• UFC 136

Champion Edgar to play the guessing game

Frankie Edgar confesses this weekend's UFC 136 title showdown with Gray Maynard may well come down to which man can create the biggest surprise.

Edgar and Maynard go to war for a third time in their relatively short careers at UFC 136, with Maynard having won the first bout before nothing could separate them over five rounds in a championship collision.

Defending lightweight champion Edgar is no stranger to rematches, having fought back-to-back bouts with BJ Penn, and he admits it becomes tiring spending consecutive training camps preparing for the same opponent.

Stylistically, Edgar and Maynard match up extremely evenly. Edgar boasts technical striking while Maynard brings greater power, and both men are able to transition to the ground game seamlessly. It is, therefore, the surprise elements that could make the difference.

"I'm sick of thinking about him," admitted Edgar. "Am I sick of the fight? Not quite yet. The first fight and second fight we were different fighters - both of us. First fight was wrestling orientated, second fight we were standing and banging.

"There are so many different variables in the fight game. It's gonna be a guessing game a little bit."

Edgar is determined to move on from Maynard in order to build his legacy as the UFC lightweight champion. A stack of challengers including Clay Guida, Ben Henderson, Melvin Guillard and Gilbert Melendez await, and Edgar wants to put a full stop after Maynard's name.

"I want to be a complete fighter, I don't want to be a single-track guy. To be honest, I really think I can control every aspect of this fight," said the champion.

"When you have that belt, you have a target on your chest, he's gonna be gunning for me but this is the position I want to be in. I'll beat Gray Maynard, and after this third fight I'll be done with him."

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