The odds have always been stacked against Frankie Edgar during his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. He’s been called too small and weak to handle the best lightweight fighters in the world, but somehow he’s defied them and is now the UFC’s 155 lb. champion. The New Jersey native will put his belt on the line on Jan 1st as he takes on Gray Maynard in UFC 125. The only problem is that Maynard (12-0) has been the only man to beat Edgar in his MMA career, so he knows exactly what it takes.

But Edgar (13-1) said he’s more concerned about keeping his title than he is with getting revenge for the loss. Either way, he’s going to have to turn the tables on Maynard on Saturday night and beat the odds as he’s listed as a slight underdog with most of the world’s biggest sportsbooks. He added he’s defending his championship and Maynard just happens to be the opponent, but a win over him would definitely be like icing on the cake.

Edgar’s used to being the underdog though and actually prefers it as it’s a great motivational tool. He believes if he keeps on winning however, though sooner or later he’ll be the favourite going into a fight, but he’s not concerned about it. Besides he added, Maynard already beat him so it makes sense that he’s the favourite.

That fight took place almost two years ago as Maynard won a unanimous decision in April 2008. At that time it looked like the critics were right and Edgar was perhaps a bit too small to successfully compete in the lightweight division. But since then he’s found a way to not only compete in the division, but to keep on winning.

He started out as a good wrestler with decent jiu-jitsu skills, but has worked hard at all disciplines of MMA and is now considered to be a good all-around fighter. He worked with trainer Mark Henry on his boxing skills and is one of the best in the UFC with his hands now. However, he didn’t ignore the other aspects of his game and kept working with coach Ricardo Almeida in his jiu-jitsu to make sure he’s well prepared for taking fights to the ground.

Edgar has improved in all areas since losing to Maynard and that loss motivated to improve as a fighter. He said his coaches study the first fight, but he prefers to look at his recent fights as he thinks he’s a different fighter now. However, Maynard has also improved over the past two years. But while Edgar’s just looking at it as just another fight, he admitted that after it’s over a win over Maynard might actually mean a little bit more to him.