UFC featherweight Frankie Edgar might return some day to the lightweight division in which he once reigned as champion.
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” Edgar told sportsnet.ca on Friday while in Toronto for a media blitz and a seminar on Saturday at Takedown MMA in Vaughan, Ont. “I was successful (at lightweight) and we’ll see what the future holds, but right now it’s focused on (featherweight).”
The 31-year-old Edgar is scheduled to fight for the second time at the featherweight level at UFC 162 in July against 23-year-old Brazilian submission specialist Charles Oliveira. It will be Edgar’s second bout in the 145-pound division since losing his debut against champion Jose Aldo in February. Edgar has three consecutive losses, albeit all in title fights, and needs a win, although he doesn’t think it is imperative to maintain his job in the UFC.
“Arguably (the losses) could have gone the other way against the best competition in the world,” he said. “I’m not really worried about it, to be honest with you. I’ve just got to worry about my next fight. That will take care of the future.”
The lightweight division has certainly changed since his departure. While his old foe Gray Maynard is chasing a possible chance at a title fight if he beats TJ Grant Saturday night at UFC 160 in Las Vegas, there are numerous others starting to make their presences felt.
Benson Henderson, who stripped Edgar of his title and maintained it in their rematch, scored a controversial victory last time out against Gilbert Melendez, the champion of the now-defunct Strikeforce. Josh Thomson, who had lost to Melendez in his last Strikeforce bout, scored an impressive knockout win over Nate Diaz in his UFC debut.
Who should face Henderson next has become a hot-button topic among MMA fans. Many opine a Henderson/Melendez rematch or a Henderson/Thomson bout is more deserving than Henderson facing either Maynard or Grant. Maynard will leave that type of decision up to the UFC.
“I don’t know their thought process,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys that could possibly fight for the title. It’s so evenly matched. I guess there could be a lot of different matchups that could happen…It’s still one of the deepest divisions in the UFC.”
Edgar is curious to see how Maynard fares against Grant, having been off for almost a year and beating Clay Guida in an uninspiring bout that was atypical for the way he likes to scrap.
“It was uneventful, but I don’t really think it was his fault,” Edgar said. “His opponent wasn’t really engaging. I don’t know what kind of Gray is going to show up (Saturday night) and how he’s evolved since his (fourth-round knockout loss) fight with me (at UFC 136 on October, 2011). TJ is on a tear winning four in a row, so for me it’s a lot of unknowns for this fight. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen, but I’m sure it’s going to be a great fight.”
Edgar said the UFC is getting deeper in terms of its talent pool and is becoming much more competitive in every division. Many fighters have been dropped, some because their contracts have expired, others because they didn’t do enough to keep their jobs. The influx of talent from Strikeforce created a surplus that has placed a premium on performance.
“It’s kind of a dog-eat-dog world,” he said. “You’ve got to be successful.”
