UFC Fight Night 66: Edgar vs. Faber Date: May 16, 2015 Location: Pasay, Philippines Venue: Mall of Asia Arena Broadcast: FS1 UFC Featherweight Contender Frankie Edgar Profile: The closest fighter the UFC has to a real-life Rocky Balboa, Frankie “The Answer” Edgar (18-4-1) has surprised everyone with his never-say-die attitude and come-from-behind ability that has led him to career-defining victories over B.J. Penn (three times) and former arch-nemesis Gray Maynard. Winner of seven “Fight of the Night” awards, Edgar comes out of Renzo Gracie’s East Coast fight team with a Jersey attitude that has turned him into one of the most impressive lighter-weight fighters in the world. Opponents can never count Edgar out, and the 33-year-old former lightweight champ has fought for the 155-pound strap six times and the featherweight title once, fighting competitively in each and every single one of those fights, win or lose. After losing three controversial decision losses in a row against Benson Henderson (twice) and Jose Aldo, Edgar defeated Charles Oliveira at UFC 162 to jump back into title contention at 145lbs. He then coached TUF 19 opposite Penn, and then at the TUF 19 Finale TKOed Penn for a third win over “The Prodigy.” Following the win over Penn, Edgar took on top contender Cub Swanson and finished him in the fifth round via submission. Now the UFC has matched Edgar up against Urijah Faber at UFC Fight Night 66, and it should be an awesome fight between two elite mixed martial artists. UFC Featherweight Contender Urijah Faber “The California Kid” Urijah Faber (32-6) has a long and storied career as one of the forefathers of the featherweight division but has been competing at 135 for the last five years. The longtime face of the WEC made a mostly successful transition to the UFC’s bantamweight division, defeating Eddie Wineland in his UFC debut at UFC 128 before losing his hyped rematch with Dominick Cruz at UFC 132. However, the 35-year-old MMA veteran rebounded by quickly taking out former WEC bantamweight champion Brian Bowles at UFC 139 with his signature guillotine choke. Faber went on to coach opposite of Cruz on The Ultimate Fighter and was expected to meet him for the third time, but Cruz tore his ACL and temporarily left Faber without an opponent. He ended up fighting rising star Renan Barao for the interim title at UFC 149 instead and was dominated en route to losing a unanimous decision. However, he bounced back nicely from that setback with a possible Fighter of the Year bid in 2013, going 4-0 with a standing RNC over Ivan Menjivar at UFC 157, a RNC finish of his former teammate Scott Jorgensen at the TUF 17 finale, a dominating decision win over Iuri Alcantara at UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Sonne and a brilliant guillotine win over the contender Michael McDonald at at UFC on FOX: Johnson vs. Benavidez. He earned another shot against Barao at UFC 169, but this time was stopped with strikes. After getting back to his winning ways with back-to-back submission wins over Alex Caceres and Francisco Rivera, Faber is now moving back up to 145lbs and in his return to featherweight meets Frankie Edgar in the main event of UFC Fight Night 66. Opening Fight Night 66 Analysis: MMA oddsmaker Nick Kalikas made Edgar a -380 favorite (bet $380 to win $100) while Faber opened as a +260 underdog (bet $100 to win $260) at Several Bookmakers. This is a real treat for the fans as it features two of the most popular and exciting fighters in the UFC going head-to-head with a possible featherweight title shot on the line. Edgar is coming off of three-straight wins over BJ Penn, Cub Swanson and Charles Oliveira, looking exceptional in each fight. With his wrestling and striking abilities, plus an incredible gas tank and heart, Edgar is truly one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the Octagon today. As for Faber, he is coming off of two-straight wins over Francisco Rivera and Alex Caceres, looking solid as usual in collecting finishes in both fights. Faber was once the top in his weight class at 145lbs, but has been fighting at 135lbs the last five years, so this will be an interesting test for him in his return to 145. It’s a tough test, though, as Edgar has looked like a world beater in his last few fights. Faber is a gamer, but Edgar looks to be on another level right now, and he rightly opens as a giant favorite for this featherweight affair.
