Frankie Edgar Impresses In UFC Debut – February 3, 2007 (This Day In MMA History)

Frankie Edgar was pretty unknown when he debuted in the UFC.

But that changed after he defeated Tyson Griffin by unanimous decision 15 years ago. It was a hard-fought 15 minutes and was recognized as one of the best fights that year.

What caught fans’ attention was when he avoided a late kneebar attempt from Griffin.

“I hate to lose,” Edgar said at the time.

“I put so much on the line in that fight, it was balls to the wall the whole way, and then with 45 seconds left I get caught in that. But there was no way I could tap. It did pop a couple of times, but once it popped once, I said, ‘hey, the hell with it.’ I’d rather limp around for a while and get this ‘W’ than take a loss.”

Edgar was 5-0 as a pro before debuting in the UFC. Since then, he’s moved up the ranks and is also a former UFC lightweight champion.