



​Related: The Frankie Edgar Project Part One

The sun is setting beyond Toms River and sky above the ocean 10 miles away has swirled into a mixture of navy and lavender.The streets of Seaside Heights are quiet. Street lights and the glow from scattered neon signs combine to cast a surreal filter over the intersection at Boulevard and Blaine. It’s the final weekend before Memorial Day, and for natives of the area it signals the final bit of peace before “The Shore” becomes flooded with visitors for the next three months.Frankie Edgar likes the silence.The easy smile on his face serves as a slight tell, and the laugh that comes through a few seconds later shatters his poker face entirely. Edgar appreciates the chaos the summer season will bring, and while he won’t be able to partake in the madness he once did, the memories intertwine in the roots of the place he calls home.“I love that I can hear the ocean this far from the boardwalk,” Edgar says. “It’s a beautiful night and a chance to see something that won’t look anything remotely like this in a week’s time. People come from all over the place to spend their summers here, and in just a few days this street will be packed. Every hotel room here and across the bridge in Toms River will be booked until August. It’s as normal to me as something crazy can be I suppose.”Businesses around the boardwalk run with skeleton crews through the off-season, which makes dining a hectic experience. Edgar’s wife Renee is confident Hemingway’s Cafe will be the best choice, and the sounds of wine glasses being racked coming from inside confirm her hunch.She shoots a direct, yet loving glance in her husband’s direction, and the way his shoulders shrug in the moment show Edgar was prepared for the outcome.“What are you gonna do?” he laughs holding the door to the restaurant open. “I can’t remember a time when I proved her wrong, and even if I could I would still act like I couldn’t.”It’s the type of subtle affection only 16 years and having three beautiful children can create. Three full-throttled sessions in the gym going toe-to-toe with his teammates and Edgar never took a backstep, but the way she looks at him does the trick. Love is a difficult thing to capture, but the Edgars have it on lock.Hearing his response Renee throws a gentle nudge in his direction as they walk through the doorway, and it only takes a few steps before they are greeted. Being welcomed to Hemmingway’s is protocol for the staff, but things are a bit different when you are a former UFC champion and the fighting pride of a city.Even though their choice of dinner was spontaneous, the Edgars are met at the door by the owner’s son. The smile on his face shines in the dimly lit ambiance of the foyer as he’s thrilled to see Frankie and Renee return to his family’s establishment.They exchange a quick round of small talk where he shows he’s up to date on all things Edgar. He shares his opinion on the “f****** beautiful” left hook that folded up Chad Mendes, and offered his encouragement for Edgar to do the same to Jose Aldo at UFC 200.“I have a few things for him,” Edgar says as he follows Renee to their table. “Jose is a tough fighter but he’s standing between me and that title.”“Bring the belt back home,” the proprietor says with pride in his voice, and Edgar replies with a nod before taking a seat at the table with his wife.In an hour Edgar will be back on the road heading east towards their home in Toms River where Frankie will do his best to unwind from a hard day’s work. He’ll attempt to put fighting out of his mind entirely, but Hemingway's will know their champion stopped in on Tuesday night.Most heroes are larger than life and crack under the scrutiny the public eye brings, but Frankie Edgar means something different Southeast New Jersey. He is their blue collar representative on the world’s stage, and Edgar’s ability to relate to the populus makes him someone they can invest their emotions in.They want him to succeed because they succeed as well, and that reverence is one of the few pedestals Edgar is willing to take. He will close his eyes and let the rematch with Aldo at UFC 200 drift from his mind for a few hours, but the pride he takes in representing Toms River remains never fades.It will be there for him when he wakes in the morning, every day for the rest of his life.Forty little feet bouncing rapid-fire off the crimson mat below creates a swell of noise that rises to the ceiling. The youth wrestling practice has just begun, but tiny beads of sweat have already started to form on foreheads across the rows.Head coach Steve Rivera provides instruction at the front as Frankie Edgar circles to the back to provide motivation for all to push through. Edgar’s two boys Francesco “Frankie Jr.” and Santino “Tino” are holding pace toward the front, and their attention is locked on Rivera as they await instruction.While both of his children have been competing under the Elite Wrestling banner for a bit, every practice provides a full-circle moment for the current UFC featherweight title challenger. His sons are hearing the same voice and taking the same instruction that guided their father during his youth, and the sentimental value that connection provides isn’t lost on Edgar.The former lightweight champion credits the Elite Wrestling program and the years he spent on mats and in wresting rooms for laying the foundation for the man he would become, and he’s well aware of the internal value the sport creates. Wrestling requires physical and mental investments many kids aren’t willing to give, and it’s in that grind where Edgar sees different traits of his children emerge.Frankie Jr.’s approach is analytical and efficient where Tino uses tenacity and aggression. Even at a young age, traces of their father become visible when competition gets underway, but it isn’t wins and losses Edgar is after.“Wrestling taught me so much and I want the same for my kids,” Edgar says after the gym has cleared out. “In other sports you have teammates to take some of the pressure off, but when you step out to wrestle it’s just you. The sport makes you realize at a young age that you’ll get out what you put in, and that’s a lesson they’ll carry for the rest of their lives.And while his footsteps into wrestling are ones Edgar knows his children will follow, that’s as close to combat sports as he will allow.“No one wants their children to grow up to be fighters, man,” Edgar says. “Especially if they have other options. That’s what my entire career is about--making a better life for them so they’ll be able to pursue the things they are passion about. I have a crazy drive that pushes me toward my goals, but that’s me, and not what we want for them. I fight so they don’t have to.“Wrestling has a lot of parallels to life. It’s a big world and one that will tear you up and toss you aside, and wrestling teaches you how to deal with adversity when the chips are down. You’re going to get put on the mat, but it’s on you to get back to your feet. If there is one thing my fighting career can show my kids is that remarkable things can happen when you refuse to stay down. Anything is possible if you want it bad enough.”“They also have a little sister now and they are going to have to keep the boys away,” he adds with a laugh. “I feel bad for whoever decides they want to try to date her.”His daughter Valentina’s second birthday will pass in the coming weeks, but Edgar has years before dating concerns come to fruition. Edgar also knows how quickly the future can sneak up on you.Leaving Toms River to attend Clarion University doesn’t seem all that long ago to him, but his recent induction to their wrestling Hall of Fame was a reality check of just how much time had passed. Memories slip easily in the fight game, and time becomes measured by training camps and opponents faced.Stopping to appreciate the things hard work has created is something many fighters fail to do, but Edgar’s ties to Toms River keeps home close even when he’s on the other side of the world.In Edgar’s mind the good is not just the success he’s had in nearly a decade competing at the highest level of his profession, but the adjustments he’s made that have him feeling strong and putting on the most dominant performances of his career.The negatives come in the sacrifices made in the time department, and the hard lessons learned on the business end of sports entertainment.Edgar justifies the time he’s had to spend away because it’s a necessity for him to provide the life he’s envisioned for his children, but the latter is a much more difficult pill to swallow.“For so long I really believed it was all about fighting,” Edgar says. “If I do my job inside the cage everything is going to work out for me. I’ll move up the ranks and get the opportunities I deserve because I’ve proven myself. Over the past few years I’ve learned that’s just not the case in today’s game, and I’ve had to make adjustments to my approach because of it.“I’m not sitting back in the cut anymore. I’m going after what I believe I deserve, and if people out there feel otherwise I have zero issues with proving them wrong. It’s my time now. I won’t be denied and I’m going after that title with everything I have.”