When Frankie Edgar stands at the foot of a mountain, he seeks to scale it, difficulty be damned. Edgar will attempt to become a two-division Ultimate Fighting Championship titleholder when he challenges pound-for-pound stalwart Max Holloway for the undisputed featherweight crown in the UFC 240 main event on Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. The 37-year-old New Jersey native has not competed since he took a unanimous decision from Cub Swanson in their UFC Fight Night 128 rematch more than a year ago. Nevertheless, Edgar has won eight of his past 10 bouts.
As Edgar prepares for his showdown with Hollow, here are five things you should know about him.
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Frankie Edgar
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1. He can handle the grind.
Edgar wrestled collegiately at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, the same school that produced 1996 Olympic gold medalist and World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Kurt Angle. A four-time national qualifier, “The Answer” still sits 12th on the Clarion’s list for career wins with 120.
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2. Win or lose, he rarely fails to entertain.
Edgar has pocketed 10 post-fight bonuses in 24 appearances inside the Octagon: seven for “Fight of the Night,” two for “Performance of the Night” and one for “Knockout of the Night.” Those 10 bonuses have resulted in $450,00 in additional disclosed revenue.
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3. Leading the pack does not faze him.
Edgar is one of 10 men who have captured the undisputed UFC lightweight championship. Jens Pulver, Sean Sherk, B.J. Penn, Benson Henderson, Anthony Pettis, Rafael dos Anjos, Eddie Alvarez, Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are the others. Edgar held the 155-pound title from April 10, 2010 to Feb. 26, 2012. His 687-day stay atop the division remains the second-longest reign—Penn holds the record at 812 days—in history.
Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC (Getty Images)
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4. Durability has been a calling card.
Having trained under Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie, Phil Nurse, Mark Henry and Steve Rivera, Edgar has been finished only once in his 30-fight career. He was victimized by a Brian Ortega knockout at UFC 222 on March 3, 2018.
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5. He has compiled some eye-popping statistics.
According to FightMetric, Edgar ranks first all-time in the UFC in total fight time (6:47:33), third in total strikes landed (2,099), fourth in significant strikes landed (1,463) and fifth in takedowns landed (67).
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