After coming up short in his latest bid to win the UFC’s featherweight crown, Frankie Edgar is set to make a run at bantamweight.

Edgar UFC bantamweight

Edgar faced 145 champ Max Holloway last month at UFC 240, and lost to the renowned fighter via unanimous decision. It marked the third time the former lightweight champ has failed to win either the undisputed or interim featherweight belt.

Edgar’s Manager Confirms Pending Drop to Bantamweight

If you’ve followed Edgar over the years, then you know for some time, many folks have said the star should be competing at bantamweight. Edgar, however, repeatedly dismissed that idea. After all, the 5’6 foot tall fighter went on to win the lightweight title, when many people said he was too small for the weight class.

Well, following Edgar’s loss to Holloway, calls for him to drop to 135 have spiked once again. Recently Edgar’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN this:

“We have already started discussing Frankie’s bantamweight debut,” Abdelaziz said. “We’re hoping it will be at UFC 244 on Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden, but 100 percent Frankie’s next fight will be at 135 pounds.”

Mark Henry, Edgar’s Striking Coach, is “Excited”

Edgar’s longtime striking coach, Mark Henry, has said for a while that he believes Edgar would be at his best, competing at 135. So, when he was contacted by MMA Fighting for a reaction, the coach said this:

“Excited for Frankie,” Henry said. “I love him first and foremost. Been wanting him to fight ‘35 since first day was introduced to the UFC. We have three other really good ‘35ers on the team, Frankie is the smallest one.

“It’s bad enough dealing with weight in a fight but when you’re dealing with height, range and weight for 15 years it’s asking a lot. When Frankie has fought guys his own height he’s done very well—Urijah [Faber], BJ [Penn], [Sean] Sherk, Cub [Swanson], Chad [Mendes]—So excited for this new chapter. Very excited!”

And, Edgar himself, shared out this statement:

The cat’s out of the bag! I’ve been reluctant to cut down my whole career but I feel like now is the time. Excited for a new beginning!

There you have it. Now, this indeed pretty big news. Provided Edgar can make the cut to 135 in a healthy manner, it will be very interesting to see how he does at that weight, and whether he can make another title shot run.

When you look at his last few performances, there isn’t any real indication that Edgar’s slowed down much, if at all. His only losses since 2013 have come against top tier featherweights in Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega and Holloway.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: