FRANKIE EDGAR

The ultimate fighter known as The Answer has put together three straight wins in the UFC. We caught up with the New Jersey native a week before his April 2nd bout against Gray Maynard.

At first glance Frankie Edgar's 5-foot 5-inch, 155-pound frame doesn't cut such an imposing figure. You have to get close enough to see the clear curve in the bridge of his nose and the gnarled ears to clue in to the idea the can probably handle a scrap. If that's not enough, listening to his stories about his first pro fight, a no-holds barred contest in a Bronx boxing gym, confirms the theory. We sat down with the Toms River, New Jersey native a week before his fight with Gray Maynard at the upcoming UFC Fight Night in Colorado. Read up on what he had to say. 

Complex: You're undefeated right now. When was the last time you lost at anything?

Frankie Edgar: I guess my senior year wrestling for Clarion; I lost my All-American match. It was in...March 2005, it was this kid from Illinois. I lost to him in triple over time. It sucked. I really wanted that one, I wanted to go out an All American, and I didn't get it. It comes with the territory sometimes.

C: Your last fight went down in Newark in November. When the home state crowd started chanting your name did it register at all?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, I heard it you know? I saw my boys who started it. Maybe it gave me a little energy or something if anything a little inspiration. You don't really think about it when you're fighting, because you concentrate on everything else but you know when I saw it on TV it was just wild.

C: Growing up in Toms River did you ever dream of playing for one of those World Series Little League teams or did you see a future in fighting from the beginning?

Frankie Edgar: Yeah, I played baseball. I mean everybody at Toms River played baseball one time. But it wasn't my main sport. It was cool for a little bit. But as soon as I started to wrestling in seventh grade, that's what I concentrated on. I ran cross-country only to get in shape for wrestling, so stuff like that you know?

C: What do you listen to when you're backstage before the fight? What's on your iPod?

Frankie Edgar: You know man? I'm really into music a lot but not when I'm waiting for a fight. If someone's playing music in the back is cool man, but I don't bring my iPod or anything.

C: Do you think it will get you too hyped or is it your personal preference?

Frankie Edgar: I never started doing it so I guess I just kept it the same way you know?

C: What's your thought process like leading up to a fight?

Frankie Edgar: I'm pretty calm man. I'm as relaxed as you can get. You know? I go through my warm up, and I just relax until my name gets called. I focus and visualize what's going to go on in the fight, visualize what I'm going to execute in the fight. When I get my name called, it's just go time from there.

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