Getting UFC opportunity is only half the fight for lightweight Yves Edwards

Veteran lightweight Yves Edwards has been around the block enough to know that a UFC contract isn't an achievement in itself. It's what you do when you're inside the octagon that counts.

Edwards (38-16-1 MMA, 6-4 UFC) fights football jersey
John Gunderson (23-7 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 22 on Sept. 15 in Austin, Texas. Don't get him wrong, he's happy to be back. But don't expect any big proclamations about how he's going to take over the 155-pound division.

"I've only tied my shoes," Edwards recently told. "I haven't even left the house yet."

Edwards, who lives mere miles from the event's location at the Frank Erwin Center, has fought just about everyone under the sun at lightweight and has racked up some impressive wins in his 13-year MMA career. He's responsible for the flying head kick knockout of Josh Thomson seen in the arena before every UFC event. At one point, he was considered the heir-apparent to the UFC lightweight title.

But after several years of ups and downs, Edwards is starting back at square one in the world's biggest fight promotion. Although his name carries cache among hardcore MMA fans, he's in need of a win just as much as Gunderson, who's 1-1 in the octagon and looking to break on to main card bouts.

Edwards moved back to Texas after an extended stint at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., and got the call on relatively short notice when injuries shuffled the Sept. 15 card's deck. Gunderson's original opponent, "The Ultimate Fighter 8" winner Efrain Escudero (13-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC), is now slated to face Charles Oliveira (13-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) on the Spike TV-televised portion of the evening.

"I was sitting on the couch working on some personal paperwork and talking to [my manager] through text message, and it just kind of happened," he said. "You're back in."

He got the standard four-fight contract for new Pittsburgh Steelers jersey
and returning UFC fighters, but he's well aware a bad performance could make that paper worthless.

"You want to do something or you want get a special kind of deal," he said of the signing. "You've got to do some special things in there, so this is just an opportunity to get back in and a chance to do what I know I can. I'm just going to go back out there and put it down like I used to."

Edwards said he kept in touch with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva since his last UFC fight in July 2006 and cornered teammates who fought inside the octagon. That kept him fresh in the promotion's mind, and it didn't hurt that he got face time on the arena monitors as The Who's "Baba O'Riley" blared.

"Ever since I left it felt like I was in foreign places doing foreign things, so it definitely feels good to be back," Edwards said. "I really, really want to make the most of it."

There's also no illusions about what he's up against when he meets Gunderson. Although Gunderson has the ability to keep the action standing, it's more likely that he'll try to take the fight to the mat where he has the advantage. So it's another night of sprawl and brawl, which he's well used to as a seasoned striker.

"I think right now I have a pretty good idea of what's going on," Edwards said. "I know the guy's tough and he's going to bring it. So it should be very entertaining."

And there's nothing Edwards likes more than fight bonuses.

"I'm not a jiu-jitsu guy," he said. "I'm not going to go out there and try to tap a guy a 100 percent of the time. But fighting tough guys all the time, and with my style, I'm always a contender for any one of those bonuses.

"At the same time, you just go out there and do Minnesota Vikings jersey
your job, and those things work themselves out."

He'll eventually get around to climbing the ladder. But it's one step at a time for now.