Gracious Edgar lets Penn try again

Only days before in Abu Dhabi, Edgar had shocked the mixed martial arts world by upsetting BJ Penn to win the Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight title on April 10.

Upon his return home, Edgar was surprised to hear UFC president Dana White on the phone, and the conversation began something like this: "Hey, great job. Let’s see if you can do it again."

Edgar quickly accepted White’s offer to make his first title defense against same the man he took it from by unanimous decision. That rematch will occur Saturday night in Boston in UFC 118.

Edgar, 28, from Toms River, N.J., was happy to grant the 31-year-old Penn, the longtime champion from Hawaii, an immediate chance to win back the title.

"BJ has been on top for so long, man," Edgar said. "If anybody deserves it, it’s definitely BJ."

Another victory by Edgar would prove the first was no fluke, but oddsmakers are not convinced, making the champion a plus-250 underdog.

In the April bout, Edgar won on all three scorecards after five rounds fought almost exclusively on the feet. He used his superior movement to confound Penn, and was even awarded a 50-45 score by one judge.

Edgar said he isn’t surprised others doubt he can again defeat Penn, whom he calls "the greatest champion ever."

"I still hold BJ in high regard. I mean, he’s a legend in this sport and he is still the greatest lightweight of all time," Edgar said. "(The last fight forced me) to bring the best out of (myself) and now I have to do that again."

Penn said the loss, his first setback at 155 pounds since 2002, served as a "wake-up call."

"When you hear people say you’re the greatest lightweight of all time and this and that, it’s (expletive). It’s not real. It’s fake. You know, being the champ is fake, all of that is all fake," Penn said. "You’ve got to keep training as hard as you can and keep winning fights. The only thing that’s real is the fight."

Reality is what helped Edgar settle into life as the champion. He and his wife, Renee, had their second child, Santino, in May, and he said changing diapers and pitching in around the house helped keep him from getting too high off his MMA accomplishments.

He is trying to keep his victory in perspective inside the cage, as well.

"You fight a guy like BJ and you come out on the winning end, that’s only going to do great things for your confidence. But it also could hurt you," Edgar said. "I’m trying to keep grounded, but knowing that I have the ability to go in there and compete at that level, that will definitely help my confidence."

Confidence has never been an issue for Penn, but he has appeared to lack focus at points in his career.

Nicknamed "The Prodigy," Penn has been widely regarded as one of the most naturally gifted mixed martial artists in the world since winning the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in 2000 and debuting in the UFC a year later.

Titles and accolades came so easily, Penn said he never expected to face adversity in his chosen profession.

"When I first started fighting, I thought I was God’s gift to fighting. I thought I would go 100 in a row with 100 knockouts, and now I just sit back and look at my record and I can’t believe I have six losses. It just blows me away," he said. "But every time that you get a loss, you take a different path and you get back on the right journey of why you started this thing in the first place, because it’s a (never-ending) journey. You never stop learning."

At times, it has looked as though Penn grew too content with success. He is always looking for new challenges, such as when he moved up to welterweight to try to capture a second UFC belt, only to get crushed by Georges St. Pierre.

Penn said losing to Edgar, like his other five setbacks, taught him something. He said he needs to find better consistency and thinks the timing is right in his career to go on a run.

Edgar wants to quickly dissuade Penn of that notion.

"The greatest achievement you can achieve in our sport is to be the world champ for the best organization in the world, so it means a lot to me. But I really don’t want to sit here and just say I’m satisfied, because I want to stay champion as long as possible," Edgar said.

Another win over Penn would clear out the biggest threat to that goal and erase the fluke tag forever.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.