Frankie Edgar: 'It should be me' for the next title shot after UFC Fight Night 57

AUSTIN, Texas – Frankie Edgar doesn’t mince words when it comes to his feelings about the UFC featherweight title picture following his win over Cub Swanson in the headliner of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 57.

Edgar believes he should get the title shot over anyone else, including popular Irishman Conor McGregor.

“It should be me, based on my performance, based on what I’ve done in my career, it should be me,” Edgar told MMAjunkie after his win at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. “I’m here to stay. I’m coming. I’m not going to be an easy fight for anybody, I guarantee that.”

Edgar (18-4-1 MMA, 12-4-1 UFC) notched the latest finish in UFC history when he forced Swanson (21-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) to tap with four seconds left in the FOX Sports 1-televised main event. The win quashed Swanson’s hopes of convincing the UFC he is the rightful No. 1 contender over McGregor, who’s been targeted for a possible title shot if he beats Dennis Siver in January.

With his win, Edgar defeated the No. 2 fighter in the UFC’s featherweight rankings (Swanson sits at No. 4 to Edgar’s No. 5 on USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie’s list), so in theory, he is the most qualified to face champ Jose Aldo.

All the hype around McGregor, however, could toss Edgar’s distinction aside if the UFC thinks the former fighter is more lucrative for the promotion.

From the get-go, Edgar was answering questions about whether he or McGregor are more deserving, and Edgar was asked what would happen if he wasn’t chosen.

“I don’t know if I’d be angry,” he said. “I’d be disappointed, but I wouldn’t be a baby about it. What can I do? Just put my head down, go back in the gym and earn another shot. That’s all I can do.”

Edgar’s opinion on McGregor isn’t much different than some of his critics, who say he’s been coddled by the promotion due to his bankability.

“I don’t know, man,” he said. “It’s not my job to make the fights or (give) my opinion on it. I don’t know who else was there for him to fight (other than Siver). It’s a tough featherweight matchup for him. I think everybody wants to see him fight a wrestler. There’s still some unknowns about him. But he’s been doing everything he’s supposed to when he’s in there with whoever he’s in there with.

“Dennis isn’t an easy fight by any means, but it’s not the matchup that everybody want against a wrestler who can take him down and take him into deep water, but it is what it is.”

That seems a phrase Edgar is trying on for size as the meeting between McGregor and Siver nears. What’s undeniable, however, is the ex-lightweight champ’s mastery in a fight against a tough featherweight competitor.

Edgar completely controlled Swanson for all but one round of the nearly 25-minute fight and did what few manage to do in securing a last-second finish.

With three consecutive wins under his belt, Edgar squashed the idea that his best days are behind him following a loss to champ Aldo in 2013.

“I think just the fact that I’m improving, steadily improving,” he said of his turnaround. “That’s always my goal. I stay in the gym and train with great people like Edson (Barboza) and I have great coaches. I just want to keep improving. I kind of put my mind to get this finish, and I worked hard to get it, and I was glad to be able to.”

If fortune is smiling on Edgar, he could get a spot on an upcoming UFC on FOX card set for April in his native New Jersey. It might not be McGregor standing across from him, but it would be a homecoming.

“I’d love to fight in Jersey,” he said of the recently announced event at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. “But everybody knows what I want; I want that title. If Conor wins his next fight, it’s either me or him, I’m thinking. If it’s not me, it’s him, and I probably wouldn’t fight him in Jersey. But yeah, I’m down.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 57, check out the UFC Events section of the site.