Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) yesterday confirmed the addition of Frank Edgar vs. Kurt Pellegrino as the co-main event for the upcoming Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 10 Finale on December 5.
"The Answer" and "Batman" will headline alongside the now-official pairing of Matt Hamill and Jon Jones, who throw down in a light heavyweight affair from the "The Pearl" at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas LIVE on Spike TV.
Edgar rebounded from the first professional loss of his career to Gray Maynard (unanimous decision) at UFC Fight Night 13 to outpoint former number one contender Hermes Franca on all three judges scorecards at UFC Fight Night 14: "Silva vs. Irvin" in July 2008.
The latter bout also earned "Fight of the Night" honors, but was water under the bridge after Edgar defeated former lightweight champion Sean Sherk at UFC 98: "Evans vs. Machida" on May 23 for what was undoubtedly the biggest win of his career.
Edgar recently earned a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu while training at Ricardo Almeida Jiu-Jitsu in Hamilton, N.J., under Ricardo Almeida — the star pupil of Renzo Gracie. He is a decorated high school (Toms River High School East) and collegiate (Clarion University) wrestler out of Toms River, N.J., who also moonlights as an assistant wrestling coach at Rutgers University.
It’s going to take every ounce of that talent for Edgar to get past the crafty Pellegrino.
"Batman" has flirted with being recognized as a top competitor in a very crowded division on numerous occasions throughout his career; however, he has been plagued by inconsistency just as he reaches the precipice of contendership.
After being submitted by Nate Diaz at Fight Night 13 in April 2008, Pellegrino was able to string together three consecutive wins including a submission victory over Rob Emerson at Fight Night 17 last February and a one-sided unanimous decision nod over the dangerous Josh Neer at UFC 101: "Declaration" just last month.
A win over the surging Edgar would unquestionably re-establish him as a force to be reckoned with — and a possible heir to the 155-pound throne.
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