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Frankie Edgar will be making his long-awaited Bantamweight debut on July 15th as he takes on Pedro Muhnoz in the co-main event. The UFC Fight Night on Fight Island will be headlined by an important Featherweight clash between Dan Ige and Calvin Kattar.
Since Edgar is technically a bigger name than both men in the main event, it came as a bit of a surprise that this fight wasn't the main event. However, Pedro Munhoz told Ag Fight that the reason was due to Edgar turning down a main event five-round fight (via Bloody Elbow):
“We were going to fight on July 11, but that card got stacked pretty fast, so they moved us to July 15. Allegedly, we had the opportunity to headline, but since it’s Frankie’s first time at bantamweight, I believe he didn’t want to expose himself to a five-round fight. He has fought in those for most of his career, but he chose to fight for three rounds."
However, he understood The Answer's decision to do so:
“I understand his decision, it’s his first time dropping to bantamweight. Now, we’re the co-main event. I’m glad the fight is still on. It’s a big name and the one I asked for to the UFC. I asked for the biggest names possible and they gave me Frankie Edgar. I felt pretty honored and happy for having the opportunity to face a living legend of the sport.”
Frankie Edgar's delayed 135 debut
Frankie Edgar was supposed to face Cory Sandhagen at UFC Raleigh earlier this year. However, Brian Ortega pulling out of UFC Busan against 'The Korean Zombie' Chan Sung Jung led to Frankie Edgar replacing him against Zombie and delaying his Bantamweight debut.
Sandhagen was frustrated about it and Edgar ended up losing to Korean Zombie in the first round. Sandhagen would go on to fight Aljamain Sterling in a #1 contender's fight, losing by submission in round one.
Pedro Munhoz last fight ended in a defeat to Aljamain Sterling as well, over a year ago. He'll be looking to bounce back and advance himself in the rankings at the expense of a legend in Frankie Edgar.
