Last Saturday night, in the co-main event of the action-packed UFC 222, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar risked the featherweight title shot he had so clearly earned in a short-notice bout with surging contender Brian Ortega. Unfortunately for Edgar, this bout went disastrously, as he was put down by an Ortega in the uppercut in the very first round of the fight.
This knockout loss marked the first time Edgar had ever been finished in his illustrious career. It also meant that his claim to a featherweight title shot had been dashed – quite possibly forever. As such, it’s no surprise that this loss caused absolute devastation among his cornermen, who watched on nervously from cage-side.
In the UFC 222 of the UFC’s popular web series The Thrill and the Agony, this raw and crushing moment in Edgar’s corner is captured. In the same video we can also see the excitement and elation in Ortega’s corner, in stark and brutal contrast, on the other side of the Octagon. See it all at the top of this post.
Before he agreed to fight Brian Ortega on short notice, Frankie Edgar was scheduled to fight reigning featherweight champ Max Holloway, an opportunity he earned with back-to-back defeats of dangerous contenders Yair Rodriguez and Jeremy Stephens. The title shot Edgar was expected to get will now go to Ortega, quite possibly at UFC 227, which could go down in Holloway’s native Hawaii.
How do you think Frankie Edgar will respond to the first stoppage loss of his impressive career? Join the conversation in the comments section.
This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/8/2018.