Frankie Edgar isn’t overlooking Yair Rodriguez, but he isn’t afraid to talk about the future.
“The Answer” is set to go one-on-one with “El Pantera” inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on May 13. This will be a significant step up in competition for Rodriguez, who is ranked No. 8 on the official Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight rankings.
While the gap in professional mixed martial arts (MMA) experience is significant, a win could push Rodriguez to a title shot and he may be on his way to becoming a breakout star in the UFC. Edgar doesn’t plan on letting that happen.
Edgar spoke with Flo Combat recently. While Edgar has Rodriguez in his sights, he did answer questions surrounding a potential bantamweight move. The former UFC lightweight title holder said he’d need an immediate title shot if he’s going to cut the weight:
“I don’t cut a lot of weight. I can be a bantamweight, and if they offer me a title fight, it would be difficult to say no. (But) I would only consider going down to face the champion. If they offer me a belt, I would come down. At the moment, I feel I’m still very close to the featherweight title. I have to see what will happen with (featherweight champion Jose) Aldo vs. (interim champion Max) Holloway, but I would never say no to (a shot at) the belt.”
