Steve Feitl

@SteveFeitl

Toms River native Frankie Edgar fights Yair Rodriguez in a key featherweight bout at UFC 211

A former Toms River East wrestling star, Edgar is 21-5-1 in MMA and a former UFC lightweight champ

UFC 211 airs at 10 p.m. Saturday, May 13 on pay-per-view from the American Airlines Center in Dallas

Four preliminary bouts from Dallas are scheduled to air live on the FX network, starting at 8 p.m.

NEW YORK - Frankie Edgar has been in this spot before.

He has fought the rising star. The guy on the hot streak. The guy who's going to knock the perennial mixed martial arts contender from the top of the Ultimate Fighting Championship rankings.

So the Toms River native knows how to handle his UFC 211 bout with surging featherweight Yair Rodriguez this Saturday in Dallas.

"It's not any different; it's just different people," Edgar said over lunch in downtown Manhattan last week. "I have a different fan base telling me I'm going to lose and this is the new guy.

"It's OK for me because I'm going to steal those fans. When this fight is over, they're going to be talking about me and that, 'Wow, this guy's not done yet.'

"It's kind of frustrating, but I get it: When you're 35 years old, people start talking about the end. To me, the end isn't anywhere in my future right now."

Victorious at the Garden

Edgar looked like he had plenty of fight left in him the last time he stepped into the Octagon.

It was at last November’s UFC 205 – the MMA group's landmark debut in New York City at Madison Square Garden. Edgar defeated Jeremy Stephens via unanimous decision, though there was one moment when the bout seemed like it could swing the other way.

Shortly after the former Toms River East wrestling standout scored a key takedown in the second round, Stephens dazed him with a high kick.

Edgar literally didn't know what hit him.

"I thought it was a punch," Edgar recalled. "I remember (between rounds) my cornermen were talking to me, but I was looking at the replay like, 'Oh, it was a kick.'"

As he has done throughout his career – mostly notably in back-to-back 2011 bouts with Gray Maynard – Edgar rallied after absorbing the big strike, even winning that fateful round on two of three scorecards.

"Sometimes you don't really know what's happening in the moment, but I do feel that when I get hurt, I'm like a wounded tiger," Edgar said. "I kind of step it up."

Dream fulfilled

The victory was especially sweet for Edgar, occurring at "The World’s Most Famous Arena."

"The Answer" had helped lobby for the sport to be regulated in New York over the years and badly wanted to be a part of the first card in the city.

Throughout his fight week, Edgar stayed in familiar surroundings near frequent training spot the Renzo Gracie Academy -- a block away from the Garden.

"I just felt like I was in the city, like I am pretty frequently," Edgar said. "It was almost like, 'Don't forget you've got a fight this weekend.'"

After not fighting on the East Coast since 2010 (Boston) and in the immediate area since 2007 (Newark), Edgar relished the hometown reaction he received that night from the 20,427 in attendance.

"Hearing the crowd chant my name … I've had that before," Edgar said, "but given that it was New York, it definitely meant a little bit more."

Friends and family who often cannot make the trip when he is fighting in locales as diverse as Japan, Abu Dhabi and the Philippines were able to see him compete live this time. As he exited the cage he spotted Jenni "JWoww" Farley and Roger Mathews of "Jersey Shore" fame, as well as Chicago White Sox slugger and fellow Toms River product Todd Frazier.

Edgar and Frazier have enjoyed similar success on their respective professional sports paths – their children even share a swim class – and the athletes often cheer each other on through social media.

"I think we have a special camaraderie down there," Edgar said of Toms River. "We look out for our own. When one person succeeds, we definitely shout it out.”

Next challenge

With 27 pro fights under his belt, Edgar isn’t thinking retirement, even if he has business ventures that may benefit him long after he hangs up the gloves.

He says the UFC Gym that bears his name in North Brunswick is moving in the right direction. And this summer, he plans to launch a line of supplements under the name The Iron Army. (For those that do not understand the reference, his initials comprise the periodic table abbreviation for iron.)

The supplement line is very much intended to help him as an active fighter. With increased scrutiny of performance enhancing substances from USADA testing in the UFC, Edgar wants to avoid any chance of inadvertently taking a tainted product.

"I almost got to the point where I wasn't going to take supplements anymore," Edgar said. "You can enhance your performance legally and that's the avenue we want to go."

But first, he must tangle with Rodriguez on the UFC's latest pay-per-view event. The card is headlined by a heavyweight title fight between champion Stipe Miocic and Junior dos Santos and a women’s strawweight championship bout with champ Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade. The broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Saturday from the American Airlines Center.

Rodriguez (10-1) is unbeaten in six UFC bouts and ranked seventh in the 145-pound featherweight division. Edgar (21-5-1) is slotted No. 2, behind champion Jose Aldo and interim champion Max Holloway.

Edgar derailed the hot streak of fellow featherweight Cub Swanson two-and-a-half years ago in Austin, Texas, when Swanson was on a six-fight streak. Edgar mauled him for five rounds and submitted him with just seconds remaining in the bout.

Both Edgar and Rodriguez are responsible for the last two losses in B.J. Penn’s fabled career. Edgar defeated him for the third time with a third-round TKO in 2014. Rodriguez TKO’d Penn in two rounds in January.

Edgar is impressed with Rodriguez’s unpredictability, but still sees a path to his 22nd MMA victory.

"I really don't know what he's going to throw at me," Edgar said. "I think sometimes he doesn't even know.

"It's a double-edged sword though because a lot of that unpredictability leaves openings. So his strength could also prove to be one of his weaknesses."

Staff Writer Steve Feitl: sfeitl@gannettnj.com