Was B.J. Penn vs. Frankie Edgar at UFC 112 Really a Fluke?

Fans are hyped up for UFC 118, since it arguably has one of the most impressive featured bouts in months.

Pitting Gray Maynard against Kenny Florian is expected to prove if Maynard is a contender, or a pretender, in the lightweight division.

At middleweight, Demian Maia is trying to regain some credibility against fellow Brazilian Mario Miranda, since Maia was thoroughly embarrassed by middleweight champion Anderson Silva at his most recent outing at UFC 112: Invincible.

While many are simply writing off Randy “The Natural” Couture against accredited boxer James Toney as little more than comedic relief, it could turn very interesting if all of Toney’s trash talking has some merit to it, ala Chael Sonnen.

The majority of fans tuning in though are interested in seeing what happens with Frank “The Answer” Edgar vs. B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn, in a rematch from UFC 112.

Despite rattling off three impressive victories in a row against Sean Sherk, Matt Veach, and BJ Penn, Edgar is yet to receive the respect a champion typically deserves.

 The main reason for that is a vast majority are convinced that Edgar’s title victory over Penn was a fluke.

This, coupled with the fact that a number of UFC 118 previews are already up on Bleachrreport.com, I decided it would be relevant to analyze the first meeting between these two skilled lightweights, before they meet again on Saturday.

First off, let us all recall that this was not quite the most exciting fight in the world; it was a lot of dancing around and feeling each other out from both fighters.

Still, it is puzzling to see why a significant number of people are not acknowledging that Frankie Edgar truly did win this fight.

Edgar was controlling the pace of the entire bout.

He was consistently the aggressor, while, for the most part, Penn was content just sitting back and waiting to counter attack.

This is very uncharacteristic of Penn, who normally likes to take the fight to the ground, and eventually catch his opponent in a submission.

Edgar was consistently coming at Penn with kicks to the leg, punching combos, takedown attempts, and the occasional head kick.

Penn seldom landed a clean shot on the offensive.

The best proof of this was the fighters' faces after the match.

Edgar was almost unscratched, while Penn had welts on his face.

Another aspect that few are recognizing as anything out of the ordinary is the fact that Edgar took Penn down.

Twice.

He is the first fighter in the lightweight division to take Penn down, and B.J. has been competing as a lightweight for roughly six years.

Understandably, fans hate to see the belt change hands as the result of a fairly boring fight.

Knockouts and submissions are clearly preferred.

The argument is that Edgar did not beat the champion, he simply hung in there.

While he did not do it in the most entertaining fashion, Edgar definitely had the edge here.

This was most pronounced in the fourth, and even more so fifth, rounds. Penn was evidently getting tired, while Edgar was still attacking at full speed.

Edgar continued to sneak in punches and scored his second takedown in the last round.

It is puzzling why Penn did not sink in a guard and try to finish Edgar off with a submission.

Instead, Penn opted to fight Edgar and get up to his feet.

A very strange move from a guy regarded as one of the best practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the sport.

In short, Edgar made the most of the few opportunities he had, while Penn just did not.

To be fair, B.J. Penn’s trainer said after the fight that B.J. was battling a sinus infection and was on antibiotics heading into the fight.

This may or may not be the case; Penn has not acknowledged these comments, but the bottom line is Edgar won by a slim, yet noticeable margin.

If true, this may make it a completely different ball game on Saturday night when these two competitors meet up in the octagon for the second time.

The reality of the matter, though, is that Frankie Edgar deserves to be heading into this one as the champion, not the challenger.