Sherdog’s Top 10: Greatest Featherweights

8. Frankie Edgar

We've already covered Edgar on a previous list, as he came in as Sherdog’s fifth-greatest lightweight. This is no accident. At 155 pounds, Edgar had not only knocked off B.J. Penn twice but most felt that he won both fights against Benson Henderson, especially their rematch for the title. Yet, one fight after having beaten the 155-pound champion in the eyes of almost everyone except the judges, Edgar dropped down to challenge Jose Aldo for the 145-pound title. There would be no controversy there, as Aldo clearly won, with virtually every scorecard either a 49-46 or 48-47 for the legendary Brazilian. Edgar then went on a nice five-fight winning streak at featherweight that featured a decision triumph over a young Charles Oliveira, stopping Penn in their third match, submitting Cub Swanson with four seconds left in the bout, decisioning Urijah Faber, and a shocking first-round knockout of Chad Mendes. This gained Edgar a rematch with Aldo at UFC 200 for the interim belt, but yet again, the Brazilian proved too tough, winning even more convincingly the second time. Edgar would then go 3-3 in the rest of his featherweight tenure, winning a second decision over Swanson, edging out Jeremy Stephens and forcing a stoppage against Yair Rodriguez, but also being knocked out by in the first round by both Brian Ortega and Chan Sung Jung, and easily handled over five rounds by Max Holloway in what was honestly a completely undeserved title shot. Still, Edgar was the clear second best featherweight for a period of time, and pushed Aldo the hardest that anyone ever had at the time.

Continue Reading » Number 7