Edgar versus Rodriguez: Positioning versus Agility

In The Tactical Guide to Edgar vs Rodriguez we reflected that whether or not he wins another title before he retires, Frankie Edgar is a fighter whose fight films are likely to be on constant repeat at the top gyms in years to come. Often outsized and outgunned, Edgar consistently makes very scary men look confused and outclassed. Against the gigantic featherweight up-and-comer, Yair Rodriguez, Edgar put on an unusually violent beatdown. Every small opening that Rodriguez had shown before this fight—his loopy boxing, his failure to set up his strikes, his habit for running onto the fence—was exploited ruthlessly by the savvy old veteran and Rodriguez scarcely got a word in edgewise against the Edgar onslaught.

From the outset Edgar showed exactly what he needed to on the feet: he was always "all the way out" or "all the way in," and never lingering in kicking range long enough to eat a shin bone. When Rodriguez looked like he was going to kick, Edgar would step back, then he would resume walking towards the kicker as Rodriguez danced himself closer and closer to the fence. When Edgar felt he could run in a flurry, or Rodriguez stepped in to pump his telegraphed hands, Edgar got off some shots of his own and finished the push to the fence.

The theme throughout the entirety of UFC 211 was not what the fighters did but where they did it. The man who controls where the fight happens can control his opponent's options. Put on an infinite plane, Rodriguez could jump around with kicks all day and never hit a fence. Put in a cage with a man of Edgar's proficiency and experience, it cost him big within the first minute of the fight and it was all downhill from there. Cage position didn't just matter on the feet, it completely stifled Rodriguez's guard through the first round. Rodriguez has been known to thrown up triangles, armbars, roll for leg locks, and even Roleta swept an opponent to mount in the UFC. But a good guard game, like a good scientific striking game, requires space. Rodriguez had no way of moving backwards and it is the man inside the guard who controls movement along the vertical plane.