Frankie Edgar Hopes He Can Fight Winner Of McGregor vs. Mendes

Former UFC lightweight champion and current #1 featherweight Frankie Edgar is probably feeling pretty hard done by right now. After having fought his way back from three straight losses between 2012-13, ‘The Answer’ was unfortunate to have his four-fight win streak overlooked in the race for a rematch with Jose Aldo. Conor McGregor got the nod with a win over Dennis Siver earlier this year, and it looked like the ex-champ Edgar was running low on luck.

Then came ‘Scarface’s’ injury, and although he wasn’t scratched from UFC 189 immediately, it was very near to a sure bet when we learned the Nova Uniao product may have broken a rib. When the bad news was eventually confirmed, Edgar fans around the world held their breath, only to learn that Chad Mendes was favored for Aldo’s replacement. ‘The Answer’ appeared on Inside MMA to give his take on the interim title booking between ‘Money’ and ‘The Notorious’, as quoted by MMAMania:

“Early on when I heard that [Jose Aldo] was injured we threw our hat in and said, you know, we would be willing to step in. [The UFC] decided to go with Chad [Mendes] for that role. I think the explanation was that he was the number one contender, I was two at the time. You know those are kind of finicky the rankings. I think after he got the nod I think the new rankings came out and I was number one and neither of us fought so… it’s kind of a tough spot. It’s not the most favorable situation either.”

“I mean Chad’s coming in and taking this fight on 17 days notice so that’s no easy task. But, I would’ve liked to get the nod over Chad. But, what are you gonna do. I don’t really know. I think we’re going to see what happens on the 11th. I’m not just going to sit around and wait for the winner to fight Aldo. This is really not an interim title, it’s really more a number one contender fight. The winner gets to fight Aldo when he’s healthy. With Aldo you just don’t know when he’s going to be healthy so maybe I can get a fight with one of them, the winner, before that. I think a lot of things gotta kind of come together and see how they pan out and take it from there.”

With Aldo’s timetable for a return currently unknown, one scenario that we really haven’t considered is Edgar facing the winner and interim champion after UFC 189. It would certainly whittle down the number of contenders at the top, but could at the same time present a more interesting dynamic for the division. It may actually be necessary if Aldo is out for six months, although the UFC will pray that it’s a lot quicker than that.

The promotion plugged serious dollars in to the P4P (pound-for-pound) topper and his Irish nemesis in the lead up to the July 11th bout, so perhaps they will make McGregor sit if he does beat Mendes, regardless of how long Aldo needs to recover from the broken rib.

It’s a tough spot for Edgar to be stuck in right now, do you think he is in with any sort of shout here, or will the UFC immediately plug the winner of McGregor vs. Mendes with Jose Aldo in mind?