White: A lot of fans want to see McGregor vs. Edgar
Dana White: “The fight that hasn’t happened that a lot of fans want to see is Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar for the 145 pound title.”
UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor lost to lightweight Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout at UFC 196. The next rational fight then is for McGregor’s title belt. The two leading challengers are Jose Aldo and Frankie Edgar.
At the UFC 196 post fight press conference, White said he was not sure.
It’s kind of hard not to give Aldo another go, said White then, as transcribed by Uproxx. He’s 10 years undefeated. But he pulls out a lot and he doesn’t show up a lot. Frankie [Edgar] at least gets in there and competes. So, I dunno. I’ll keep my ear to the ground and see who the fans want to see most. What are the fans most interested in.
The first thing that became clear is when. McGregor is eager to fight again, and will apparently be on the UFC 200 card.
“This business it has to burn, it has to be a desire inside you to fight. Conor McGregor’s a perfect example,” said White, as transcribed by Damon Martin for FOX Sports. “This guy’s going to turn around and fight on (UFC) 200 again. You have to have that burning desire to fight. If you don’t have it, you absolutely should not fight.”
The next question of course is who McGregor fights.
Both fighters have made repeated appeals for the fight. In a recent interview on ESPN’s Max and Marcellus show,White indicated that the fans seem to want Edgar vs. McGregor. This is presumably because Aldo vs. McGregor was one of the most decisive title fight endings in UFC history – a 13 second KO, and because Frankie Edgar is such a great fighter.
“The fight that hasn’t happened that a lot of fans want to see is Conor McGregor vs. Frankie Edgar for the 145 pound title,” said White.
That is a fight that Edgar ferociously wants.
“I was told after I fought [Chad] Mendes, ‘Frankie gets whatever he wants’ and I still didn’t what I wanted. Now it’s my chance again,” said Edgar to FOX Sports. “Are they going to dog me again? Is Dana going to dog me again and not give me this? He can’t. He just can’t.”
It is starting to look like White won’t, and Edgar will get a shot at McGregor, at UFC 200.
