'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Frankie Edgar has been on a slight skid. Having lost the last three of his bouts, he's set for a move down to Bantamweight. He was originally going to face Cory Sandhagen in his Bantamweight debut this past weekend, but that bout was scrapped after he served in as a last-minute replacement against the "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung in the final fight of 2019 in UFC.
As you probably know, the short-notice didn't serve Edgar well, as Korean Zombie TKO'd him - giving him only his second career defeat via a finish. While it's certainly no shame losing to a World-Class fighter like Korean Zombie, Edgar opened up to Joe Rogan on the JRE MMA Show (H/T MMAJunkie) about how the defeat this past December affected him
“Obviously, the fight with ‘Korean Zombie,’ I felt like I never got a chance to get going,” Edgar said. “He got me with a good shot. I was really down on myself. That was a tough one. I was really down on myself for awhile. Nobody takes losses well – no one competitive. I definitely took it pretty bad. Christmas was right here.
In my head, I took the fight on short notice. But I never once took a fight and didn’t think I was going to win – two weeks’ notice. I was in shape. I was training – not like I was training for a fight, but I was training pretty good. I believe in myself.
He said that he expected to win and have a nice Christmas with his family, but the festive season turned out to be a bit depressing for him due to the loss. As for his next step, he's still planning his Bantamweight debut in late spring or early summer:
“I’m going to go down to 135,” Edgar said. “I’m probably like 156 right now. … My last fight, I was getting down to 145. I got down to 144.5. That’s only 8.5 (pounds) over where I’ve got to be to make 136. It was such an easy cut for this last time. … I think late spring or early summer, (I’ll be back) at 135.”
It's also the last fight in his UFC contract. He doesn't want to be lured by other promotions and would rather finish his career where he "grew up":
“It’ll be 13 years I’ve been in the UFC coming in February,” Edgar said. “… Money talks. But I mean, honestly, if I was being straight up, where would I want to finish my career? I do want to finish in the UFC. I got in the UFC at 5-0. I pretty much grew up here.
Regardless of what happens, Frankie Edgar is a future Hall of Famer and an all-time great. It's not often that you see a "little man" go way above his natural weight class and capture a title in one of the most ruthless divisions (Lightweight).
Though he was unable to replicate that feat at Featherweight, he was still a title challenger - competing for the Featherweight Championship twice and the interim title once, losing twice to Jose Aldo and once to Max Holloway.
Many believe that Bantamweight is Edgar's natural weight class and it's going to be interesting to see what he can do at 135 pounds.
