Should Edgar Get Immediate Rematch?

I guess I should preface this by saying that I’m a huge Frankie Edgar fan. I was one of the many that didn’t give him a chance heading into his first match-up with BJ Penn. From then on, I decided that all he did was win when he wasn’t supposed to, and until he lost I wouldn’t bet against him.

At UFC 144, my first impression was that many of the rounds could have gone either way, but only Benson Henderson had any rounds that were clearly his. At the end of the fight, if one were to look at the entire match as one body of work, Henderson clearly won. Whether or not Edgar outpointed him in some of the rounds could be argued either way. If you’re looking at it as a fight though, Henderson was more dominant. His strikes were more dangerous and impactful, and Edgar never seemed to have him in danger. Yes Edgar did catch almost all of his kicks, but they were still making solid contact before that.

After the fight, I think my bias crept in because I thought Edgar won. As the champion you have to clearly beat him to take his belt, but I was fine with the decision. Dana came out and said that he though Edgar won as well. Then he said he thought Pettis would get the next title shot, not Edgar. I was outraged. How can a champion who defended his belt 3 times after taking it from a legend who looked unbeatable at the time, and fought 2 back-to-back rematches, not be be granted one himself???

Then I looked at it again from Dana’s perspective. If Edgar were to win the rematch, then there would be an obligatory rubber match to decide the best of 3. That also puts us another year out to wrap that up, and also means that the title fights in 155 have been between 4 fighters for 3 years. That’s quite a stagnant and boring scenario. If Edgar were to lose, then it would eliminate another future title contender, and kill all the hype that would be behind Edgar when he does “earn” his rematch.

So it makes sense from the business perspective to me, but the fan in me hates it. I was thoroughly impressed with Henderson’s performance and attitude though. I can’t wait to see his next fights and hopefully one of them will be against Edgar in the near future.