UFC on ESPN 15: What Is Frankie Edgar Fighting For?
A veteran, Frankie Edgar does not know what giving up means. Moving to a third weight class, the former UFC Lightweight Champion is ready to prove his worth.
Edgar faces off against Pedro Munhoz this Saturday, August 22 at UFC on ESPN 15. Competing in the bantamweight division, Edgar (23-8-1) has been waiting a long time for this moment. At 38, Edgar is looking to prove to everyone he can still hang with the best, regardless of the division.
“I know a lot of people are questioning where I’m at in my career,” Edgar stated to MMA Fighting. “I’m a little bit older. I’m coming down a weight class. People are questioning my abilities here.
“I want to go out there, more so to prove to anybody else [wrong], but to prove to myself that I’m still a top dog in whatever weight class I fight in.”
Debuting in the UFC as a lightweight, “The Answer” beat B.J. Penn for the UFC Lightweight Title in 2010. He lost the title to Benson Henderson in 2012 and lost the rematch for the title only a few months later. He moved to featherweight, losing to division king Jose Aldo at UFC 156 for the UFC Featherweight Title.
Edgar is on a two-fight losing streak, managing to earn a shot at Max Holloway for the Featherweight Title, with Holloway winning via unanimous decision. He was meant to make his bantamweight debut in January against Cory Sandhagen, but he ended up replacing Brian Ortega in a featherweight bout against Chan Sung Jung in December. Edgar was no match for “The Korean Zombie”, as he lost via TKO in the first.
Facing tough competition, Edgar is ready for Munhoz. Munhoz (18-4, 1 NC) is ranked seventh in the UFC’s bantamweight rankings. He last fought in June 2019, losing to Aljamain Sterling at UFC 238. The loss ended a three-fight win streak, with the last win coming against former UFC Bantamweight Champion Cody Garbrandt via KO. Munhoz had to back out of a July 15 bout against Edgar after testing positive for COVID-19.
Being as high up as he is in the rankings, Edgar believes beating Munhoz is his path to automatically entering the top ten. Taking advantage of this opportunity is something Edgar is ready for.
“Pedro’s been a stud in this weight class for a while. He’s got some big wins over some very good guys,” Edgar went on to say. “A win will put me in the direction I want to be. It will put me in a position I want to be.
“I’ve been fighting the best guys since day one of my UFC career. I don’t want that to change. Pedro was the guy that made the most sense to me.”
UFC on ESPN 15 will be taking place inside the UFC APEX Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.