Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar got back on track last weekend at UFC 162 when he dominated Charles Oliveira by unanimous decision.
As good as Edgar has been over the last few years, it was hard to imagine that he entered the night on a three-fight losing streak—albeit all in title bouts.
Edgar came storming out of the gate and showed why he is constantly in the mix for title shots after easily handling a talented and hungry young fighter like Oliveira.
Now with a fight back in the win column of his record, Edgar is zeroing in on his next bout, which he hopes will get him that much closer to another shot at the belt. Edgar is still gunning for a second chance to face featherweight champion Jose Aldo after the two fought to a close decision earlier this year.
It’s never been in Edgar’s nature to call out any fighter during his career.
For the biggest part of the last three years, he was a champion, so obviously he never had to call for any fight. He just had to face whomever the No. 1 contender was at the time.
At present, Edgar is back to playing the role of challenger instead of champion, so while he’s still not ready to call out other fighters trying to make a splash, there are a few names that seem to make the most sense to him for his next trip to the Octagon.
At the top of the list are Cub Swanson and Ricardo Lamas—two fighters sitting near the top of the rankings and currently without fights booked.
Swanson fought and won on the same night as Edgar’s fight at UFC 162, while Lamas was supposed to compete on the card as well before his opponent got yanked at the last minute and he was removed from the show.
“I think those are two guys that would have title implications involved,” Edgar answered when asked about Swanson and Lamas.
“They’re close to the top and it makes sense, either one of them. Really, whoever, there’s a couple of other guys too. I want to fight the fights that are going to get me to the title.”
Edgar and Swanson could end up being the perfect fight given the fact that they were almost matched up earlier this year for The Ultimate Fighter‘s Season 17 finale show. Unfortunately, Swanson was unable to take the bout due to a nagging injury after the fight was offered on short notice.
Edgar would still be more than happy to face Swanson with both fighters having a full training camp to prepare for one another.
“I think it makes sense,” Edgar said about Swanson. “There’s a possibility we could have done it beforehand. We were both on the same card, so if the timetable works I’m down.”
The timetable for Edgar’s return is unknown at this time.
He was feeling fine after a 15-minute fight against Oliveira at UFC 162, but Edgar still wants to give himself time to prepare and not rush into anything yet.
“I’d like to fight probably before the year is out, if I can before Christmas,” Edgar stated. “But I don’t know, I’m still fresh off this fight, I’m feeling pretty good.”
Looking at Edgar’s track record, even when he was a champion, he was pretty active so it’s hard to imagine him sitting out for any extended period of time.
It’s just a matter now of finding the right fight and the right card so Edgar can continue his pursuit of a featherweight title shot. Hopefully, that’s during the first part of 2014.
Damon Martin is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and all quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted
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