Making the Grade: Passes/Fails for UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber

Published May. 16, 2015 4:24 p.m. ET

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Damon Martin

Frankie Edgar topped Urijah Faber in the main event as the UFC embarked on the first-ever show in the Philippines in what turned out to be a really fun morning of fights for fans watching back home in the United States.

In addition to Edgar's win, Mark Munoz called it a career with a unanimous-decision victory over Luke Barnatt in one of the most inspiring performances in recent memory.

But the results are already out there, so let's dig a little deeper on this card and see who passed and who failed for UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber.

This is Making the Grade.

PASSES

Give that man his title shot

Frankie Edgar didn't get the finish against Urijah Faber in the main event, but he put on a flawless performance to win his fourth straight fight while beating one of the true legends of the lighter weight divisions in the process.

Coming off a win over Charles Oliveira in 2013, Edgar wanted a top-five opponent so he could get back in the title race at 145 pounds. Instead the UFC asked him to sit out for a year while he coached "The Ultimate Fighter" against B.J. Penn, a fighter he had already defeated on two occasions. Edgar did what was asked of him and then retired Penn with his third win over the future Hall of Famer.

In November, Edgar finally got his wish of a top opponent, and walked through Cub Swanson before finishing the fight with a neck crank late in the fifth round of a completely one-sided fight. That probably should have been enough to earn him another shot at the title, but a very loud and boisterous Irishman named Conor McGregor got the opportunity instead.

Now, with his latest win over Faber, there's no way the UFC can deny Edgar the winner of the UFC 189 main event in July. He's done what's been asked of him every single time, and now he's earned the right to sit and wait for his chance to compete for UFC gold again.

And as if the UFC needed another reason to put him in a title fight, Edgar has never looked better than he's been recently. The former lightweight champion just seems to get stronger and better with each fight and he might be the person to spoil either Aldo's reign or McGregor's celebration once UFC 189 is over.

Mark Munoz goes out like he came in — with class

Mark Munoz has been regarded as one of the nicest guys in all of MMA since he started competing in 2007, so it probably wasn't a shock why just about everyone in the industry was quietly rooting for him to get a win in his final fight on Saturday in the Philippines. No one had anything against his opponent Luke Barnatt, but considering the kind of person Munoz has always been and the way he's carried himself, it was a no-brainer that the MMA world at large wanted to see him go out on top.

Well, it couldn't have gone much better than it did as Munoz hammered Barnatt consistently over the course of three rounds. When it was over, the judges gave Munoz the win and then something even better happened.

UFC commentator Jon Anik just handed Munoz the microphone and more or less said "Go". And the veteran middleweight, whose family hails from the Philippines, had one of those special moments that will always be remembered as he said goodbye to MMA for the final time.

Is it dusty in here?

How good is Brian Stann?

It's always a pleasure when the commentators from any sport really add an extra layer of information on top of just calling an event, and when it comes to mixed martial arts there's none better than former UFC middleweight Brian Stann.

Stann is a student of the game and the amount of research he does for every fight is awe inspiring. He doesn't just spend fight week getting ready with research by reading some notes; he makes it a point to talk to all the fighters, their camps and trainers.

He calls the action inside the Octagon better than just about anybody in the sport and the additional information he adds — whether it's the first fight of the night or the main event — is always helpful. Stann is just about the best in the business and any time he's on the call, sit back, relax, enjoy the fights and learn a thing or two from the top commentator in the sport. 

FAILS

"Ultimate Fighter 19" finalists continue to struggle

UFC president Dana White famously slammed the fights that took place on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 19 because he just didn't believe the competitors were truly trying to show they belonged inside the Octagon.

Unfortunately, the four finalists from the season have proven White's criticisms correct with a very rough start to their respective UFC careers.

So far, outside of the actual finale fights, Corey Anderson, Matt Van Buren, Eddie Gordon and Dhiego Lima have gone a combined 2-6 in the Octagon.

Lima has faced the toughest stretch going 1-2 in his last three fights, including two consecutive knockouts with his latest coming in the Philippines in rapid fashion as he fell to Li Jingliang in just 85 seconds.

It's impossible to judge talent from season to season of "The Ultimate Fighter" until the competitors from the show actually get the chance to fight in the UFC, but so far the four finalists from season 19 have not done much to prove they belong amongst the elite of the elite in the Octagon.

Hometown decision

Once again the judges manage to get a decision horribly wrong, and it's even worse because it just happened to be in a fight involving a hometown kid in Phillipe Nover, who was brought back to the UFC specifically to fight in his native country of the Philippines.

The only problem was he lost to Yui Chul Nam, except on two judges' scorecards, who somehow gave him the win.

Nam lost the first round based on Nover getting the fight to the mat several times, although he didn't do much once he got him there. The second round saw Nam power back and counter Nover's takedowns as well as land some nasty ground and pound and a few hard strikes on the feet. The third round was as lopsided as you could get with Nam taking Nover down and beating him on the ground for almost the entire five-minute session.

Still two judges gave rounds one and two to Nover in a gift decision like you wouldn't believe. Even UFC president Dana White was sickened to see the decision go that way.

Hopefully, Nam won't be penalized for the loss and he'll get his win bonus for a victory he definitely deserved.

EPIC FAIL

Right after this commercial break

Technical difficulties are part of live television. It just happens.

But during the Neil Magny and Hyun Gyu Lim fight, the action cut away to a quick commercial for the new movie "San Andreas," starring friend of the UFC Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. A moment later, the action cut away again for a split second.

Nothing really happened in those two brief cutaways, but it was impossible to miss as the fight was right in the middle of the first round and somehow there were commercials playing!

Only after the fights were over did we dig to the bottom of this situation as UFC president Dana White shed some light on the plan they had in place for the commercials.

It seems "The Rock" enjoyed this strategy as well. 

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