One Month Later, UFC's Frankie Edgar Keeps Focus on Hurricane Sandy Recovery

ONE MONTH LATER, UFC'S FRANKIE EDGAR KEEPS FOCUS ON HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY
BY JOHN MORGAN ON NOV 28, 2012 AT 10:00 AM ET

As a fighter who often was told he was competing in the wrong weight class, Frankie Edgar knows what it's like to be underestimated.

Unfortunately, when Hurricane Sandy was bearing in on his New Jersey home, it was the former UFC lightweight champion who didn't quite prepare for what was to come.

Edgar's home was spared, but others in his community weren't quite so fortunate. Now, nearly one month after Sandy battered the nation's northeast, Edgar said there is still much work to be done, and he's hoping to lead a charge to help those still in need.

"Me, I'm good, but I was fortunate because a lot of people in my area are definitely still struggling," Edgar told USA TODAY Sports and MMAjunkie.com. "The storm got us.

"When you hear we're having a hurricane and this and that, I kind of blew it off. I didn't think it would be anything, and then it turned out to be this crazy storm. We lost power for four or five days, and then it came back on, and then we had a snow storm, and we lost it for another three days. But luckily we have it now. There are still some people without power in our area."

Edgar's Tom's River neighborhood was pounded with wind and rain when Sandy hit on Oct. 29. While he lost power, others lost even more, and once Edgar knew his home and family were safe, "The Answer" said he immediately went to work at local emergency shelters.

"Right away, I just went to the shelters and tried to help out," Edgar said. "A lot of people were donating stuff, so I was helping load buses and unloading buses."

Edgar didn't enter the effort as some sort of PR strategy. Instead, he said he only needed a baseball cap to go largely unrecognized as he tried to remain an anonymous volunteer.

"I got recognized a little bit by maybe one or two people, but I kind of mix in pretty well," Edgar said. "I'm a little guy, and I had my hat on and was just working like anybody else. I just wanted to help as much as I could.

"Somebody would tell me to pick up a bag and throw it over there, and I was all about it. It was cool just to be one of the crew."

In the days following the storm, much of the nation's attention was focused on the devastation. In the MMA world, it was top middleweight contender Chris Weidman who represented the face of loss after his house was ravaged by flood waters.

But the nation is fickle, and stories that capture all the headlines one day are nearly forgotten the next. And so it has been to some degree in New Jersey. Edgar, who also took part in MTV's "Restore the Shore" fundraising special, said it's important not to forget about those still in need.

"People are struggling," Edgar said. "People are still trying to get back in their house. Some people's houses are condemned, and they have to figure out what they can do. A lot of people don't know what they're going to do next.

"I was happy to be able to help a few people, but I think a lot of attention still needs to be paid to these people who've lose a lot in their lives."

With that in mind, Edgar said he and his camp are currently in the process of creating a formal fundraising effort, as well as an old-fashioned community works team with which he can roll up his sleeves and continue the relief work.

"I think it's a little bit of everything," Edgar said. "There are organizations that are still taking donations, whether it's money or food or clothes. And people might just need a set of hands to help them clean up and get some things done. I'm working right now on organizing something where we can get a bunch of people together to help out a family or a community."

Edgar (14-3-1 MMA, 9-3-1 UFC) said he'll keep interested parties posted through his Twitter account, Facebook page and official website. In the meantime, the 31-year-old is preparing for a February appearance at UFC 156, where he'll try to take the UFC featherweight title from current champion Jose Aldo (21-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

Edgar said his camp won't be affected by any lingering damage, and he does not anticipate any issues with his training routine. Still, he hopes the needs of his community will not go unaddressed, and he vows to lead a charge toward a complete neighborhood recovery.

He'll also be a little less apt to underestimate future threats from Mother Nature.

"I think I'm going to take it a little more seriously if another hurricane comes," Edgar said.