Jose Aldo being UFC 147” target=”_blank” href=”http://mmajunkie.com/news/28405/ufc-147-keeps-belfort-vs-silva-2-expected-to-get-champ-aldo-at-date-tba.mma”>moved to UFC 147 on June 23 gives Dana White a small time frame in which to lock down a worthy challenger for the Brazilian champion.
Current rankings suggest that Hatsu Hioki, Dustin Poirier and Chan Sung Jung are the only featherweights who are within arm’s reach of a shot at the belt.
With today’s announcement that Hioki has agreed to face Ricardo Lamas the night prior at UFC on FX 4, we can rule him out as an option.
What makes the announcement more interesting is the fact that Poirier and The Korean Zombie are scheduled to square off at UFC on FUEL 3 on May 15th.
With the common practice of issuing medical suspensions to both the winner and loser of a hard-fought battle, it’s too risky to bank on the winner of this fight being medically cleared and physically prepared with only a 40-day turnaround.
You may be thinking to yourself that the UFC will simply pick another fight to headline the May card, but the event is only three weeks away and already lacks the star power of other shows. At the time this article was written, the co-main event features Amir Sadollah vs Jorge Lopez.
With the only three candidates for the belt unavailable for June, Joe Silva will need to contact a title-worthy opponent from another weight class.
Enter Frankie Edgar.
Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar has been in five championship fights and won four of them. His total time fighting with gold on the line clocks in at just under two hours. His name value and experience in big fights makes him an amazing candidate.
Worried about the weight class? Don’t be. The eternal underdog is an undersized lightweight who simply has to avoid a salty lunch to make 155. Dropping to 145 wouldn’t be a problem for Edgar and it has been advised to him for much of his career.
Although Edgar showed initial resistance to dropping to featherweight, recent comments from the former lightweight champion hint that he has had a change of heart.
Aldo has previously commented that he wants to fight Edgar so badly that he does not care what weight class at which the bout is held.
You may think that this is crazy. Why would Frankie give up a shot at a rematch with Benson Henderson? It’s simple. I point to an old saying to illustrate my point.
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush!”
If Frankie is offered a choice between a title shot now and a title shot later, he should take the one that is now. Rashad Evans expected to fight Shogun Rua after winning a No. 1 contenders bout with Rampage in May of 2010. He didn’t receive his shot at the belt until April of 2012.
Frankie is 33 years old, and doesn’t have the luxury of time in the event that Henderson gets hurt and the rematch is further delayed.
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