Frankie Edgar first fighter named to UFC Hall of Fame Class of 2024
UFC today announced that former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s ‘Modern Wing’ as a member of the Class of 2024. The 2024 UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place this summer in Las Vegas and will be streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS.
“Frankie Edgar is one of the greatest athletes in UFC history,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “Frankie had an amazing career and consistently fought the best athletes in the world across multiple weight classes for more than 15 years. He is a legend, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame as part of International Fight Week this summer.”
“The Answer” Edgar will enter the UFC Hall of Fame as a member of the Modern Wing, joining others in this distinguished category, including Forrest Griffin (2013), BJ Penn (2015), Urijah Faber (2017), Ronda Rousey (2018), Michael Bisping (2019), Rashad Evans (2019), Georges St-Pierre (2020), Khabib Nurmagomedov (2022), Daniel Cormier (2022), Jose Aldo (2023) and Donald Cerrone (2023). The “Modern Era” category includes athletes who turned pro on or after November 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules of MMA was held), are a minimum age of 35, or who have been retired for one year or more.
A veteran of 35 fights during his 17-year professional MMA career, Edgar compiled a record of 23-11-1, securing victories over UFC Hall of Famers BJ Penn, Urijah Faber, and Cub Swanson (Fight Wing), as well as notching wins against former WEC® lightweight champion Hermes Franca, and former UFC lightweight champions Sean Sherk, Charles Oliveira, and Yair Rodriguez (interim).
Edgar made his professional MMA debut in 2005, winning his first six fights across four MMA promotions before joining UFC.
Edgar made his UFC debut on February 3, 2007, on the prelims of UFC® 67: ALL OR NOTHING, which took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Edgar defeated Tyson Griffin via unanimous decision and earned his first “Fight of the Night” bonus during his debut inside the Octagon®.
Following the victory in his debut, Edgar would win five of his next six fights inside the Octagon, including impressive wins over former WEC lightweight champion Hermes Franca, and former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk, en route to earning a title shot against former UFC welterweight champion and then-UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn at UFC® 112: INVINCIBLE.
UFC 112: INVINCIBLE, took place on April 10, 2010, and served as the mixed martial arts organization’s first-ever event in the Middle East. Edgar entered the fight as a +620 underdog against Penn, who recently broke the record for the most consecutive UFC lightweight title defenses in his most recent bout as the main event of UFC 107.
The co-main event matchup would go the distance, with Edgar pulling off the upset by winning on each of the judge’s scorecards. At the time, the win served as the largest championship underdog victory in UFC history (ranks 3rd today). His victory would also earn a nominee for “Best Upset of the Year” at the 2010 ESPY Awards.
Edgar and Penn would meet in an immediate rematch four months later at UFC® 118: EDGAR vs. PENN 2 at TD Garden in Boston. This fight card made history as the first UFC event held in Massachusetts. Edgar would defeat Penn via unanimous decision to retain the UFC lightweight title.
His next title defense would come against a familiar opponent, Gray Maynard, at UFC® 125: RESOLUTION. Maynard had defeated Edgar via unanimous decision in 2008, which served as his first loss as a professional.
UFC® 125: RESOLUTION, took place on January 1, 2011, at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Edgar and Maynard fought a close match for five rounds with the fight ending in a split draw. The fight marked only the second time in UFC history that a title fight ended in a draw and is widely regarded as one of the greatest MMA fights in history. The two would meet for a trilogy fight in the main event of UFC® 136: EDGAR vs. MAYNARD 3, with Edgar defeating Gray via KO in the fourth round.
In 2012, Edgar fought former WEC® and UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson in consecutive events (UFC 144 / UFC 150) with the title on the line, before moving to featherweight to face champion Jose Aldo for the title in the main event of UFC 156. Edgar would lose his bid for the featherweight title but remained a contender in the division.
Over the next nine years, Edgar would compete in 16 bouts across the bantamweight, lightweight, and featherweight divisions, fighting in a rematch with Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight title at UFC 200 and the featherweight title against Max Holloway at UFC 240, respectively. He retired in November 2022 after a loss to Chris Gutierrez at UFC 281.
Edgar enters the UFC Hall of Fame with an impressive resume that includes:
UFC:
Second in total Octagon fight time in UFC history – 7:57:10 (1st at time of retirement)
Tied for second-most Fight of the Night bonuses in UFC history – 8
Third-most significant strikes landed in UFC history – 1,801 (2nd at time of retirement)
Sixth in takedowns landed in UFC history – 73 (4th at time of retirement)
Sixth in championship fight time in UFC history – 3:38:54
UFC lightweight division:
Best significant strike defense in UFC lightweight history – 71.8%
Outside the Octagon, Frankie has been honored with several awards during his career, receiving Fight of the Year honors in 2011 by the Fighters Only World MMA Awards for his bout against Gray Maynard (UFC 125) and Fight of the Year honors in 2012 by ESPN for his championship match against Benson Henderson (UFC 144).
A native of Toms River, New Jersey, Edgar began wrestling at Toms River High School East. Following high school, he continued to wrestle at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, qualifying for the NCAA Division I Nationals each year. He resides in Toms River with his wife, Renee, and their three children.
