UFC 98 took place in Las Vegas and featured a lightheavyweight title bout with two undefeated fighters: challenger Lyoto Machida and the champion Rashad Evans. The undercard was highlighted by a long-overdue ‘grudge match’ between former welterweight champions Matt Hughes and Matt Serra. Here’s how it went down:
Sean Sherk vs. Frankie Edgar (155 lbs)
Round 1: In the opening round of the televised broadcast, Sherk chose to stand and trade strikes with Edgar, despite a clear reach disadvantage. Sherk stalked Edgar but most of his strikes didn’t find their target while Edgar circled away and landed counters. Sherk shrugged off Edgar’s takedown attempts, until Edgar caught a leg kick and attempted a guillotine. Sherk escaped to finish the round on his feet. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 2: Sherk continued to stalk Edgar and had some success with his punches early on. Eventually Edgar picked up his rhythm and began scoring with jabs, kicks, and combinations while evading Sherk’s strikes. Round 10-9 Edgar
Round 3: Sherk finally changed his strategy and quickly took Edgar down, but Edgar escaped and successfully defended all subsequent takedown attempts. In the final seconds of the round, Sherk shot for another takedown and was caught in a tight guillotine as the time ran out. Round 10-9 Edgar
Frankie Edgar wins the unanimous decision, 30-27 on all scorecards.
Fight Grade: 2.5/5
Aftermath: With no clear-cut challenger for the winner of an upcoming lightweight title bout between champion BJ Penn and Kenny Florian, Frankie Edgar positioned himself as one of the top contenders. Sherk’s decision to be a kickboxer has cost him this fight, and he needs to go back to his roots as a ground-and-pound wrestler if he wants to contend for the title again.
[#6 W125] 
[#5 FW] 
[#16 FW] 
[#6 HW] 
Jeff Lawson
