Frankie Edgar responds to Conor McGregor's criticism he wasn't good enough to headline UFC 205

NEW YORK – Conor McGregor recently said he would have been fighting Frankie Edgar in the UFC 205 headliner had Edgar not lost to Jose Aldo at UFC 200 earlier this year. “The Answer” heard those comments, but said he’s not taking them personally.

Edgar (20-5-1 MMA, 14-5-1 UFC) fell short to Aldo (25-2 MMA, 8-1 UFC) in an interim title bout at the July event. Had he won, he would have likely been placed in a title unification showdown with McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) at UFC 205. Instead, he’s fighting Jeremy Stephens (25-12 MMA, 12-11 UFC), while “The Notorious” is slated to challenge Eddie Alvarez (28-4 MMA, 3-1 UFC) for the lightweight championship in Saturday’s pay-per-view headliner at Madison Square Garden in New York.

McGregor harshly says Edgar “wasn’t good enough” to get a fight with him, and while the former UFC lightweight champ, who now competes at featherweight, brushed off that notion, he also reminded McGregor that it has also taken him more than one try to complete some of his achievements in the sport.

“(He’s) saying I wasn’t good enough, this and that, but he wasn’t good enough when he fought Nate (Diaz) the first time,” Edgar told MMAjunkie. “He got another shot at it. I don’t think he should be worrying about me, he should be worrying about Eddie.”

Edgar, No. 4 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA featherweight rankings, has never lost two fights in a row since dropping to 145 pounds nearly four years ago. He doesn’t intend on starting with his UFC 205 bout with Stephens, which tops the FS1-televised preliminary card following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass.

No. 12-ranked Stephens certainly has the capability of handing Edgar another defeat, though, because he is one of the strongest power-punchers in the division. Fighting such a heavy-handed striker makes the approach both easier and more complex for Edgar. There’s less diversity when it comes to in-fight threats, but the weapons “Lil’ Heathen” has at his disposal are dangerous ones.

“Jeremy’s tough, man,” Edgar said. “He brings it every time. He’s going to to look to put people away every second of the fight. My ‘Spidey’ senses better be on point, and I know they will be. I’ve definitely felt some pretty big punches, and the idea isn’t to take his punches – it’s to avoid them.

“I’ve just got to be the more well-rounded guy, push the pace, be myself and keep him guessing.”

Although he lost to Aldo, a victory for Edgar at UFC 205 would put him right back in line for a title shot in the future. The major question, however, is who will be holding the gold. If McGregor beats Alvarez and becomes the organization’s first simultaneous two-division titleholder, it’s unknown if he would be stripped of a belt or would make a return to 145 pounds for a unification bout with Aldo.

Edgar said it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen. He’s unsurprisingly siding with his teammate Alvarez to win, though, which means McGregor could be forced back to featherweight to defend the gold.

If thats the case, Edgar will be waiting for him.

“I’m going to always be in the discussion (for a title shot),” Edgar said. “I’ve got to win first and figure it out after. … Eddie’s going to take care of the whole two-belt problem this week, and we’ll go from there.”

For more on UFC 205, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

view original article >>