Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports
Coach Mark Henry claims Conor McGregor passed on previous chances to fight Frankie Edgar.
During a recent ESPN interview with Ariel Helwani, Conor McGregor mentioned some of the fighters he intends to face upon his return. One of them is former UFC lightweight champion and featherweight title contender Frankie Edgar.
“The Answer” already responded by accepting the challenge, but according to his coach Mark Henry, “The Notorious” already turned down multiple fight offers.
“He didn’t want to fight Frankie before and he had opportunities to,” Henry said on MMA Fighting.com’s Eurobash podcast.
“It’s like he didn’t want to fight him, he had a couple of chances. [When Jose Aldo was forced out of UFC 189] he knew Mendes wasn’t in a camp, that he was filming a hunting show and he hadn’t trained in a long time. He knows that Frankie trains all year round and it would’ve been perfect timing. Mendes had just lost the fight before to Aldo.
“That week, Frankie was ranked ahead of Chad too and they switched it fast after Chad got the fight…Frankie was ranked ahead of him, he had more wins than him. Chad had just lost within two fights prior to the title fight.”
“When he had the opportunity to fight Frankie again he turned it down,” he continued. “When Chad and Frankie fought each other, [McGregor] said that Frankie would lose and if Frankie does beat [Mendes], [McGregor] would fight him, which then happened too, and then he didn’t fight Frankie again after that.
“There have been a lot of excuses, but all in all, he’s bashed other people and he’s seems to have been pretty respectful to Frankie. And Frankie’s been pretty respectful to him, like he has been to everybody.”
Edgar just announced his drop to 135 pounds, his third weight class in the UFC. But as far as the possible McGregor fight goes, Henry is keeping the options flexible.
“I think 145 would be great. Even 150 or something like that, that’s cool,” he said. “I think Conor is a professional, even with his last cut to [145] against Aldo, he’s a true professional. The guy’s never missed weight, you’ve got to give him credit.
“I’ve always thought [Edgar was McGregor’s kryptonite], and I still think he is today,” he added. “I think Frankie would definitely do well with him. I’ve never said he’d roll him over or anything, but I think it would be a great fight.”
Edgar last competed at UFC 240 in July, when he fought for the UFC featherweight title against champion Max Holloway. He lost via unanimous decision.