Novice // Edgar Retains Title in Rare Main Event Draw

UFC® 125 promised a RESOLUTION this past Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV, but the final result was anything but. The night featured plenty of bruising battles, including the headliner, but ultimately very little was settled in the UFC®’s lightweight title picture.Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar retained his title by coming from behind to force a draw against challenger Gray Maynard in the night’s main event. Maynard opened the fight on fire, stunning the champ with a left hook about a minute into the first round and spending the remainder of the period brutalizing Edgar with punch after punch. Somehow Edgar withstood the onslaught and made it into the second, and from there the speed demon gradually worked his way back into the fight. Maynard may have punched himself out in the first, as his pace slowed considerably afterwards and Edgar frustrated him with footwork and pinpoint combinations. The battle went back and forth right up to the bell, and with no clear winner, the judges ended up scoring the match a split draw. After such a spirited and closely-matched contest, there was talk of an immediate rematch in the post-fight press conference, which seems only fair considering Maynard didn’t actually lose his title shot.In the co-main event, former Marine and former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion Brian Stann answered many of his critics with a convincing TKO stoppage of vaunted middleweight Chris Leben. Stann and Leben brawled early, but soon the Iraq War veteran took control with a series of head and body shots and finally a knee to his opponent’s head. Stann swarmed and the ref called the fight at 3