Edgar’s Plan: Beat Franca, Stay at 155

There is an old adage that downplays the importance of physical size in combat: "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog."

However, in a time where top-level MMA fighters routinely cut 20 to 30 pounds prior to weighing in, one loss can quickly question any clichéd ideals of heart being able to overcome size.

For UFC lightweight Frank Edgar (Pictures) (8-1, 3-1 UFC), the message has not been lost, even though his only loss has taken him from potential No. 1 contender at 155 pounds to having to address whether he even belongs in the division.

Edgar was flawless in his first three fights in the UFC, defeating Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek (Pictures) and Spencer Fisher (Pictures). Those three victories, as well as five other outside of the league, gave the 26-year-old native of Toms River, N.J., a perfect mark of 8-0 going into his fight with Gray Maynard (Pictures) in April.

Maynard won a decision, handing Edgar the first loss in his burgeoning MMA career. At the postfight news conference, Maynard (5-0, 1 NC) referenced his readily apparent size advantage over Edgar as being a factor in the win, which prompted debate as to whether Edgar should move down to the featherweight ranks.

"Obviously I was the smaller fighter," says the 5-foot-6 Edgar, who will face former title contender Hermes Franca (Pictures) on July 19 at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas. "That might have been part of the reason [for the loss], but I don't think it was 100 percent that he beat me because he was bigger than me."

Edgar says that he is currently around 165 pounds, and that he can make the cut to featherweight at 145 pounds. However, he doesn't plan on leaving the UFC's lightweight division any time soon.

"I'm comfortable where I'm at," he says.

Former NCAA champion wrestler Steve Rivera, Edgar's longtime mentor and friend who has coached him since the fighter was in the seventh grade, agrees that the UFC's lightweight division is the right place for Edgar.

"He's 3-1 in the UFC," Rivera says. "A lot of fighters would love to have that record. You could tell me that size is an issue for some fighters, and I'd have to agree, but he's only got one loss. Everybody loses, and I just happen to know Frankie well enough to know that it wasn't his best performance and that he'll come back strong."

Edgar says that one of the lessons he learned from the fight was that he will have to bulk up in order to have the best chance at winning in the lightweight division.

"I'm not trying to become a bodybuilder or anything," he says with a chuckle, "but I'm trying to put on some functional size."

The loss also helped Edgar sharpen his focus on fighting. He now takes nothing for granted in the fight game.

"Training hard is not enough," he says. "Everybody trains hard. The fight game is not just boxing, wrestling, positioning, jiu-jitsu. It's eating right, it's sleeping right, it's focusing, it's visualizing, it's everything. If you want to be the man you have to live this sport, go through the day-to-day grind."

Rivera believes Edgar, who under his tutelage had a decorated amateur wrestling career, matured with the loss and is now better able to handle the life of a UFC star.

"There's a lot going on with these guys, the fame and the fortune in some cases. I feel the last fight was a growing point for him, dealing with the fame and a lot of things going on business-wise that took him out of his regimen," Rivera says. "This time he's that much older and wiser now. He's prepared better. He's dealt with all the publicity better. I think he's going to come in ready to go, and come out victorious."

For the past three months, Edgar has been honing his fight skills in a new environment -- Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Ricardo Almeida (Pictures)'s gym in Hamilton, N.J.

"His jiu-jitsu game is one of the best," says Edgar of Almeida (9-3, 2-3 UFC). "And just the fact that he's been around [fighting] for such a long time is a big help too."

Rivera feels that working with Almeida will help Edgar become a truly rounded fighter.

"Being here in New Jersey, getting the resources to compete at this level is not as easy as being in Nevada or California," Rivera says. "With the addition of Ricardo, he filled the gap that he had that being with a jiu-jitsu master would bring to him.

"His boxing has always been good, and he's been wrestling his whole life. The jiu-jitsu is the component he needed."

For Edgar, a strong performance against Franca (18-6, 5-3 UFC) on July 19 will go a long way toward showing he belongs at the top of the lightweight division. The Brazilian is coming off of a yearlong suspension after testing positive for anabolic steroids following his decision loss to Sean Sherk (Pictures) for the UFC lightweight title.

Edgar says that Franca will no doubt be fired up for his return to the Octagon after a hefty hiatus: "Sitting out for a year, I'm sure he has that itch [to fight] pretty good. I'm sure he'll be coming out guns blazing."

Edgar will not be taking Franca lightly.

"He's a dangerous opponent, one of the most dangerous in the game to tell you the truth," says Edgar. "He can finish a fight all over the place, standing or on the ground."

In a division where you're only as good as your last fight, Rivera believes that beating Franca will not only put Edgar back on track for a title shot.

"If he comes out to victory against Hermes," says the coach, "then everybody will forget about his size again."