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MAIN EVENT FIGHT EIGHT: FRANKIE EDGAR VS. GRAY MAYNARD (LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Edgar circled on the outside immediately. He popped in with a good left and then an inside leg kick. Edgar with another short combo and then he backed out. Edgar with a hard leg kick. Maynard landed a short right. Maynard knocked Edgar down with a right. Edgar somersaulted and got to his feet. Maynard continued to come after him. Maynard is laying on the punishment and the champ is just trying to survive. Maynard set up a front headlock but Edgar finally got back to his feet. His nose is bleeding badly. Edgar tried to get out of harm's way and then shot in for a takedown that was stuffed by Maynard. He got to his feet and into the clinch to rest and then separated. Maynard landed another left. He landed a right hook and a left that has Edgar stumbling. Edgar gets to his feet. Maynard again landed a big punch and Edgar is just trying to get out of this round. He got to his feet and walked around the cage. Edgar landed a big right. Edgar is circling on the outside and trying to stay alive, and Maynard has slowed down. Edgar popped in with two punches. Maynard pressed to throw hooks. He barely missed a knee. Edgar landed a two punch combo. How Edgar survived that round I don't know.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Maynard. Hell of a round for the challenger. I don't know how Edgar survived, but he did. Maynard needs to hope his gas tank wasn't depleted trying to finish in that round.
ROUND TWO: Frankie Edgar came out and threw a high kick that was blocked. He's recovered well in between rounds. Maynard stays in the center as Edgar moves on the outside. He landed a hard kick and a nice right. Edgar looking no worse for the wear somehow. Edgar popped in with a few punches. Maynard began to stalk. He landed a body punch and Frankie countered with a two punch combo. Frankie continued to score with short exchanges. Edgar with another short combo. Edgar landed a huge right to the jaw but Maynard stayed on his feet. Edgar with an inside leg kick. A high kick is then blocked. Maynard tried to shoot and Edgar shrugged him off. Edgar with a couple more punches. Edgar landed a good body punch, popped out and back in with a right. The crowd started chanting for the champ. Maynard came after Edgar, Edgar ducked under the punch and picked Maynard up and slammed him down! Maynard scrambled and they got back up. Edgar landed a hard right. Maynard landed a short left hook. He started trying to stalk again. Edgar rushed in with another nice right. Maynard shot in and Edgar held it off. He landed another hard right. And another. Edgar landed another right as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Edgar. Unbelievable recovery, and we've got a fight on our hands.
ROUND THREE: Maynard started circling the outside. Edgar landed a nice jab. He landed a leg kick and circled himself. He popped in with the right hand again. Edgar landed a kick to the body and a follow up left hook. He landed another hard body kick and continued to circle. Maynard tried to stalk. Edgar with a leg kick. Maynard landed a good straight right. Edgar landed a jab and continued to move. Edgar with another big right and then he backed off and circled away. Maynard shot in for the takedown, Edgar stuffed it and landed a few punches as he got away. Maynard landed a straight left. Edgar landed a body kick but Maynard caught it. Maynard shot in but got stuffed again. Edgar landed another left. Maynard landed a left hook. Edgar landed a hard right. Tons of action in this fight. Edgar landed a nice lead hook. Maynard landed a body punch and a right hook. Edgar's got to avoid that. Maynard landed the uppercut. He landed another left. Edgar landed a huge two punch counter. He popped in with a leg kick. Maynard shot in and got Edgar to the cage and got the takedown. Edgar got to his feet and tried to grab for a kimura as Maynard took him down again. Edgar tried to lock up a guillotine but the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Edgar. Maynard got the late takedown, but he got out-struck and Edgar had a guillotine in tight before the horn sounded.
ROUND FOUR: Maynard pressed in. Edgar got an early takedown and then grabbed for a guillotine choke. He nearly had it locked on as Maynard got to his feet, but then he let it go and landed a nice combination to separate. Edgar shot in and took Maynard down again. He passed and took Maynard's back in a scramble. Maynard got back to his feet and they separated. This fight is incredible. Edgar landed a kick. Edgar with another punch. Maynard shot in and Frankie stuffed it. They exchanged punches. Edgar landed a jab as Myanard missed a hook. Maynard missed on a couple of big punches. They got in close and Edgar landed a hard knee. Edgar shot in again and got Maynard down again. He landed a few hard punches to the jaw as Maynard walked up the fence and got back to his feet. He quickly separated. Edgar landed a couple of jabs. Edgar got in with another combination. He circled out and shot for another takedown but Maynard held that one off. He backed out and landed a few jabs. Edgar with another big combination. Edgar landed a leg kick as the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Edgar. What a fight right now. Edgar is scoring takedowns on Maynard, he's getting in with exchanges, he nearly had a submission, and all of this after nearly being finished in the first. Amazing performance from Edgar so far.
ROUND FIVE: The crowd is on their feet as the round begins. Edgar landed a body kick and avoided a counter left hook from Maynard. Edgar popped in with a couple of jabs and landed a hard leg kick. Maynard got in with a couple of jabs. Maynard landed a left hook. Edgar landed a nice right after taking a punch. Maynard missed a big overhand right. Edgar landed a nice combination. Maynard landed a big left hook of his own. They scrambled into a stalemate and got back to their feet. Edgar landed a knee to the jaw in close. Maynard shot and grabbed for a headlock but Edgar got loose. Edgar landed a left. They exchanged jabs. Edgar with another combination. Maynard grabbed a clinch and Edgar landed a knee and separated. He shot in and was stuffed. Edgar landed another left. He got in with the jab again. Maynard shot in and Edgar stuffed it. Maynard landed a good left. Edgar tried to shoot but gave it up. He landed another combo. Maynard shot and Edgar stuffed him. With a minute left this is the Champ's fight for the taking. He landed a huge combo ending in a right. Maynard tried to stalk him down. Maynard shot and Edgar stuffed it with 30 seconds left. Edgar landed a hook. They both fiend shots. Maynard finally did and got stuffed. Another echange from Edgar and they both swung punches to the end. Amazing fight.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Edgar. He out-struck Maynard again there, and just out-worked him in that round. The closest round was the third, and if Maynard was given the nod this could be a draw, but I have it 48-46 for the Champ.
WINNER: Fight ends in a split draw (48-46, 46-48, 47-47)
POST FIGHT: Edgar said he didn't remember much from the first round. He said "it was a close fight, but what can you do." He said he was sure the first round was the factor in the draw.
Maynard said he punched himself out in the first. He said he pulled back in the second. He said he thought he won the first, third and fifth. He said he hopes he'll get another shot at it.
STAR RATING: (****) The draw is a bit disappointing, but that was an incredible main event fight to kick off 2011. I can see Maynard getting the third round, so 47-47 makes sense, but I thought Edgar won two, four and five at the least. This was an incredible fight, and they should do this again.
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