Frankie Edgar Thinks Trilogy Fight With BJ Penn Is ‘All About The Show’
Former UFC Lightweight champion Frankie Edgar surprised many last week by signing on to fight fellow former champion BJ Penn at the end of their stint as opposing coaches on “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 19. Recently getting back on the winning track against Charles Oliveira at UFC 162, Edgar was sitting at No. 3 in the UFC Featherweight division and primed to make another run at Jose Aldo.
Now it’s tough to say what a win against Penn will accomplish for Edgar, but it’s clear that a loss certainly won’t look good, as it would mark four losses in five fights for “The Answer.” But Edgar has never been one to back down from a challenge, and he’s already beat Penn twice. He appeared on today’s edition of “The MMA Hour” to discuss his puzzling decision:
“I definitely didn’t expect it. But it’s exciting nonetheless. Coaching the show is definitely good for your career, and it’s something I’ve never done before, and it’s definitely exciting.”
When Ariel Helwani asked him if he would have preferred to fight rumored opponent Urijah Faber, Edgar responded.:
“I think if Urijah could have worked , if the weight classes could have worked, it would obviously have been something new to do. I would’ve done it against Urijah at 45, but he was pretty adamant about doing it at 35.”
The discussion shifted to just what Edgar stands to gain by taking on the task of coaching the show against “The Prodigy”:
“You know what it is, it’s the show. Coaching the show is definitely something that’s going to help my career. You look at all the past coaches, they were some of the most popular guys in the UFC. It’s going to happen sooner or later, and this is how it had to happen.”
Edgar also revealed that filming on the show will begin filming in mid-October, and the he will fight Penn in early 2014. Edgar is a gamer, giving Penn a third chance to beat him while there are a ton of other interesting bouts against some of the top contenders at 145 lbs. Did Edgar make the right decision?
