Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard met at UFC 125 in a rematch of their 2008 fight that was won by Maynard by decision. That fight was the only blemish on Edgar's professional record. Many fans worried that Edgar's quick striking style and Maynard's tendency to win fights through top control would make for an ugly and boring fight. Instead, what we got was a fight that is one of the greatest in the history of the UFC.
In the first round Maynard caught Edgar coming in with a punch and hurt him badly. Gray chased him around the cage landing hard shots and rocking Edgar repeatedly. It seemed at several points as though Edgar, now bleeding badly from his nose, was on the verge of being finished. Somehow Edgar survived the onslaught and saw the light of the second round.
The second saw Edgar come out and appear to be clear headed after the beating he sustained in the first round. Frankie managed to get back to his bread and butter and move in and out while landing punches the the head and body of Maynard. It was a great comeback round to show that Frankie was not out of it after a poor round to get the fight started.
In between rounds two and three Randy Couture got in the face of Maynard and told him to stop looking for the knockout and just land his shots. Maynard appeared to listen as he had a very solid round three, winning it in the eyes of most with some nice punching and a takedown to give him some time working from the top position.
Edgar got back to business in rounds four and five landing crisp punches and combinations and even starting to dominate the wrestling with takedowns of his own. In the eyes of SB Nation the fight was 47-47 when the final round came to an end.
The official scorecards read 48-46 Maynard, 48-46 Edgar and a 47-47 draw. The fight being a draw means that Frankie Edgar retains his UFC lightweight championship. It also means that the planned bout between the last WEC lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis, and the winner of this bout will be put on hold in favor of a rematch. A rematch between two fighters that just put on one of the best fights you're likely to see sounds much more appealing than any other option at lightweight and is a fight that fans should anxiously await.
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