Longtime veteran fighter Yves “Thugjitsu Master” Edwards announced yesterday on Facebook something that a lot of people in the MMA community had been expecting. Edwards, having essentially lost five straight, has decided to hang up the tiny gloves and retire from active competition. Yves began his career in October 1997, and fought an impressive 66 times, finishing with 42 wins, 16 by knockout and 17 by submission.
Rather than mope about the end of an era, I figure we should celebrate all the fantastic things Yves has done in the world of mixed martial arts with a career retrospective.
The Early Years
When Yves got his start, the sport of mixed martial arts wasn’t really a thing. It was more likely to be called pancration, shoot wrestling, vale tudo, or no holds barred fighting. During this time, things like gloves or adequate fighting surfaces weren’t required, just have dudes throw down on some gym mats.
Again, Yves was throwing down in the days when, if an opponent didn’t show up, it wasn’t out of the question to take a fight with a guy twenty pounds heavier (So long as you’ve got Bas Rutten to unexpectedly corner you).
Thugjitsu Mastery
We now move into the stage of Yves’ career that have actual rules and regulations. As such, these bouts can be found on UFC Fight Pass, so seriously, make sure you have that because there’s some really good stuff.
Clementi is an okay grappler, but Yves is good at both striking and on the ground. Edwards kickboxes Rich around the cage and then takes care of him in the third with a rear naked choke.
This fight was the first of Yves’ amazing highlight reel KOs in the UFC. Thomson is a good kickboxer in his own right, but he’s no match for Thugjitsu. You can’t throw a backfist against Yves Edwards because he’s just going to jump-kick your head off! This remains the only time Josh Thomson has been stopped due to strikes.
vs Dokonjonosuke Mishima, Pride Bushido 7
Yves moved on to Japan’s Pride Fighting Championships and took on a grappling expert, Dokonjonsuke Mishima. Again, Thugjitsu is the most powerful martial art, so Yves submitted Mishima in the first round with a snazzy armbar.
vs Nick Gonzalez, EliteXC: Renegade
This was a bit of a rough patch for Edwards. He’d gone 1-5 since the Mishima fight, so he was probably getting a little desperate. Enter Nick Gonzalez, a decent boxer-type, but no match for the ground game of Thugjitsu.
vs James Edson Berto, EliteXC: Street Certified
There are few explanations for this jump knee: 1. YVES EDWARDS IS A WARLOCK 2. Thugjitsu is a more powerful force than gravity. Either way, it’s one of the most amazing knockouts in the history of people throwing limbs at each other.
vs Cody McKenzie, UFC Fight For the Troops 2
Cody McKenzie, when not washing ashore, stinking of whiskey, is a decent grappler with a dangerous guillotine choke. Thugjitsu scoffs at the McKenzietine, though, and Yves ends up submitting Cody at the end of the second round.
The fantastic thing about this match up was the pre-fight weign in. Yves, ever the gentleman, offered Cody some barbecue chips. Since then, Yves has had snacks when he gets on the scale, and he occasionally offers some to his opponents.
vs Rafaello Oliveira, UFC Live 6
Next on Yves’ plate was Rafaello Oliveira, a decent grappler that Edwards dispatched with a nice head kick and some ground and pound punches.
vs Jeremy Stephens, UFC on Fox 5
This should have been the one Yves went out on. His last win, against Jeremy Stephens, was one of the best counter-punch KOs I’ve ever seen. Incidentally, like Thomson, Yves is the only person to stop Stephens with strikes.
Weigh-In Snackdowns
And now, a slightly more in-depth look at Yves Edwards habit of eating on the scale. He’s had burgers, twinkies, Twix bars, and of course, chips.
Here’s Yves offering his Polish opponent, Piotr Hallmann, a taste of Mexican cuisine with some delicious Chipotle chips.
If nothing else, the last good memory from Yves’ MMA career is sharing some yogurt pretzels with his opponent, Akbarh Arreola, and UFC matchmaker Joe Silva.
I wish Yves the best of luck with whatever he decides to, which I hope is passing down the art of Thugjitsu to worthy students, and thanks for all the great combat sports memories.
