[autotag]Frankie Edgar[/autotag] is no stranger to fights that go 25 minutes, and 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 have gone into the fifth round with a split decision win over [autotag]Pedro Munhoz[/autotag] (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 his Edgar’s debut at bantamweight after years of fighting at featherweight, and years at lightweight before that, a division in which he was a UFC champion
The bantamweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 15 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. It aired on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
“It’s good to be on the winning side. That was a hell of a fight – Pedro’s a stud,” Edgar told UFC play-by-play voice Jon Anik after the fight. “I heard a lot of MFers barking that I’m old, I’m slow. I definitely should have proved them all wrong. I’ve still got some fight in this tank, baby, and we’re going to make a big run at (1)35. He was (ranked) No. 5, and that might put me right in the top five. Three weight classes, I’ve showed I can compete with the best at 38 years old. I don’t want to hear nothing from anybody.”
[lawrence-related id=437070,546971]
Munhoz swung big early, then landed a leg kick that briefly took Edgar off his feet. But seconds later, Edgar landed a quick combination and moved quickly on the outside. Edgar popped Munhoz’s head back with a right hand, then circled again. Munhoz appeared to be looking for one big shot, while Edgar put together his offense in combinations more often than not over the first half of the round. Munhoz continued to work on Edgar’s lead leg, but Edgar landed a jab that caught Munhoz in the eye. A big right hand landed for Munhoz, and Edgar lost his mouthpiece. When he put it back in, Munhoz landed another right hand.
Edgar landed a solid right hand early in the second and Munhoz was bleeding from near his left eye. Munhoz continued to chase Edgar down on the outside, but Edgar scooped him up for a takedown, then another quickly after, though he didn’t keep Munhoz on the canvas with them. Both fighters kept touching the other, but Munhoz showed the effects of it on his face by the end of the second round much more than Edgar.
The strategy seemed to stay the same in the middle frame: Munhoz was looking for something big, and Edgar was content to circle, then get off several punches when he got inside to land. Midway through, after a couple punches, a big left hand landed for Edgar. Edgar started to show some blood on his face, too, but not quite as much as Munhoz.
A minute into the fourth, Munhoz continued to work leg kicks on Edgar and found himself still chasing Edgar, who circled both directions on the outside as he had the first three rounds. The storyline remained mostly the same – big strikes for Munhoz, and punches in bunches for Edgar.
Munhoz kept working big kicks to Edgar’s lead leg, and he appeared to show some ill effects from it. With three minutes left, Edgar landed a big right hand, but Munhoz walked 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 leg kick. A right hand for Edgar popped Munhoz’s head back, but Edgar didn’t put anything on top of it.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 15 results include:
- 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 (rear-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 (doctor’s stoppage) – 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
