https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hd7OykbABBc
UFC Commentators Jon Anik and Daniel Cormier are joined by UFC Hall-of-Famer Urijah Faber to reveal 10 additions to the …
all right now we move on to a lineage of lightweight Champions who have made their place to the all-time ultimate 30 roster the next selection a man from the Garden State who epitomizes the phrase Jersey [Music] tough this guy has had a long and storied career he has fought and beaten so many top guys it has been said a true champion is judged by the size of their hearts no athlete embodies that Mantra better than New Jersey native Frankie Edgar after making his UFC debut in 2007 Edgar quickly established himself as a true force in the lightweight division the combination often undersized but never undeterred he utilized his speed skill and above all his heart to carve his path to UFC goal New Jersey is full of tough dudes this might be the toughest kid ever from the Garden State at UFC 112 famously Frankie Edgar defied all off and cemented his status as the best lightweight on the planet by defeating UFC Legend BJ Pat new Edgar’s rise to lightweight champion was a remarkable one but his title defenses against gra mayard are the stuff of Legend oh big knee Frankie’s nose is broken an a inspiring display of skill grit and sheer will to win that is seldom replicated it’s all over Frankie Edgar Remains the lightweight champion Edgar’s indomitable fighting spirit is what drove his historic 15-year career KN and made him a perennial Contender across three weight divisions earning him respect and adoration from Fighters and fans alike when the question beckons as to who belongs in the pantheon of UFC’s all-time great arises the answer is clear fr the answer is [Applause] [Music] all right with us today in Las Vegas to accept this Distinction on the all-time roster the great Toms River New Jersey native Frankie Edgar we thought he was going to maybe run out as is his trademark but told not to oh they told not to he’s got a nice stroll though Frankie Edgar with us here congratulations my brother nice to see you Daniel Cormier had a vote for Frankie Edgar of course to crack this ultimate 30 one of several no-brainers on this ultimate roster Frankie congratulations man I know this means a lot to you yeah no this is amazing I’m kind of Blown Away by all of it you know to be on this list is uh it’s pretty wild whenever they set the list I was like looking right and it was it was 60 people and I was like okay there’s Frankie Edgar I I had to have him on my list because I just recall watching this man go through so much and being so undersized to be be the lightweight champion of the world in his size you had no reason being in narrow grey maner but it was because he was so tough and he was so durable and he had that belief that I’m GNA get these dudes that allow for Frankie edger to not only become the champion but overcome some adversity in so many different situations we always felt like you were The Little Engine That Could and because of that all those spectacular performances you find yourself on this list and I’m grateful for being able to build a relationship with you and I’m happy that you are among the greats no thank you man uh like I said I’m not the best at taking compliments I don’t really like talking about myself and all that stuff so to hear it from someone like yourself you know double champ I imagine you’re on the list and uh how make it we’ll see we’ll see we’ll see no spoilers bro come on so you guys have some history I remember and we haven’t been back to Manila since but you guys were the men on the Marquee a long time ago that felt like one of the biggest fight buildups of all time Uriah yeah that was fun and you know fighting him in Manila as the main event was for me just kind of an honor I was I was getting offers to fight at 135 lbs and just nothing I was trying to get my the hair standing up trying to get excited about something I said you know what let me do something that gets me excited and that was going up fight with Frankie a guy that I had you know so much respect for a real Champion inside and outside the octagon and um we did that I was the first fight in the Philippines the only one we’ve done thus far and it was it was a great chess match and and I and I love that fight oh thank you man again uh when they offer me thei fight you you you obviously jump at that fight yeah in Manila kind of you know throw back to Ali Fraser Manila you know what I mean two big names it it was cool a little uh you know you run out to Pac I run out to bigie come on East first West can’t beat it can’t beat it you know I always think about you and coach Mark right in the pace and the style that you guys came up with how soon did you realize that this partnership was just made in gold and how quickly did it start to pay dividends for you because I saw you in so many big spots but I think the biggest one for me was when you fought BJ and you weren’t supposed to fight and win against him but it was all those things that you guys do you and Henry that allowed for you to develop this style and I’ve trained with Mark Henry before he is a master it gets a bit annoying want to watch film 100 times a week but it’s like when did you know that this was yeah I mean right away you know I I met Mark through a wrestling buddy you know he coached Mark’s son at the time so I was helping coach Mark Mark’s kid and he asked him hey you want to work with this Mark didn’t train anybody at the moment he just was a boxing guy that boxed formerly and owned the pizzeria so I was the literally the first guy he trained you know right away we hit it off uh you know if we were the same age we would have hung out you know that type of that type of relationship and uh now he’s like family so yeah that that you know finding him I didn’t really get any to make any bad mistakes learn any bad mistakes I learned from him right away go back to that BJ pin fight though what was the