I guess, but not for acceptance from anybody else.”
Former middleweight champion Chris Weidman has shared a few training rooms with Edgar over the years, from their early jiu-jitsu days at Renzo Gracie Academy in Manhattan to Weidman’s time working with Mark Henry, Edgar’s longtime trainer.
"Heart, toughness, legend, role model, great skin fades," Weidman said when asked to describe Edgar. "An extremely hard worker, grounded, led by example. Everyone loves him. Tons of respect from everyone. He doesn’t look down on people.”
Israel Adesanya, the reigning middleweight champion, recalled the first time he could remember seeing Edgar fight. It was UFC 98 against Sean Sherk in May 2009, a fight Edgar won by unanimous decision and helped lead him toward a title shot two fights later against B.J. Penn.
“I thought Sean Sherk was going to beat him that fight,” Adesanya said. “But Frankie’s always just been that dude -- Tom’s River, New Jersey on his back, you know, underdog story, and he always rose to the top.
“Frankie is one of the baddest, toughest SOBs that's ever played this game. And it's always respect to him. Even though, he was an undersized lightweight, he still became the lightweight champion and defended it.”
Frankie Edgar, right, punches Sean Sherk during their lightweight match at UFC 98 on May 23, 2009, at The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Credit: Eric Jamison
Dustin Poirier made his UFC debut more than 11 years ago on the same card as Edgar. Poirier won a unanimous decision over Josh Grispi in the middle of the UFC 125 card, while Edgar headlined. Edgar defended his lightweight title, earning a draw against Grey Maynard after going down, 10-8, in the first round on all three judges’ scorecards.
“A legend, man, a legend,” Poirier said. “I made my UFC debut on a card that he was headlining and here we are fighting at Madison Square Garden in his retirement fight. Crazy.”
Poirier began his career in the featherweight division before eventually settling in at lightweight. Edgar began as a lightweight until moving down to featherweight and then bantamweight.
Their paths never crossed in the octagon, but Poirier said he was one of Edgar’s training partners for a title fight against Benson Henderson. Ten years later, Poirier recalled what made an impression on him.
“He did his own thing. He bounced around to different gyms and had his own team that kind of went with him to the different gyms. He wasn't at one gym all day, every day,” Poirier said. “He’d bounce around and put things together. It was cool to see a guy at that level, a world champion putting pieces together and making it all work under the big lights.”
Poirier’s opponent on Saturday night, Michael Chandler, also said he had trained with Edgar and his team on a few different occasions as he prepared for fights.
“The way that he lived his life, the way that he fought, the way that he competed, the dude is a living legend. He's a first ballot Hall of Famer,” Chandler said. “As I came into the sport, obviously Frankie being a Division I wrestler and me being a Division I wrestler, he was one of those guys that I thought and said, ‘OK, I'm gonna follow what that guy's doing.’ And his fights with Grey Maynard, and all of his fights, every single time he's been counted out, he somehow found a way to win so many different ways.”
Frankie Edgar, right, walks away after knocking out Gray "The Bully" Maynard in the fourth round during the UFC 136 lightweight title bout on Oct. 8, 2011, in Houston. Credit: AP/Johnny Hanson
Reverance for Edgar isn’t reserved just for those who fought in the cage. Even those sitting as close as possible to the action, and who get to interact with fighters in ways very few do, can appreciate the heart of this champion.
“I’d like to get the ‘Fe’ iron element symbol tattooed on my body to honor one of the all-time greats and his UFC career,” UFC play-by-play man Jon Anik. “There was a time when he was the most beloved American fighter since Chuck Liddell. He had so many legendary moments, but the manner in which he broke through to wrest the title from BJ Penn in Abu Dhabi -- you can argue he won all 5 rounds -- would have to be his signature moment for me. Love the guy.”
Trainer Mark Henry took Edgar all over the country and sought out opinions from some of the top trainers. Ray Longo, who has trained three UFC champions from Long Island and close to a dozen UFC fighters in total, said Henry used to ask for his feedback on Edgar’s sparring and training.
“I would always tell him you're doing a great job, I can’t add anything to that, the kid looks awesome to me,” Longo said. “Mark was the perfect trainer for Frankie. He’s got that style where he can get in and out in between the punches. And then his wrestling off that I thought was fantastic.”
Longo never trained one of his fighters for a bout with Edgar, though it almost happened a couple years back as Aljamain Sterling was fighting his way up the bantamweight division which he now presides over as champion.
Longo said he’s glad he never had to face Edgar, since there’s a relative closeness between the camps beyond geography. Matt Serra, Longo’s first UFC champion, is close friends with Ricardo Almeida, who has cornered Edgar for years. And all three of them trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Renzo Gracie. There’s a bond there that goes beyond just being training partners.
“Just an icon in the sport. An absolute legend,” Longo said of Edgar. “Always undersized. Fought great fights. I really loved him at 155 even though he was undersized. I think that’s where he did his best work, just had the speed advantage on everybody.”
Serra said he wouldn’t have cornered one of his Serra-Longo fighters against Edgar, and he let that be known to the team.
“During the fight you have to go out there with your guy looking to take the other guy out,” Serra said. “I couldn't have it in me to try to tell one of my guys to elbow Frankie in the face. First of all, it’s not easy to get him out of there anyway, but I don't want to be involved with trying to hurt the guy. I like him too much so I never would have cornered against him. And I'm happy that it never came to that.”
Edgar debuted at UFC 67 on Feb. 3, 2007. It was just the 85th event in UFC history. UFC 281 is event No. 627.
Edgar’s 15 years in the UFC spans multiple eras on the promotion’s historical timeline. From the days of one event per month to the growth of the sport because of “The Ultimate Fighter” airing on Spike. From sponsors plastered on posters during introductions to the cleaner look of the Reebok and now Venum-sponsored fight kits. From no drug testing to a program run by USADA. From checking your local listings to see if you had the random cable channel that would air the prelims of that month's pay-per-view card to streaming on ESPN+. From the stewardship of Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta to the more entertainment model under new owners Endeavor.
Through every iteration, Edgar rarely if ever generated a negative headline. He never failed a drug test (he’s been tested more than 50 times and has the commemorative jacket to prove it), never ran afoul of the law. Even in a sport that once struggled to find a mainstream outlet and audience, Edgar never really took a misstep.
“The UFC is entertainment, so they want the Conor McGregors, they want those type of guys, the Sean O’Malleys because they think they can market them because that’s where the buys come in,” Longo said. “But Frankie? Frankie’s head and shoulders above all those guys who open their mouths and talk a lot.”
So how did Edgar manage to make it through a career that touched three different decades as a revered fighter?
“Just being myself and having good people around me,” Edgar said. “I've always had the same people around me. I’m no Hollywood type guy. I mean, I'm just a guy from the Jersey Shore.”
Mark La Monica is a deputy sports editor at Newsday. He also covers mixed martial arts.
