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Edgar vs. Ortega
Featherweight
Frankie Edgar (22-5) vs. Brian Ortega (13-0)Advertisement
ANALYSIS: Naturally, I would rather see Edgar vie for the UFC featherweight title against one of the five best fighters in the sport in Max Holloway, but as far as a consolation prize goes, an ageless all-star like “The Answer” battling an undefeated, dynamic prospect like Ortega is not too shabby at all.
After 11 years in the UFC, we all have a good handle on the parameters of Edgar’s game and his points of style. In fact, no fighter in promotional history has spent more time in the Octagon than Edgar, with just under six hours and 28 minutes spent in the cage. He has a high boxing guard, darts in and out of the pocket with great angles and footwork while throwing well-composed combinations and is a positively brilliant chain wrestler, seamlessly switching between takedown techniques if he cannot immediately hit his patented knee tap. He has never been stopped in his career, and despite us all remembering how badly Gray Maynard smacked him silly in the first round of their January 2011 rematch, the former Clarion University wrestler is actually a great defensive fighter: He absorbs just 2.15 significant strikes per minute and defends 70 percent of those thrown at him.
Despite now being 36 years old, the high-paced Edgar is not slowing down. In fact, the Toms River, New Jersey, native has actually become a more offensively potent fighter over the last four years, sitting down on his punches more firmly and doing more damage, especially with his right hook. He has even become a more active, punishing ground-and-pound artist, as Cub Swanson and Yair Rodriguez discovered in the runaway beatings they took from Edgar.
Ortega, 27, is much more of a mystery. At this point, we have certainly seen that the Gracie Torrance rep is a dynamite grappler. He is adept and aggressive in all positions but especially so while doing brilliant work when he can grab an opponent’s head, as the aforementioned Swanson found out in their December clash when Ortega snatched a second-round guillotine choke, just as he had done in his prior fight against Renato Carneiro. However, his standup game remains disjointed and curious; Ortega willingly backs himself up while striking, only to lunge forward with wild hooks. He can fight orthodox or southpaw and at times demonstrates a great jab, but he often concerns himself with throwing bizarre and exotic kicks to little effect. This is in part why his striking defense is so porous, as “T-City” eats 5.23 significant strikes per minute, an incredible figure when you consider he is 13-0 as a pro.
While Ortega is a fantastic grappler, very few fighters have been able to impose any sort of submission threat on Edgar. Stylistically, the ball is in the former UFC lightweight champion’s court here. While it may be unnecessarily dangerous for him to press a wrestling game on Ortega and play to his opponent’s strengths, Ortega is so aggressive on the mat that it is feasible Edgar could punish him from top position. Working a straight boxing game is far less risky, though Ortega’s spastic flailing could force him to be more patient and ratchet down his offensive output. The best is yet to come for Ortega, who will continue to improve, pull off dazzling submissions in the cage and cement himself as a top-10 featherweight, but “The Answer” will have the antidote for his grappling game in this one, handing him his first career loss via unanimous verdict.
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