Pettis must now wait
This past Saturday at UFC 125, we were treated to a great night of fights. Those lucky enough to be at the MGM Grand Arena to watch it live, you were witness to awesome fights from the opening bout to the main event. Throughout the evening, there were good grappling matches, great striking matches, and unexpected outcomes, good and bad, but mostly good.
Some of the big headlines from the evening include Brian Stann knocking out the iron-chinned Chris Leben, former Featherweight Number One Contender Josh Grispi being man handled by Dustin Poirier, and Thiago Silva’s domination and embarrassment of Brandon Vera. However, the biggest story of the night was obviously the Lightweight Championship fight between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard.
After twenty-five minutes of battle, the judges scored the fight 48-46, 46-48, and 47-47 for a Split Draw. Now while this was a very disappointing end to a title fight, many fans, media members and other fighters said that the draw was a fair score for the fight. As soon as the decision was read, the ripples of it started rolling out and its effects were felt throughout the Lightweight Division. Let’s take a look at some good and some bad effects of this now infamous Split Draw.
Bad:
- Obviously, the fact that a title fight ended in a draw is bad enough in itself.
- Although Edgar kept his belt because he didn’t lose, he also didn’t win, which will add to the list of reasons he is viewed as the Underdog going into his fights.
- With no “winner”, Anthony Pettis has to wait until after the rematch to get his chance in the Unification bout.
- Frankie Edgar was handed a potential six month medical suspension for a nasal fracture which means it could be quite some time before we get to see the rematch
- Everyone, including Maynard and Edgar, are longing for a sense of closure following the “Maynard is the only one to beat Champion Edgar” storyline that was built up before the fight.
Good:
- A rematch has already been decided, so we will get to see these two battle it out again.
- Frankie Edgar showed a lot of heart and resiliency and gained a lot more respect.
- Gray Maynard showed another aspect of his game and he, too, gained a lot of respect.
- We were witness to an early candidate for Fight of the Year.
- A lot of people weren’t interested in this fight, but the hype for Edgar/Maynard III should be enormous.
Anthony Pettis was promised the winner of Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard II, but technically there was no winner. At the Press Conference it was announced that Pettis would get the next shot against Edgar who retained his title by default. However, later on in an interview with Ariel Helwani, Dana White stated that “a rematch is a no-brainer” and Pettis would not get Edgar just yet. What that means for Pettis now- only time will tell.
