FanHouse Frankie Edgar

UFC lightweight fighter Frankie Edgar tweeted on Friday that his Dec. 5 fight against Kurt Pellegrino has been scrapped.

FanHouse has learned from sources close to the bout that "Batman" has three herniated discs in his back. Pellegrino, who is coming off an impressive unanimous decision victory against Josh Neer at UFC 101, has been ordered by his doctor to rest for at least three weeks.

Rising lightweight star Frankie Edgar scored a major upset over former UFC champion Sean Sherk, while Chael Sonnen and Drew McFedries were among other early winners at UFC 98.

In a matchup featuring two lightweight fighters primarily known for their wrestling abilities, Frankie Edgar earned the biggest win of his young career by defeating former champion Sean Sherk in a dominant performance, taking all three rounds on every judge's scorecard.

Sherk, coming off a win over Tyson Griffin in which he out-struck him, opted to stick with his standup, largely staying away from takedowns until late in the third round. That strategy turned out to be a big mistake. Edgar got the best of most of the exchanges, bloodying Sherk's face in the process.

Former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk may be one of the most polarizing champions in MMA history. Almost two years after his steroid suspension following a successful title defense against Hermes Franca at UFC 73, Sherk (33-3-1) continues to try and prove that he is a clean fighter.

Last October, the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy fighter briefly quieted his critics by dominating rising star Tyson Griffin for three rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory. Next, he faces Frankie Edgar (9-1), another up-and-coming lightweight, at UFC 98 on May 23.

FanHouse spoke to Sherk about his upcoming fight against Edgar and his place in the lightweight division. The full interview is below.

As great as the January fight between UFC lightweight champ B.J. Penn and UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre is going to be, I don't much like what it does to the lightweight division.

There are several guys I'd like to see get a shot at Penn's belt, but because Penn has had a long layoff since his last title defense and will now move up to welterweight for at least one fight, we might go more than a year between UFC lightweight title fights.

But there is one piece of good news: By the time Penn moves back down to lightweight to defend his belt, we should have a pretty good idea who the No. 1 contender is.