Frankie Edgar is finally moving down to bantamweight.
According to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto, the former UFC lightweight champion has confirmed he will move down to 135 pounds through his manager Ali Abdelaziz and coach Mark Henry:
Abdelaziz opened up on the move to Okamoto, confirming ‘The Answer’s’ next fight would indeed be at 135 pounds:
“We have already started discussing Frankie’s bantamweight debut. 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.”
Edgar has competed in the UFC’s 145-pound division since early 2013. He’s failed to win a title there in three attempts. His most recent title bout loss came at July 27’s UFC 240. There, he dropped a unanimous decision to current champ Max Holloway. ‘The Answer’ also recently suffered his first-ever stoppage loss when Brian Ortega knocked him out in March 2018.
A Long Time Coming?
He was clearly outsized by a large margin in those fights, leading many to speculate that 135 pounds was the best fit for the UFC legend. His longtime coach Henry certainly believes it is. Henry opened up on the possibility to MMA Junkie after UFC 240, noting his clearest path to the title is at 135:
“Sometimes he bites my hand, then I just walk away. Other times, he’ll sit there for a second, and I might get a different reaction. His family loves him, and I think they would like to see him fight guys his size. It’ll also make his career go longer because he loves what he’s doing.
“I think it will be a tough sell but, for me, it’s about taking the clearest path to the belt. Not only that, but he’s also fought pretty much everybody at featherweight, so bantamweight would be something new and fresh and exciting.”
There’s the concern the weight cut will be a draining one for him after he fought at lightweight for so many years. However, there are also some potentially great match-ups that await Edgar down a weight class. Fights with opponents like Henry Cejudo, Urijah Faber, Aljamain Sterling, and Petr Yan all stand out as very interesting bouts.
Perhaps one of those fights will go down at November’s UFC 244 from New York City.
Is Edgar making the right decision to finally drop down to bantamweight?
