Fight Study 75 – Munhoz vs. Edgar (transcript) (Patreon)

More than a decade ago, Frankie Edgar shocked the world by beating B.J. Penn at UFC 112. Since then, he’s added almost two dozen more fights to his record, alternating wins, and losses but never able to return to his previous championship form.

At UFC on ESPN: Edgar vs Munhoz, Edgar claimed a split decision victory over Pedro Munhoz, showing that you can teach an old dog new tricks after all. Seeing as how this was Edgar’s bantamweight debut, it was impressive to watch Edgar beat a top-five fighter in the weight class. Munhoz might be coming off a loss, but let’s not forget that it was against Aljamain Sterling, the clear cut next challenger for the title at 135 pounds.

Despite being undersized at 155 pounds, Edgar’s combination of speed, darting movements, and well-timed takedowns guided by Mark Henry’s coaching made him a threat against larger opponents for a long stretch of his career. People forget how much smaller Edgar was when compared to some of the other fighters at lightweight. Even when he was the UFC lightweight champion, Mark Henry made the case that Edgar’s size and frame would be best suited for bantamweight. But hey, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Famous for not cutting more than a few pounds, Edgar made the trip down to featherweight after consecutive losses to Ben Henderson and being promised a title fight against Jose Aldo. The journey at 145 pounds provided some great match-ups, but no titles. After flirting with going down to bantamweight for long enough, a loss against Chan Sung Jung made up his mind. Greeting Edgar was none other than Pedro Munhoz, currently sitting at #5 in the bantamweight rankings.

Munhoz isn’t on most people’s radars, but he has the requisite power and grappling chops to give anyone in the top ten a competitive fight. Looking at his losses, he’s only been on the losing end of decisions (and three of those five could have gone his way). As stated before in our fight preview for UFC 250, the bantamweight class is the most competitive in the UFC, and any ranked fighter could be champion on any given night. Edgar is a welcome addition to this mix, and this fight against Munhoz showed that he might have one more title run left in him.

Right away what was most noticeable was the physical changes to Edgar. He didn’t look like a different person, but he was the leanest we’ve ever seen him. At light- and featherweight, he was always in shape and could more or less hold his own. With a few exceptions like Chad Mendes and Uriah Faber, Edgar always had the size disadvantage and looked to be competing against guys outside his weight class. Against Munhoz, it finally looked like he wasn’t going to be completely dwarfed by the competition. Even with the drop down in weight, it’s not as if Edgar became a brand-new fighter. He’s been one of the most well-studied athletes competing in the UFC, and his system of boxing into grappling has been dissected by many of the top coaches in the game today. 

Against Munhoz, we saw classic Edgar: constant circling, pinwheel motions with his hands, feinting level changes, and combination punching. Unfortunately, we also saw his classic bad habits: having his lead leg open to low kicks, letting himself get pushed back towards the cage, and trading punches in the pocket for extended periods.

A worrisome habit for Edgar is his willingness to remain stationary after throwing strikes. Edgar has no problem staying in constant motion when he’s on the attack, but after he throws some punches and kicks or feints low for a takedown, he’s an open target. What usually saves Edgar is his ability to recover and circle out when he’s in danger, but he doesn’t have to be put in such a precarious position in the first place.

Michael Bisping used to have a lot of the same issues until he started adding in a left hook as a way to end his combinations and keep his opponents from rushing in. Munhoz was able to land some clean right-hands on Edgar as Edgar circled toward Munhoz's right, which Munhiz anticipated. Eventually, Edgar started to slip whenever Munhoz threw his right hand or escaped by throwing uppercuts and pivoting out of the way since Munhoz raised his forearms to block what he thought were incoming hooks. Since Munhoz favors power shots over volume, it’s easier for Edgar to predict what strikes might come his way.

A neat trick that Edgar utilized in this fight was the darting rights that fellow teammate Eddie Alvarez is famous for, and instead of looking for combination punches, he would throw right-hand leads whenever Munhoz lunged forward.

Any coach worth their salt knows that a great way to keep mobile fighters planted is to kick them in their lead leg to stop their movements. If they also happen to lead with the jab, even better. Ever since Mauricio “Shogun” Rua low-kicked Lyoto Machida’s trailing leg and made his movements less effective, it's become part of the MMA strategy. The low kicks have been a great tool to use against Edgar since the Ben Henderson fights. Almost every fighter Edgar has faced since has utilized them. Munhoz was no different, and he even dropped Edgar briefly in the first round with a kick.

If you’re not able to withdraw the lead leg on a consistent basis to get your opponent to miss, there are two basic but effective ways to counter. The first is to keep your lead leg pointed slightly outwards. This is quicker than raising your leg to check the kicks. Max Holloway did this throughout his first fight with Jose Aldo, but Aldo was able to adjust in the rematch by switching to the inside low kick.

The second method is to take the kick but counter immediately with punches (or kicks) of your own. Cody Garbrandt will usually withdraw the lead leg to avoid getting hit, but if opponents do manage to connect, he will blitz down the middle with hooks while his opponents are on one leg, making them do a rapid cost/benefit analysis on future leg kicks. Edgar did much more of the latter, and it seemed to work for the most part. Even though Edgar’s legs would get compromised, Munhoz would absorb either huge punches or combinations whenever he threw kicks.

What seemed to really make the difference in the judges’ scorecards were the takedowns of Edgar. Although he wasn’t able to keep Munhoz down and inflict any serious damage, the seconds of control he was able to exert could have swayed a judge or two to view the round favorably for Edgar, especially since the striking portions were mostly even.

It’s unfortunate that Munhoz didn’t start targeting the body earlier. He waited until the third round to really utilize them. Although Edgar has been able to go the distance in all his fights, just by targeting his midsections, you can get him to stop thinking about low kicks and have him drop his hands, setting him up for a high kick.

When the scorecards were read, it was down to the wire and Edgar walked away with the split decision win.

Yes, we know that there’s a contingent of Edgar haters in the MMA world, and they’ll go right ahead and criticize this as a loss. Not only is this disrespectful to Munhoz, but it also overlooks how far Edgar has come along with the same tools that he’s always utilized (with a few tweaks along the way). How many other fighters have come and gone during this time? Since Edgar’s days as the 155-pound king, ten other world champions have entered the promotion, with half of them retiring and the other half moving on to different promotions. Edgar has outlasted them all.

He has his shortcomings, but what fighter doesn’t? Also with this victory, Edgar joins a very small group of fighters who have notched wins in three separate weight divisions. Looking into the future, there are some match-ups that might be difficult for Edgar to handle. Featherweight roadblock Jose Aldo is now in the division. Aljamain Sterling still remains a diverse threat that can vary his attacks and match Edgar in the wrestling. Cory Sandhagen was originally slated to fight Edgar in his bantamweight debut, and he towers over Edgar. This doesn’t even touch the current champion, Petr Yan, who might literally kick Edgar’s lead leg clean off and have him hobble out of the cage. This doesn’t mean that Edgar can’t prove us wrong and go on a tear at 135, but the odds are definitely stacked against him.

Speaking of Aldo, he’s coming off a loss against Yan, and he might be a good test for Edgar. Yes, Aldo is on a three-fight losing streak and should probably retire, but he has two wins over Edgar and has proven to be a hump Edgar hasn't been able to overcome. What better way for Edgar to prove that he’s a new man at 135 than beating the man that has two wins over him?

As for Munhoz, he can still hold his head high knowing that he took on another former world champion and came razor close to a victory. Depending on who you ask, he might be the rightful winner. Munhoz’s style is predictable, but his granite chin and ability to march forward to deliver punishment makes him a difficult test for anyone. John Dodson is also coming off a loss as well, and a rematch could give Munhoz a chance at revenge while still staying relevant in the division.

It’s a shame that Edgar waited so long to make his bantamweight debut. It’s arguable that he could have beaten Renan Barao or T.J. Dillashaw, making him another rare member of the two-division champions club. Either way, it’s finally good to see Edgar competing against guys his own size. Better late than never, right? The bantamweights continue to shine, and with Edgar added “to the mix”, things are going to get that much more competitive in arguably the most competitive division in the UFC. The UFC might highlight the light-heavy to heavyweights, but if you're a fan of MMA, it's in your interest to pay attention to the bantamweights.