Photo by Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar, is about to see if size truly does matter … at least as far as cage fighting is concerned. In fact, “The Answer” — who has come up empty challenging for the Featherweight title on three separate occasions — is already looking to make a quick turnaround after his latest setback against 145-pound kingpin, Max Holloway, at UFC 240 last month.
”We have already started discussing Frankie’s bantamweight debut,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “We’re hoping it will be at UFC 244 on Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden, but 100 percent Frankie’s next fight will be at 135 pounds.”
Edgar, 37, is listed at just 5’6” tall; however, he often gives up inches in other areas as well such as reach to his opponents, which was no more evident than in his most recent loss to the much larger and rangier “Blessed.” Nevertheless, the talented New Jersey native compiled an impressive record while competing at 145 pounds (8-4) dating all the way back to 2013. But, despite his dynamic skillset, tenacity and granite chin, he simply could never get over the hump when it mattered most.
The good news is that he might already have the ideal suitor on the hook — Bantamweight champion, Henry Cejudo, who called out Edgar ahead of his showdown with Holloway. Edgar brushed it aside at the time, but now that the 135-pound division is his new reality, he might find himself in yet another title fight sooner than later.
Regardless, it would make sense for Edgar to make his Bantamweight debut at UFC 244, which takes place inside Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2019. Just don’t expect him to lock horns with No. 1 ranked contender, Marlon Moraes, anytime soon — they both train at Ricardo Almeida BJJ.
Perhaps a “California Kid” can be lured to the “Garden State.