Sherdog’s Top 10: Five-Round Fights

Patrick WymanMar 11, 2015

1. Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard
UFC 125
Jan. 1, 2011 | Las Vegas
Despite dropping a three-round decision to former Michigan State University wrestler Maynard in April 2008, it was New Jersey’s Edgar who got the call to face longtime dominant champion B.J. Penn at UFC 112 two years later. While fans screamed “robbery,” it was Edgar who walked away with the belt and it was Edgar who left their rematch at UFC 118 with a truly dominant victory. The rematch with Maynard was set as Edgar’s second defense of the title, and the two men rang in 2011 in style.

While wrestling and top control had been the heart of Maynard’s first victory over Edgar, he clearly wanted to box in the rematch. The champion obliged, and Edgar’s constant movement cost him when he dropped his hands after cutting an angle and the challenger clipped him with a flush left hook. Edgar dropped and Maynard jumped on him, landing shot after shot after shot that looked to put the champion down for good. Despite Maynard’s best efforts, Edgar survived only to be dropped again two minutes later. The champion hung in there, however, barely making it to the end of the round.

Everything changed in the second. Maynard was exhausted after throwing more than 80 strikes in the opening frame, and Edgar stuck to his game plan. He stuck and moved for the entire round, popping the challenger with combination after combination while Maynard loaded up on single shots and followed the smaller champion around the cage. With 1:20 left in the second, Maynard overextended as he moved forward, and in one of the most iconic moments of his career, Edgar ducked under, clasped his hands and slammed Maynard to the mat.

The momentum had clearly shifted, and Edgar was now in control. Still, Maynard hardly rolled over in the third round, coming back with volume and two completed takedowns to likely take the frame. Round four was all Edgar, as he smoothly outboxed the challenger and even landed a few hard right hands that stopped Maynard in his tracks. The fifth was contentious, but a probable round for Edgar.

Between the momentum shifts, back-and-forth exchanges and the sheer importance of the bout for both men, it made for an incredible fight. While the argument can be made for other scraps as the best five-round fight of all-time, Edgar-Maynard 2 stands as high as any.

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Jose Aldo vs. Chad Mendes (UFC 179), Tito Ortiz vs. Frank Shamrock (UFC 22), Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva (UFC Fight Night “Hunt vs. Bigfoot”), Michael Chandler vs. Will Brooks (Bellator 120), Dan Henderson vs. Quinton Jackson (UFC 75).

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