Sean Sherk vs. Frank Edgar
The opening bout of the evening is a competitive Lightweight showdown between former champion Sean “The Muscle Shark” Sherk and always-exciting up and comer Frankie “The Answer” Edgar. Sherk, who lost his title after a controversial positive on a steroid test that was later partially overturned, went on to be smacked around in brutal fashion by current champion B.J. Penn, so he will no doubt be looking to prove that he is still part of the division’s upper crust at Edgar’s expense.
Edgar, a powerful wrestler with a constantly-improving jiu jitsu game, is probably best known for his extremely exciting contest with Tyson Griffin, in which he waited out a deep kneebar late in the fight in order to earn the Unanimous Decision and a Fight of the Night bonus. A well rounded fighter with good wrestling and submissions, Edgar has proven that he has what it takes to fight through adversity and come out with a win. Despite his stellar 9-1 record, though, the lone blemish might well prove disastrous for Edgar in his bout with Sherk. Against powerful wrestler Gray Maynard, Edgar had absolutely no answer for Maynard’s size and wrestling advantage, and was easily controlled on the ground for the vast majority of the fight.
As large and powerful as Maynard is, he is still like a diet version of Sean Sherk. A physical specimen who is huge for the Lightweight division, Sherk also has arguably the best wrestling at 155 pounds in he UFC. He is a nightmare matchup for Edgar, since their styles are very similar but Sherk is better at everything. He has better boxing, better cardio, better wrestling, a notable size advantage, is stronger, and has better cardio. Sean Sherk, to put it simply, is the kind of fighter Edgar might well evolve into a few years from now.Unfortunately for Edgar, this bout won’t be taking place in a few years, and in the present he has no answer for Sherk’s superiority.
I expect a recreation of the Maynard fight, with Sherk dominating Edgar with takedowns and top control en route to a lopsided unanimous decision.
