A native of Toms River, New Jersey, Frankie Edgar is as tough as they come. Well rounded, fast and possessing a granite chin with an unbreakable will, Edgar has been involved in some of the greatest fights in UFC history. Capturing the lightweight title by defeating former kingpin BJ Penn in 2010, Edgar quickly established himself as a fighter to be reckoned with, despite almost always being out-sized and out-gunned at 155 pounds. After dropping the belt after a two year reign, Edgar moved down to the ranks of the featherweight division, a wise decision that finally saw the fighter matched against similarly sized competition. The additional weight cut hasn’t affected Edgar in the slightest, in fact he might be more dangerous than ever before.
Boasting NCAA wrestling credentials, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a well balanced striking game encompassing Boxing and Muay Thai, Edgar represents a challenge in almost every aspect of the game. Fully embracing the grind, the fighter’s greatest strength lies in his ability to ground and outwork opponents, usually defeating them via decision. A professional fighter for almost a decade, Edgar has never been finished in his 20-plus fight career.
Easily one of the most popular fighters in MMA’s lighter divisions, Urijah Faber has done almost everything over the course of his long and distinguished career. The only thing he hasn’t been able to accomplish? Win a UFC championship. Faber has held gold before; he was the WEC’s longest reigning featherweight champion, but his dreams of capturing a belt in the world’s premier organisation have all ended in heartbreak. Now at 35, time might not be on ‘The California Kid’s’ side if he wants one more shot at achieving this goal.
Very similar stylistically to Edgar, Faber is also an NCAA wrestling standout who actively seeks the takedown to set up his effective submission game. Despite only being a brown belt in BJJ, Faber’s arsenal of chokes have become legendary, and make up a whopping 19 of Faber’s 32 career victories. Faber has also never tasted defeat in a non-title bout, a fact that will almost surely give him some added confidence as he enters this highly anticipated fight.
Prediction: Expect a fast-paced, close contest. Both fighters are exceptionally well rounded and possess the skills required to adequately defend against the other’s key weapons. On paper it’s clear that Edgar has fared much better against opponents that Faber has struggled with so he will be the clear favourite here, but he must be mindful of ‘The California Kid’’s ability to reverse transitions on the ground, a fact that might be crucial to Faber taking Edgar’s back and ending the fight with one of his deadly chokes. Ultimately I don’t think that will happen here; Edgar will match Faber’s speed and will find success with his boxing and ground and pound. It’ll be a close encounter, but Edgar will take a close decision victory, and end Faber’s proud record of having never lost a fight that isn’t for gold.
UFC Fight Night 66 Main Card Predictions - Picks in bold:
Featherweight - Mark Eddiva vs. Levan Makashvili
Featherweight - Phillipe Nover vs. Yui Chul Nam
Welterweight - Hyun Gyu Lim vs. Neil Magny
Middleweight - Mark Muñoz vs. Luke Barnatt
Middleweight - Gegard Mousasi vs. Costas Philippou
Featherweight - Frankie Edgar vs. Urijah Faber
UFC FIght Picks 2015 Record (21-8)
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