Share

• The cars: BMW M5 and a Toyota Tacoma
• Profession: Mixed martial arts fighter
• Age: 30
• Hometown: Toms River, N.J.

• His UFC debut fight was against Tyson Griffin at UFC 67
• Has only one career loss against Gray Maynard (2008)
• Won UFC Lightweight Championship in 2010

• UFC 144: Frankie Edgar vs. Ben Henderson, Feb. 26 in Japan (airs in North America on Feb. 25 because of the 14-hour time difference)

-------------------------------

In one of the biggest mixed martial arts upsets, Frankie "The Answer" Edgar won the UFC Lightweight Championship against B.J. Penn at UFC 112 in 2010. And he's heading back into the cage to defend his title this weekend.

This time, he's squaring off against top contender Ben Henderson at UFC 144 in Japan. Edgar has been training hard, perfecting his speed and boxing skills. To get to practice, he has two very different vehicles: a 2008 Toyota Tacoma truck and a 2008 BMW M5 sedan.

Why did you choose a Tacoma?

A Tacoma is just convenient to have as a pickup truck. It's a six-cylinder, not an eight; I do a lot of driving so it's good on gas for me. And it's got a quad-cab, four doors, so if I need to pick up anyone its easy.

Why didn't you buy a Ford F-150 or Ram instead?

Just 'cause of the engine size. I didn't want too big of a truck. I do a lot of driving and I figured a six-cylinder would be more fitting for me.

Why did you buy the M5?

I got the M5 because it's a sedan, but it's as fast as pretty much any car on the road.

It has four doors and I have two young kids, so if I have to put the kids inside the car I can do so. And when they're not in the car, I can rip a little bit.

My BMW has the Tiptronic – you can use stick or automatic. It was kind of an impulse buy. I saw it and really wanted it.

Did your wife have a say in it as well?

No. She did not. I let her drive it, too. She enjoys driving it. But that was my car so I had all the say in that one.

Are you a car guy?

I know what I like. I like to go fast.

Any speeding tickets?

No speeding tickets, fortunately. You have to be smart about going fast and pick your spots, especially in the M5. You see it and it doesn't really look like a race car. I guess you could call it a sleeper.

Is it as fast and nimble as an MMA fighter?

Yeah – in how fast it is and how well built it is.

I believe BMW is engineered pretty good. It's got that right. I guess you can say MMA fighters are built pretty good, too. When we got to go fast, we can go fast. It's fast. It drives great. It's a luxury car with speed. It's me.

What was your first car?

First car I ever had was a Nissan Maxima. I was fortunate enough that my parents could help me out. It was about 10 grand at the time. I saved some money up myself and my dad said you save up some and we'll help you out.

What did you buy after winning a few fights?

The first car I bought once I started making a little money from fighting was a Mercedes CLK500. After about three years I traded it in for the M5.

Why didn't you go with an AMG from Mercedes?

To be honest with you, I just wanted to switch it up.

I had the Mercedes and I seen what that was all about and I wanted to give the BMW a try.

What's your best and worst driving memory?

My worst driving memory, I'll give you that one first. I was 16 and I decided to drive my buddy's mom's rent-a-car about a week before I was getting my licence.

I was driving because I was probably the only sober one. I wasn't driving very fast but I made a quick turn because my buddy was like, 'Oh, you gotta go this way!' So I turned and drove right into a street-sign up on the curb. I crashed my buddy's mom's rent-a-car!

We had to fix it before she came home. That cost me $1,800 and the car wasn't worth $1,800! I needed to take a loan out from my parents at the time.

My best memory was taking home my CLK – it was the first luxury car I bought with my fighting money.

Was it hard to part with it?

No. I don't get too attached. I feel they can be replaced quickly.

What do you listen to on the road?

I listen to a lot of everything. I grew up listening to hip hop and stuff like that. I still enjoy a lot of rap and hip-hop.

In my wife's car we have the children's music but I generally can only do so much of that on a long drive. Short drive around town we'll rock out Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

On your way to a big fight do you pump up the tunes or keep it quiet?

I always like music so I don't need to pump myself up. I enjoy music.

If I'm driving to a fight I'll definitely have something on, but it doesn't have to be something crazy loud. I'll listen to everything – but I listen to rap and hip-hop the most.

If you win the UFC fight this weekend will you dump the Bimmer and buy a new car?

No. I don't want to be throwing money away. I'm pretty content with the vehicles I have now.

In the future, I'd like to buy an old-school muscle car as a toy one day. We'll see what happens in the future.

We're looking to move into a different house – if we could find something that works. The market is pretty good right now so maybe we'll be looking for that after the fight.

I'll probably keep this BMW for a while. I've had it for a little over a year now. Unless I get tired of it, but you can never really tell.

I'm going to try and keep the Tacoma forever. That's going to be my everyday car. It's so useful to have a pickup available. So I'm going to try and keep it in good shape.

If I can bring you the keys to any vehicle what would it be?

The Ferrari in the Transformers 2 movie. I like that one. I like speed.

The interview has been edited and condensed.

pgentile@globeandmail.com