Conor McGregor says he wants to fight Frankie Edgar, but ‘The Answer’s’ coach isn’t buying it.
‘The Notorious’ recently mentioned Edgar among the plethora of names he’s willing to fight when he makes his MMA return in his recent interview with ESPN:
“You know who else is at the top of the list, Frankie Edgar, is also right there, up there at the top of the list,” McGregor said. “Because he has similarities to Khabib. Runs on the back foot, shoots on the single leg. I want these types of similar bouts and also Frankie has been very respectful. Frankie has always been respectful.”
Edgar was quick to respond that he would fight Mcgregor at any weight class.
McGregor Turned Edgar Down?
However, Edgar’s coach Mark Henry isn’t on board with that talk. He told the Eurobash podcast (via MMA Fighting) that McGregor has had plenty of chances to fight Edgar in the past, but refused:
“He didn’t want to fight Frankie before and he had opportunities too. It’s like he didn’t want to fight him, he had a couple of chances.”
Henry claimed McGregor knew Chad Mendes hadn’t been training before he filled in for Jose Aldo at 2015’s UFC 189. He allegedly took that match-up instead of fighting Edgar:
“[When Jose Aldo was forced out of UFC 189] he knew Mendes wasn’t in a camp, that he was filming a hunting show and he hadn’t trained in a long time. He knows that Frankie trains all year round and it would’ve been perfect timing. Mendes had just lost the fight before to Aldo. That week, Frankie was ranked ahead of Chad too and they switched it fast after Chad got the fight…Frankie was ranked ahead of him, he had more wins than him. Chad had just lost within two fights prior to the title fight.”
A Second Denial
But that wasn’t the only time, he said. McGregor allegedly turned Edgar down once again after “The Answer” knocked out Mendes later that year:
“When he had the opportunity to fight Frankie again he turned it down…When Chad and Frankie fought each other, [McGregor] said that Frankie would lose and if Frankie does beat [Mendes], [McGregor] would fight him, which then happened too, and then he didn’t fight Frankie again after that. There have been a lot of excuses, but all in all, he’s bashed other people and he’s seems to have been pretty respectful to Frankie. And Frankie’s been pretty respectful to him, like he has been to everybody.”
It doesn’t seem all too likely the two stars will face off given that Edgar lost his most recent fight to Max Holloway in late July. If they did finally fight, Henry believes Edgar still has what it takes to defeat the Irish superstar:
“Yeah, I’ve always thought [Edgar was McGregor’s kryptonite], and I still think he is today. I think Frankie would definitely do well with him. I’ve never said he’d roll him over or anything, but I think it would be a great fight.”
Was Conor McGregor truly ducking Frankie Edgar?
