UFC 136 Fight Card: Frankie Edgar and the 5 UFC Fighters with the Most Heart

The fight everyone is talking about leading up to this weekend's UFC 136 card is the main event between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, and for good reason.

The fight between the two back at UFC 125 was an instant classic, with Edgar showing the grit and determination that made him a UFC champion after taking a beating during the first round.

“The Answer” won thousands of fans with his comeback in the later rounds, doing enough to recover from a disastrous first round where he was knocked down repeatedly.

Edgar showed he had the heart of a champion, and the rest of the guys on this list have done the same.

Frankie Edgar

The reason for this list, Frankie Edgar was absolutely demolished by Gray Maynard in the first round of their UFC title fight at UFC 125, getting cracked with a variety of hard shots and almost getting knocked out numerous times throughout the round.

As I said in the title slide, he fought back with serious poise and aggressiveness, arguably doing enough to win the fight.

Diego Sanchez

Diego Sanchez has always had a reputation for being a little bit crazy, but his fights with BJ Penn and Martin Kampmann have cemented his legacy as a fighter who will not die.

Penn battered “The Fighter Formerly Known As Nightmare” throughout their UFC title fight, but Sanchez would not go down, and Penn had to settle for a fifth-round doctor’s stoppage win.

Kampmann put a serious beating on Diego as well, busting him up in the first round, but Sanchez came roaring back and ended up winning the fight due to his ability to take shots and keep coming forward.

Shane Carwin

Prior to his fight with Junior dos Santos at UFC 131, Shane Carwin was known for doing damage, not taking it.

But “Cigano” destroyed Carwin during their three-round main event, punishing him for a solid three rounds and leaving “The Engineer” beaten and battered.

An obviously exhausted and bruised Carwin was somehow able to make it out of the fight conscious, which earns him a spot on the list.

Urijah Faber

Faber hasn’t been bloodied up quite like the rest of these guys, but he has shown that he has what it takes to survive in hostile conditions.

During his WEC 41 rematch against Mike Brown, Faber broke his right hand and dislocated his left thumb early in the fight, which forced him to throw mostly elbows and kicks for the remainder of the fight.

After earning another shot at the WEC featherweight title against Jose Aldo at WEC 48, Faber was constantly hit by brutal leg kicks, leaving him practically immobile. Somehow he was able to fight on and make it to the judges, where he lost by decision.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

One of the most durable fighters in MMA history, Nogueira had plenty of memorable fights in Pride where he showed his desire to win sometimes outweighed his desire to live, but this list highlights his UFC career.

In his UFC debut, “Big Nog” fought Heath Herring at UFC 73, and early in the fight he was blasted by a head kick that would have knocked almost any other fighter out cold.

However, Herring let Nogueira get back to his feet, and it would end up being his downfall, as “Big Nog” came back and won a unanimous decision.

Nogueira earned himself a shot Tim Sylvia and the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 81, and the fight went much like the Herring fight.

“Minotauro” was rocked by punches throughout the fight, but Sylvia made the mistake of getting on the ground with the BJJ black belt, and soon after Nogueira locked in a guillotine choke and became a UFC champion.