Edgar: ‘Hopefully I have to do this for a while’
Joe Rizzo: How’s all the training and all that good stuff going? Frankie Edgar: Yeah, training’s been going great, you…
Joe Rizzo: How’s all the training and all that good stuff going?
Frankie Edgar: Yeah, training’s been going great, you know, man. … Just sort of, you know, focusing in on the attack plan.
JR: Bringing in a secret weapon here. We pop in, you know, usual Tuesday at (Ricardo) Almeida and all of a sudden, you have Ross Pearson to play with today.
FE: Yeah, you know, Ricardo invited him down here, you know they hooked up about a month ago in Vegas and invited him to come train so, you know, he’s going. .. So it’s just great, man, you know to get the high-caliber athletes to train with. The timing’s perfect.
JR: You’re being underestimated again. Everybody thinks that BJ’s the favorite, even though that you are the champ now. Does that enter into your mindset or I know you’re pretty even-keeled guy. Does that ever come up, use it as motivation?
FE: You know, desire to win is motivation enough for me. So, whether it’s a title fight, whether it’s BJ Penn or not, it’s just forcing me to bring out the best in myself. BJ is one of the best guys in the world at this weight class, whether our last fight or not. So, I have to really make sure that I come at the top of my game.
JR: How much is the game plan going to evolve for this fight? … Are you working on a lot of new, different things?
FE: I’m working to improve, that’s my biggest thing. I always try to improve from fight to fight, try to be a different fighter. Of course game plan’s a little bit different. I’m sure he’s going to adjust, so I got to make the adjustments based upon on that so… it’s pretty much going to be like a fight-time adjustment.
JR: Tell us a little bit about these few months that you’ve gotten adjusted to being back home and being the champion. A lot more demands on your time for things like this interview and radio shows and appearances, endorsements. How are you adjusting to that part of it outside of the cage?
FE: Uh, you know, I’m really lucky that I have good management. Shari Spencer’s my manager for almost a year now, so I really don’t have to handle that too much. She hands it, tells me what to do, and I do it. Obviously there are more demands, interviews and whatnot, but I’m welcoming it, so that’s part of being a champ. It’s something you have to do and hopefully I get used to it, hopefully I have to do this for a while.