Despite the fact that he was the defending lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar was considered a rank outsider by most coming into his second fight against BJ Penn, and many expected the New Jersey native to struggle against a more focused and determined Penn who also claimed to have a better game plan this time around.
In the end though Edgar did enough to claim every round on the scorecards of both the judges and most watching at home, and even Penn's vaunted ground game seemed to pose little risk to to the much sharper looking Edgar. While the first fight was disputable, and many even claimed Penn should have gotten the nod, this time things were not nearly so close, and the future looks uncertain for the former lightweight champion
Where Penn goes next isn't clear, after winning the lightweight strap most expected him to rule over the division until he either retired or moved up in weight, and the latter doesn't look like much of an option now. There are still fights out there for him at lightweight, and he has already beaten the rest of the contenders excluding Gray Maynard, but it will probably be quite some time before he gets another title shot. Edgar meanwhile now takes on Maynard who became the number one contender earlier in the night.
As expected by most, Randy Couture wasted little time in taking down James Toney, and eventually submitted the former boxer, who clearly knew a lot less about grappling and submissions than he claimed to during the build up. As soon as the opening bell had sounded Couture was looking for a way to get the fight to the ground, and Toney unsurprisingly was powerless to stop him. After shooting a single leg Couture began to work ground and pound, and Toney was already in deep trouble. From there Couture applied an arm triangle choke, and after some confusion over whether Toney submitted or not, applied a second with side control before getting the victory.
What was perhaps surprising though is that Toney also claimed that he will be back, although whether the UFC will want him back is another matter, and will probably depend on the pay per view sales as much as anything else. For someone entirely new to the sport, losing to a veteran like Couture is expected, and against a fighter more willing to engage him on the feet Toney might have come out on top. Whatever drawing power he will have left after this defeat will probably have to be measured against the big money he demands, so seeing him in the cage again is far from a certainty if the UFC don't see him making them much money the second time around.
Almost completely obscured in the press leading up to the event, Brazilian submission ace Demian Maia continued on his quest towards the middleweight title with a decision victory over Mario Miranda. After controlling most of the fight and attempting numerous submissions though, many felt Maia should have finished the fight at some point. By the end of the third round Miranda was exhausted, and he did well to survive until the end. Maia also had former opponent Anderson Silva in his corner, despite the fact that presumably Maia is working towards another shot at his title.
Former Ultimate Fighter cast member Gray Maynard proved once again that his wrestling is not to be underestimated after successfully taking down Kenny Florian in each round of their lightweight number one contender bout and eventually scoring a unanimous decision victory. Before the fight most were picking the dangerous ground game and dynamic striking of Florian to make the difference, but after wary exchanges from both fighters, Maynard's wrestling was the deciding factor, and he now moves into the number one contender spot for the next crack at Frankie Edgar.
Interestingly enough, Maynard is also the only man to have defeated Edgar so far in his career, a fight he won largely through his wrestling and top control. So it will be interesting to see what both bring to the table when they eventually meet.
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