Frankie Edgar officially moves down to Featherweight

This week’s edition of “UFC Tonight” has confirmed something that has speculated upon for quite some time. Former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will indeed make the drop to fight in the 145 lb. division. After spending almost two-and-a-half years fully entrenched in the 155 lb. title scene due to six fights with three rematches, Edgar will now cut weight to make Featherweight.

Recent weeks have shown a ton of controversy surrounding Edgar, as many thought that he had won his controversial decision loss to Benson Henderson at UFC 150 in Denver. While it could have easily gone his way, the call for Edgar to drop weights was louder than it ever had been after he dropped two in a row to current champ Henderson. This was an idea that Edgar had previously dismissed, and was visibly sick of talking about in the weeks leading up to UFC 150.

However, it appears that he has had a change of heart, and will drop down to face fighters more in his size range. UFC President Dana White has publicly stated that Edgar will not receive an immediate title shot against current 145 lb. champion Jose Aldo should Aldo defeat number one contender Erik Koch at UFC 153. Edgar will need to win at least one fight according to White, and many have speculated that it will be against former title challenger Chad Mendes. Another possibly exciting opponent could be Chan Sung Jung.

In any case, Frankie Edgar is looking to make his debut at his new home before the end of the year. With some stacked cards coming up in the near future, Edgar’s debut at a new weight class should add fuel to the fire. Will he roll his way through the 145 lb. division after fighting much larger fighters throughout his whole career? Or will he find new challenges amongst the lighter weights? Will Frankie Edgar become Featherweight champion?

Further Reading: Frankie Edgar admits the move down to Featherweight is inevitable