UFC changes mind, clears way for Edgar vs. Maynard III
Failing to finish off lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and settling for a draw in the main event of UFC 125 on Saturday night was frustrating for Las Vegan Gray Maynard.
Learning he wouldn’t be given an immediate rematch looked like it crushed him.
When Ultimate Fighting Championship vice president Craig Borsari, conducting the postfight news conference at the MGM Grand Garden, announced that Maynard would not be given another shot, Maynard slumped in his chair and remained visibly disappointed for the rest of the session.
Maynard’s spirits were rejuvenated barely two hours later, around midnight, when the organization reversed course and decided he indeed would get another shot at Edgar’s title.
"That helped out 100 percent. They gave me a chance and I’m going to take that chance and I’m going to take the belt," Maynard said Sunday afternoon. "I appreciate that more than anything in the world."
UFC president Dana White said he quickly realized that denying Maynard a third fight against Edgar would be unfair. Maynard beat Edgar in 2008.
"Gray Maynard won the first fight. The second fight was a draw and I think it’s only right to give him a rematch," White said Sunday. "It’s not right to have that kid go out and fight the way that he fought in a war like that and not get another shot. You don’t have two guys go out and fight like that and fight to a draw and not give them the opportunity to do that again. It’s just the right thing to do."
It’s undecided when the fight will take place. Both Edgar and Maynard were understandably sore after the fight, but appear injury free. Maynard said sometimes it takes a few days after a fight to assess the damage.
When both are sure they are healthy, the rematch can be scheduled.
World Extreme Cagefighting champion Anthony Pettis had been awaiting the Edgar-Maynard winner. In the final WEC card before the organization’s full merger with the UFC, Pettis won the lightweight title from Ben Henderson, thanks to a bouncing-off-the-cage kick that was chosen one of the top 10 plays of the 2010 by ESPN’s Sportscenter.
Immediately after Saturday’s fight, the UFC said Pettis would still get his shot at Edgar, who retained the belt with the draw, but the UFC quickly changed its mind, putting Pettis in limbo.
If Pettis sits on the sidelines to wait for his title shot, he could be inactive for an extended period. However, if he takes a fight, he runs the risk of losing and dropping down the ladder in a crowded division.
Phone messages left for Pettis were not returned.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.
UFC 125: Edgar retains lightweight title in main event
