Frankie Edgar Wants Aljamain Sterling For Bantamweight debut
Frankie Edgar says he wants to fight top contender Aljamain Sterling for his debut fight at 135lbs.
Former lightweight champion Edgar has been competing at featherweight for the several years now. ‘The Answer’ has earned three title shots but never done quite enough to become a two-weight UFC champion.
Edgar was supposed to make his 135lb debut against Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh in January. But, the New Jersey native Edgar decided to withdraw from the fight and instead face Chan Sung Jung on late notice at UFC Busan, where he suffered a quick KO loss. Despite originally claiming he could fight at both events, Edgar’s maiden fight at bantamweight was cancelled and as of right now it is unclear exactly when he’ll officially drop down to 135lbs.
Speaking to MMA Junkie Edgar expressed an interested in fighting #2 ranked bantamweight Sterling. The pair were supposed to face off last November but injury issues got in the way, Edgar explained.
“Aljamain’s been saying nobody wants to fight him or this and that. That’s the guy we were supposed to fight on this past card in November. That was a possibility, and it never came about. I believe he had to get surgery. So, that would make sense for me – come back and fight Aljamain in June. I don’t know what his plans are or what he has lined up, but someone along that line I think would be ideal.”
Edgar missed out on an immediate shot at 135lb champion Henry Cejudo despite being called out by ‘Triple C’ who’ll instead face Dominick Cruz on May 9. ‘The Answer’ says he’ll be more than happy to step in if someone gets injured but will need a little time to ensure he makes weight.
“If an opportunity comes up and it’s right, I’ll make some sacrifices to do so, but yeah, I do definitely need some time,” Edgar said. “I would like to do it the right way. Last fight, I kind of did it on two-weeks’ notice, went across to someone’s different country. I stacked the cards against myself. I don’t want to stack the cards against myself too much.
“It’s tough enough to fight these guys as it is, so I would like to prepare the right way, have a good weight cut and all that stuff, ideally. But again, I don’t say no very often, so we’ll see.”
Who do you want to see Frankie Edgar fight in his bantamweight debut?
