Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar dropped down to featherweight in 2013 and has gone 7-3 since.
After suffering the first stoppage loss of his lengthy career against Brian Ortega earlier this month at UFC 222, however, Edgar’s longtime head coach Mark Henry would ‘love’ to see “The Answer” make another change:
“I’ll tell you one thing: I would love to see Frankie fight at 135,” Henry told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. “Every time Frankie has fought somebody his own size, he’s done very well.
“I re-watched the fight for the first time this weekend, and all these people had tweeted about how much bigger Brian looked. I watched it and said, ‘Holy cow, he was a lot bigger.’ It’s tough when you’re giving up size, height and range. Frankie got caught as he overstepped. He paid the price, but that’s what you have to do to compensate for that range. You have to come hard,” he added.
Originally, Edgar was scheduled to take on 145-pound champion Max Holloway at UFC 222, but “Blessed” was forced to withdraw due to an injury. Some have since questioned why Edgar accepted the fight with the young and dangerous Ortega, but Henry approved of the decision:
“He didn’t get hit until 4.5 minutes in,” Henry told said. “I thought he was winning the round. Honestly, I was more pumped for this fight than the title. I think he cemented his legacy, taking on anybody, anytime — and beating a young lion would have shut up everyone asking about his age.
“If he was getting tooled or rocked, I would say it. Getting hit with an elbow is different than a punch. It’s a different force. I’ve seen a lot of guys gets knocked out and they can’t remember the fight, asking the same question over and over, wobbly, complaining of a headache. Frankie had none of that.”
As far as a potential move down to bantamweight goes, Henry ultimately doesn’t feel as if Edgar would do it unless the offer was one he couldn’t refuse:
“Honestly, I don’t think he’ll move down unless it’s for a title,” he said. “I think for him, it’s a toughness thing. I’m guessing he looks at it as moving down looks like a weakness. Well, that’s his weight. If Frankie is 15 pounds less than someone on fight night, that’s three weight classes in boxing. That’s a lot.”
Where would you like to see Edgar go from here?
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