the bill to that when he was that unbeatable at the time yeah no man I mean in your head obviously he wasn’t he wasn’t unbeatable in your head maybe maybe when I first got to fight he was but you know during the the leadup to it I had to convince myself that I could beat him you know like when we went over there for the Press tour like he was a God man they loved him I was kind of a fan too you know so yeah they don’t seem real sometimes I had a chance to go out and train with BJ before Sean shurik I I was you know flown out out there and train with him it was so hard to take that guy down he’s he’s not a wrestler per se but his his body awareness and and plus with his jiujitsu and and just the the way he fought uh I was wondering with that fight too and again one of those those fights where Frankie over uh you know overd delivers under promises really you know the hype the hype was for BJ and and the show out was for for Edgar and I feel like that’s kind of been a a you know one of your staple that’s something that you know about Frankie when we think about you beating bjpenn becoming the champion you then now have the scariest guy right there was no one scarier than grey mayor NCAA All-American big strong could strike you go through hell with this guy on a number of occasions but it was in that second fight where was that the second fight where he knocked you all around the Octagon yeah yeah dude and a third fight well third fight too the third fight wasn’t as bad because that was the one that you kind of knew cuz I was there in Houston you and I actually spoke in the lobby of the hotel after you beat him you finished him but in that second fight man this is Frankie Edgar in this fight what are you thinking in these moments if you’re even able to look back on it and go man in that moment I was like yo this is done yeah I mean I I I don’t I don’t remember much man 100% honest uh you know I guess when I when I look back you kind of kind of bring some things but like afterward on the way back you know I’m up sex I had a draw to my to my mind I’m like that’s a loss you know a draw wasn’t what I wanted it’s not what I came here for and Mark like Mark like man you really got to see the take I’m like I took him down he’s like you took him down like five times what I had no idea no idea cuz gray was wrestling in college but he was heavier than you right he was a 57 pound and making all American yeah yeah right he’s one of the better grey mayor was a stud wrestler so even we carry that with us into the Octagon right when a guy has more credentials he’s like wait I took that dude out you probably were happy about it feather in a c certainly April 10th 2010 at UFC 112 was the night everything changed you from the moment that fight began against BJ you just were there and seemed to know something that the rest of us didn’t know you can argue you won all five rounds but there were so many different moments we could point to throughout your career and this one might get you a little bit emotional but in 2017 your dear friend and Coach Nick katone a few days before you fight Yer Rodriguez loses his son and you go out and put a beating on Yer Rodriguez that we have never seen since and it seemed like you dealt with all the emotion and were able to channel the energy in the right way but I know that was a particularly challenging week for you and Dallas yeah uh you know that was um that was tough my wife was with me at the moment we got the news you know uh like I said we’re small close-nit team how you know all of us were feeling it that day and I you know I knew I wanted to to do to honor him in some way I mean it’s kind of silly to honor someone with a fight if you think about it but uh that’s the only way I could have done it so I felt it was the right time to you know honor his son there aren’t that many fighters on this list that are universally beloved we talked about Robbie Lawler in that ilk but just not a lot of people out there fans are Fighters that have a bad word to say about Frankie Edgar and I don’t know if that’s because you’ve just stayed real to who you are the whole time haven’t had to fabricate anything but I know you felt that love throughout your career no I did you know um from the peers that’s the best love you can get because you know we’re all in this together we’re all striving together we know that we have the common you know adversity it’s uh you know we’re very on the same level so to get the the love and admiration from those guys is is everything that’s everything yeah and I think uh you know they make movies out of stories like Frankie one in particular is the rocky Story I mean that if if you want to associate that movie with somebody I think time and time again it’s been a Frankie Edgar story and fighting at three different weight classes with the top level guys I mean that’s rare and I think Daniel’s talked about that before how rare that is to be fighting in three different level of the sport 155 lbs especially and and of course you go to each each weight class and you’re saying okay things are a little bit different at 155 I’m going to be a little bit faster I have to be crafer at 145 like I can be more of a uh you know play play the points where where they where they lay 135 you’re the bigger guy now um it takes a unique athlete a guy with a mind for the sport uh to be able to do that but how impressive is that to be able to have fought at the level of three that level at three different weight classes and get ready because the UFC Hall of Fame is coming the go yeah that’s coming so get that microphone hot you know a man a few words but just wait when Hall of Fame comes that’s going to be he going start cry special night no yeah you he going to start crying you think cry until he walk you there I don’t know if I got that he’s not a crier I don’t I don’t get a cry vibe from this guy this D gonna cry yeah I hope so all right well congrats Frankie edw is gonna stick around but takes his spot on the alltime roster