UFC 118: Frankie Edgar, Nate Diaz Prove Weight Cutting Isn't Everything

Very often in MMA when a fighter is struggling their response is either to switch camps or drop down to the next lowest weight class. Any fighter that does declare he is dropping down a weight class is immediately declared a contender because the size, strength and power advantage the will enjoy over their new opponents.

It happened when Mike Swick dropped in weight, when Jens Pulver dropped in weight and most recently when Diego Sanchez dropped down in weight. But in each of those cases cutting the weight didn’t serve as a miracle cure for their woes and often the same problems that doomed a fighters stint in their previous weight class rear their heads again.

Frankie Edgar and Nate Diaz are both entered UFC 118 fighting at a weight class many consider ‘too big’ for them. Diaz had spent the better part of his career at lightweight and while his debut at Welterweight was impressive, many felt that Marcus Davis would prove too stiff a test for Diaz.

Edgar has fought his whole career at Lightweight, only needing to cut a spare pound or two in order to make the 155 lb weight limit. His entire career critics have said that he should really be a Featherweight.

But at UFC 118 both Edgar and Diaz both showed the advantages of not cutting large amounts of weight, and used them to achieve victory: speed and cardio.

The speed differential in both bouts was astounding. Diaz was able to use his footwork and speed to keep Marcus Davis on the very edge on his reach. Davis was forced to eat punch after punch in his vein efforts to close the distance.

Edgar also used his speed and footwork to control the distance of his match with B.J. Penn, but the really striking way in which Edgar used his speed was to score takedowns. Penn has fantastic balance and it has served him well in fending off single leg take downs and has earned Penn the reputation of a take down defense expert.

Edgar’s use of an absolutely explosive penetration step to get a hand on Penn’s back leg, and chain together a double leg attempt to a body lock and then a Greco-Roman sequence that allowed him to take Penn to the ground every time, exposing Penn's take down defense as more natural balance than technical greatness.

The speed advantage that Diaz and Edgar enjoyed in their matches only became more pronounced as the match wore on because their superior endurance. Now certainly a large part of endurance is training in cardio. Diaz runs triathlons and Edgar is a little cardio machine, but they certainly also get a boost by passing on the strenuous weight cutting that many other fighters subject themselves to.

In the end size and strength are certainly factors that decide a fight, but skill, speed, cardio and technique play equal role in the results of fights. Maynard could end up overwhelming Edgar with top control, Diaz could find himself dominated by a strong wrestler, but don’t assume it’s a given just because a fighter is ‘too small’.

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