White confirms McGregor asked for Edgar fight
Dana White: “It’s true. He did say, ‘I’ll take that fight with Frankie Edgar.’”
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor never lets anything get in his way, including on occasion the truth. So when he said that he offered to step in for an injured featherweight champion Max Holloway vs. #1 challenger Frankie Edgar for the interim belt, there was a degree of doubt.
“I put my name forward to step in at UFC 222 to face Frankie Edgar when Max Holloway pulled out, but I was told there wasn’t enough time to generate the money that the UFC would need,” wrote McGregor on Instagram. “I was excited about bouncing in last minute and taking out the final featherweight, without all the rest of the stuff that comes with this game. Please respect the insane amount of work outside the fight game that I have put in.”
However, although it was never close to fruition, Notorious really did offer to step up and drop down to 145.
“It’s true,” said UFC president Dana White, as transcribed by Chisanga Malata for England’s The Express. “He did say, ‘I’ll take that fight with Frankie Edgar.’ But he’s not in that weight division and we had already made the fight. The fight was already made between Ortega and Frankie when Conor said, ‘I’ll take that fight’.
White also recently explained that McGregor’s belt will be stripped at the start of interim champion Tony Ferguson vs Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223 on April 7, 2018, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“As soon as one punch is thrown, it’s on for the full title and it’s only fair,” said White to Lance Pugmire of the LA Times. “They’ve both worked their way up to No. 1 and No. 2. They deserve a shot.”
“This is good news for the fans. I always hear about, ‘What will you do if this guy leaves …’ This is a sport first. People leave, they’ve made money and moved on. It happens.”
Conor does want the belt, he does want to be the champion, but he doesn’t want to defend it. I’d love to see him fight the winner of Ferguson-Khabib next.”
Other possibilities for McGregor upon his return include Nate Diaz, Tyron Woodley, and Georges St-Pierre.