UFC: Frankie Edgar says he’s a ‘top dog’ at bantamweight after debut decision over Pedro Munhoz

Frankie “The Answer” Edgar answered any lingering questions over whether his chin could hold up at 135 pounds after edging Pedro Munhoz by split decision in a battle of right hands as he made his long-awaited bantamweight debut.

Two of the UFC Vegas 7 judges inside the Apex had scorecards of 48-47 for the 38-year-old Edgar (23-8-1) on Saturday night, the other giving it 49-46 to Munhoz (18-5, one no contest).

The former lightweight champ racked up his 18th UFC win with a veteran’s display of ring craft. Edgar kept moving and kept listening to his coaches, throwing non-stop combinations and mixing in his wrestling against the No 5-ranked Munhoz to immediately mark himself as a bona fide contender.

“I just got my feet wet, the sky’s the limit for myself,” Edgar told Jon Anik in his post-fight interview. “I didn’t look slow in there. Pedro’s a top dog, that makes me a top dog. We’re back.”

“I still got some fight in this tank baby,” he added. “We’re gonna make a run at 135, that’ll put me right in the top five of the weight class. I’m showing I can compete with the best at 38 years old – I don’t wanna hear nothing from nobody.”

The former UFC lightweight champ was dropping down again after finally giving up his bid to become featherweight king last year. Edgar had been booked for a bantamweight bout against Corey Sandhagen in January, but a late notice featherweight fight Jung Chan-sung in Busan last December – a first-round TKO for “The Korean Zombie” – put paid to that with the American earning a six-month medical suspension.