February 17, 2023

Episode 778: The Winning Mentality with Frankie Edgar & Dante Rivera

1 hour 3 minutes

On today's episode, Dennis sits down with 3x UFC Champion Frankie Edgar and UFC Fighter and BJJ Legend Dante Rivera.

Frankie Edgar's amazing career began in Toms River, New Jersey, Frankie wrestled at Toms River High School East, making it to the New Jersey state championship tournament on three occasions, placing second as a junior and fifth as a senior. Edgar is the oldest of 3 children, Edgar went on to compete in the NHSCA Senior Nationals and placed second before he finished high school. He continued wrestling at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, where he qualified for the nationals all four years there. Edgar entered his first mixed martial arts fight with only a few weeks of training outside of his wrestling background. Edgar originally trained with Rob Guarino of Rhino Fight Team, but today he is part of the Gracie system under Ricardo Almeida in Hamilton, NJ, who is part of the Gracie Barra team. Since seventh grade Edgar has wrestled with Steve Rivera at Elite Wrestling NJ in Jackson, NJ. His boxing trainer is Mark Henry of Millstone, NJ. Edgar became the UFC Lightweight Champion at UFC 112 when he defeated BJ Penn by unanimous decision. In the history of the UFC, no fighter has spent more time in the Octagon, just under 6.5 hours. These days, Edgar is a New Jersey legend, raising his family in Toms River, not far from where he grew up himself.

Professor Dante Rivera is the Founder and Head Instructor at Dante Rivera Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy located in Freehold, New Jersey. Professor Dante Rivera is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt who studied under the legendary Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie's first American Black Belt. The IFL & UFC veteran currently fights for Bellator and was a featured fighter on The Ultimate Fighter, Season 7. Dante Rivera is a multiple time Grapplers Quest and NAGA Champion, as well as a long time training partner of Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie, Frankie Edgar, Tom DeBlass, Nick Catone and many other veterans. Professor Dante held the following titles: Ring of Combat, Combat in the Cage, Cage Fury, Reality Fighting, & N.A.B.C. 185-lb Champion. Dante was recently inducted into the New Jersey State Martial Arts Hall of Fame where he received the Pioneer Fighter Award.

Today, Frankie and Dante discuss their upbringing and history in the UFC, the transition from fighting to coaching, the effectiveness of BJJ training for DT, dealing with the haters, the best way to start training BJJ, importance of being in shape and having a winning mentality.

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