There are only three places in life where a person’s every action must be clear and obvious to even the stupidest observer: Junior High School, prison and mixed martial arts.
Those three environments do not tolerate nuance, subtlety, or irony. Those three audiences are not enamored of obfuscation, small strokes or fine calibration.
Nope, if you’re in the pen, Middle School or the Octagon, the audience demands big, bold obvious gestures that cannot be misinterpreted.
Perhaps former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has finally learned that lesson after dropping a decision loss to current champ Ben Henderson at UFC 150 last night in Denver. While a considerable majority of the fight cognoscenti who took to Twitter, Facebook and the Bloody Elbow comment section to voice their opinions thought Edgar won his rematch with Henderson, 2/3 of the judges didn’t see things that way and Frankie lost the fight.
Good.
Frankie Edgar, skilled and capable as he is, has been boring the daylights out of the Lightweight division since taking the belt from B.J. Penn at UFC 112 in April 2010. Apparently he’s been laboring under the misapprehension that fans and judges appreciate his elegant point-fighting style.
Alas Mr. Edgar we do not.
MMA fans thirst for clear conclusions. We want definitive answers, not 50 shades of Frankie Edgar. With the exception of his second title bout with Gray Maynard, every single Frankie Edgar LW title fight has left its outcome to the judges to decide and the fans to debate.
Heed the call Frankie, move on down to Featherweight where maybe you’ll have the heft and muscle to force a stoppage on opponents instead of sending it to the judges.
I’m so looking forward to seeing Ben Henderson defend his title against Nate Diaz. I’m even happier that I don’t have to worry about whatever skilled, subtle and nuanced approach Frankie Edgar would take to sucking all the fun out of Diaz’ Stockton Brawl style and making sure the judges have a hard decision to render.
Good luck at Featherweight Frankie, fans of the Lightweight division won’t miss you.
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