Frankie Edgar Defeats Pedro Munhoz via Split Decision

Frankie Edgar and Pedro Munhoz delivered a super fight in the main event of the UFC on ESPN 15. Eventually, the more experienced and older, Edgar won this bout via split decision.

“I heard a lot of barking that I’m old, I’m slow. I definitely should have proved them all wrong. I’ve still got some fight in this tank, baby, and we’re going to make a big run at 135,” said Edgar.

Two judges scored in his favor 48-47, while the third one gave a massive advantage to Munhoz, 49-46. Overall, it was a close fight, that could go both ways, with the note that both fighters had their share of action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn71QXSsR5s&t=1s

Edgar was using his boxing to hurt the rival, while on the other side, Munhoz was constantly hitting the veteran’s leading leg, which is why Edgar had to visit the hospital after the fight. According to Dana White’s words, it seems that the Brazillian delivered a lot of damage to the 38-year old, and that the medical team had to send him to visit the doctors.

As for the fight itself, Edgar began strong, and Munhoz replied with the same measure. The two guys exchanged hits early one, indicating that this match will provide lots of excitement. The second saw Edgar doing damage to Munhoz, who had a cut above the left eye.

It seems that this infuriated the No.5 in the bantamweight rankings, who then started to deliver devastating chops to Edgar’s calf. It definitely slowed down the former UFC lightweight champion, whose movement around the octagon became visibly slower.

Those who watched this bout could see a few more good exchanges until the final horn. Edgar shook Munhoz in the last, but he himself ate several ferocious punches throughout the way.

The fighters earned the Fight of the Night bonus, but that is something less important for Edgar, who had his bantamweight debut victorious and now hopes to receive a shot at the title.

“I just got my feet wet,” Edgar said. “I think the sky is the limit. I didn’t look slow at all in there. … Pedro is a top dog. That makes me a top dog.”

Who wants to see @FrankieEdgar VS @PetrYanUFC ????

— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) August 23, 2020

As we said, Munhoz was No.5 in the bantamweight rankings, and after this win, Edgar considers himself one of the top fighters in this division. After three losses in four matches, this is a refreshing spot for him to be.

Prior to this event, he lost via unanimous decision to Max Holloway in the featherweight title matchup. After that, he suffered a nasty TKO in the first round to Korean Zombie. At that point, everybody began questioning his abilities to continue fighting at the top level, predicting him a soon retirement.

All those doubters are not silenced.

“Three weight classes, I’ve showed I can compete with the best at 38 years old. I don’t want to hear nothing from anybody,” Edgar told after the fight.

On the other side, Munhoz’s surge is now definitely stopped. He was one of the top contenders before losing to Aljamain Sterling. Now, following this defeat, Munhoz will need to dig deep to receive a call for a title-eliminator, let alone a title fight.

At this point, it seems that Sterling has the biggest chance of meeting the division champion, Petr Yan. It is up to Dana White and the organization to chose what will happen, but according to many, this scenario has the most sense.