Frankie Edgar: I guess I need to be more 'Jersey Shore' to get a title shot
Frankie Edgar is doing his best to keep a positive attitude, but it's not easy after he was seemingly passed over for a potential title shot at next weekend's UFC 189 card in Las Vegas.
Featherweight champion Jose Aldo is still being evaluated on whether or not he'll be able to compete on July 11 for his scheduled bout against Conor McGregor. Aldo suffered an injury in training that resulted in bruised ribs and cartilage damage that may knock him out of the fight between now and next Saturday night.
If Aldo is pulled from the card, the UFC has offered Chad Mendes the chance to replace him and face McGregor with an interim featherweight title up for grabs.
When news of the situation first broke a week ago, Edgar thought it was a no-brainer that he would get the call to either replace Aldo all together or at worst be the backup plan if the UFC needed him. When he got shot down for both of those opportunities, Edgar admits it was difficult to hold his head very high.
"You just deal with everything, but what are you going to do? Obviously, I was disappointed," Edgar told FOX Sports on Monday.
"I was told that Aldo was fighting so that's what I was first told and then I read that (Chad) Mendes would be the contingency plan. I was a little upset when I read that. If Aldo's fighting McGregor, cool, that was the original plan, but then knowing that I didn't get to be the alternate definitely made me upset."
Edgar is in the midst of one of his most impressive career runs with four victories in a row, including wins over UFC Hall of Famer B.J. Penn, Charles Oliveira and former No. 1 contender Cub Swanson. Regardless of those accolades and his standing as a former lightweight champion, Edgar still didn't get the call to help out at UFC 189 next weekend.
Maybe Edgar is just a tougher matchup for McGregor on less than two weeks notice? Maybe Edgar is the toughest matchup for anybody at featherweight and that's why his name isn't being pulled from the hat?
"It makes sense. It could very well be that. I'm the worst matchup for everybody so yeah, I agree," Edgar said about that scenario.
Edgar isn't exactly sure why the UFC opted to go with Mendes as the alternate over him, but he's not oblivious to the disdain shared between the former title challenger and McGregor spawning from an encounter in 2014 where the two featherweights got into a war of words during a TV interview.
For his part, Edgar has never been into trash talk or hyping a fight with some sort of false machismo just to build up a rivalry with an opponent. He can't deny, however, that it worked in McGregor's case and maybe that's why Mendes got the call instead of him.
Either way, Edgar isn't going to change the way he talks or acts just because it might earn him a shoving match at a press conference to sell a few more pay-per-views.
"We're not getting judged or rated by just our fighting ability," Edgar said. "People want to watch guys who are flamboyant and have something to say and that's just the nature of the fight game and the game we're in. I get it.
"I need a little more 'Jersey Shore' in me I guess. It's just not who I am. It would almost be phony at this point."
While Edgar's mood is noticeably downtrodden after being passed over for a potential title shot next weekend, the New Jersey native promises after UFC 189 he will be blowing up UFC president Dana White's phone, rallying to get the winner from the main event no matter who ends up fighting.
"He's going to be pestered that's for sure. I don't even know if it's going to work, I'll be honest. I'll bother him, but we'll what happens," Edgar said.
Whether the title shot happens now or later, Edgar knows that he's not going to sit around and wait forever. He plans on fighting at least one more time in 2015 although in a perfect world he'd be competing for gold.
Either way, Edgar is sending a strong message to Aldo, McGregor and Mendes that whoever has the belt after UFC 189 will have a very large target painted directly on his back.
"I'm definitely getting in there before the end of the year, whether it's for the title or not," Edgar said. "I think if all goes well and Aldo/McGregor is still on, then I get to fight the winner. That's the best-case scenario. Things have to pan out the right way but either way I'm going to fight by the end of the year.
"I'm still here. I'm still gunning for that title. I'm not going anywhere."
