HOUSTON — The doubters are falling by the wayside, and the believers continue flocking the Frankie Edgar war wagon.
After Saturday night’s rousing comeback win over Gray Maynard at UFC 136, Edgar received superlatives from all onlookers, but received no greater praise than that coming from UFC president Dana White, who voiced a belief that Edgar has vaulted past welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, trailing only Anderson Silva.
“if you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is No. 2,” White said. “The guy weighs 145 pounds and he’s beating guys at 155 pounds. He beat a guy who had him out of it. A guy who many believed had his number. He knocked him out tonight. I’m telling you man, I’ve never seen any s— like that in my life.”
White said he jumped out of his chair at Edgar’s comeback, which saw him rally from a horrific start, during which he was nearly KO’d.
“It’s an honor,” Edgar said. “Anytime you’re boss thinks you’re doing work and excelling in the same light as those guys, it’s a big honor. But the reality is, it’s opinion based. That’s his opinion. Your opinion might be different. But for me, I still got to go in there and fight.”
Still, White made mention several times of his belief that Edgar should move down to featherweight, where he would almost certainly receive an automatic title shot.
“Did you see the size difference between those two tonight?” White said. “I’ve been telling him for a long time he should fight at 145. I’m not his dad or trainer. That’s his decision. He’s a grown man and knows what he’s doing.”
When later asked to elaborate on his opinion, White said it wasn’t a question of performance but long-term health. White said he believed Edgar could have a longer career at a lower weight class because he would not be facing bigger, more powerful strikers.
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“I don’t think the guys who don’t fight out their weight class and fight a weight class above them and take damage can have longevity that other fighters have,” he said. “When you fight with guys your own size, you don’t take the punishment that you take when you fight bigger guys. The weight classes are there for a reason.”
He also said Edgar would set his own course.
Before this fight, Edgar said he was sick of talking about Maynard, but he’s got to be downright exhausted of this weight topic. He’s been in the UFC for over four years, fought 10 times as a lightweight, and only lost once. He’s the division’s champion, beat BJ Penn twice and just knocked out Gray Maynard, and it still comes up.
“Here I am. I’m the champion,” he said. “It’s definitely a nice option to be able to go down and possibly fight at 145 in the future, but I’m comfortable right now. I could talk some ideas over with Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta] and see what they think, but I’m comfortable at 155. I’m the champion. I don’t see any reason to go anywhere.”
HOUSTON — The doubters are falling by the wayside, and the believers continue flocking the Frankie Edgar war wagon.
After Saturday night’s rousing comeback win over Gray Maynard at UFC 136, Edgar received superlatives from all onlookers, but received no greater praise than that coming from UFC president Dana White, who voiced a belief that Edgar has vaulted past welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre as the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, trailing only Anderson Silva.
“if you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is No. 2,” White said. “The guy weighs 145 pounds and he’s beating guys at 155 pounds. He beat a guy who had him out of it. A guy who many believed had his number. He knocked him out tonight. I’m telling you man, I’ve never seen any s— like that in my life.”
White said he jumped out of his chair at Edgar’s comeback, which saw him rally from a horrific start, during which he was nearly KO’d.
“It’s an honor,” Edgar said. “Anytime you’re boss thinks you’re doing work and excelling in the same light as those guys, it’s a big honor. But the reality is, it’s opinion based. That’s his opinion. Your opinion might be different. But for me, I still got to go in there and fight.”
Still, White made mention several times of his belief that Edgar should move down to featherweight, where he would almost certainly receive an automatic title shot.
“Did you see the size difference between those two tonight?” White said. “I’ve been telling him for a long time he should fight at 145. I’m not his dad or trainer. That’s his decision. He’s a grown man and knows what he’s doing.”
When later asked to elaborate on his opinion, White said it wasn’t a question of performance but long-term health. White said he believed Edgar could have a longer career at a lower weight class because he would not be facing bigger, more powerful strikers.
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“I don’t think the guys who don’t fight out their weight class and fight a weight class above them and take damage can have longevity that other fighters have,” he said. “When you fight with guys your own size, you don’t take the punishment that you take when you fight bigger guys. The weight classes are there for a reason.”
He also said Edgar would set his own course.
Before this fight, Edgar said he was sick of talking about Maynard, but he’s got to be downright exhausted of this weight topic. He’s been in the UFC for over four years, fought 10 times as a lightweight, and only lost once. He’s the division’s champion, beat BJ Penn twice and just knocked out Gray Maynard, and it still comes up.
“Here I am. I’m the champion,” he said. “It’s definitely a nice option to be able to go down and possibly fight at 145 in the future, but I’m comfortable right now. I could talk some ideas over with Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta] and see what they think, but I’m comfortable at 155. I’m the champion. I don’t see any reason to go anywhere.”
HOUSTON — The doubters are falling by the wayside, and the believers continue flocking the Frankie Edgar war wagon.