UFC Fight Night: Pedro Munhoz vs. Frankie Edgar Preview, Odds, Prediction

Pedro Munhoz‘s rise to the top was stopped with a loss against Aljamain Sterling last June, and he now wants to pick up where left. On the other side, Frankie Edgar is trying to find his way back to the top of the UFC, and he will try to do it through the bantamweight division. For a long time, many experts were suggesting to the 38-year old that his best place in the organization would be the bantamweight, but he stubbornly refused to go for it. Did his decision to listen came too late? We’ll see. 

Preview 

Munhoz (-255) is the favorite here, and a big one. His rise in the ranks was stopped recently against Sterling, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be a painful loss if he defeats Edgar this Saturday. The “Young Punisher” as the fans call him has 18 wins in this career and four losses, all of them via decision. Against Jimmie Rivera and John Dodson, they were split, and against Raphael Assuncao and Sterling unanimous. 

Prior to the latest defeat, Munhoz won seven of his 8 battles, the latest two against Byan Caraway and Cody Garbrandt via KO in the first round. The way he handled the latter one, who was a former UFC bantamweight champion, was pretty impressive, and that bout earned the Fight of the Night Bonus. 

His win here would definitely make him a legit title contender, and the only thing he would need to do is to wait and see how things develop between the champ Petr Yan, and Sterling, who should go next against one another. 

Edgar (+215) is a legend, but the one in decline. With age pressuring him on one side, and the young competitors on the other, the former lightweight champion, and a two-time challenger featherweight divisions is slowly losing his grip. Since 2016 he has three wins and four losses, and over the previous two years, he recorded just one victory and three defeats. 

Two of those failures came via knockout in the first round, against Brian Ortega at the UFC 222, and in the latest bout he had, vs. Korean Zombie. In between, Edgar tried to win the featherweight title against max Holloway, who routinely routed the veteran winning via unanimous decision.

This is the fight that will foretell his future. If he wins, we might expect Edgar in a title-eliminator pretty soon. On the other side, if he suffers another loss, then we won’t be seeing his name against top fighters in the UFC. 

Prediction

Munhoz is in better shape, and he wouldn’t be a big favorite without reason. He did lose against Sterling, but do remember that he had four fights in 10 months. Therefore, our pick here is the “Young Punisher.” Edgar, with all due respect towards his previous records and achievements, is not the fighter he sued to be. Most recent defeats showed that. In the best possible scenario for him, he would avoid another knockout and get away with an honorable defeat.