Frankie Edgar is excited to finally make his bantamweight debut against Pedro Munhoz.
The former UFC lightweight champion was expected to make his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen in January. Yet, Edgar took a short notice fight against Korean Zombie which did not go his way in December. He then was set to face Pedro Munhoz at UFC 251, UFC Fight Island 1, UFC 252 and now finally, UFC Vegas 7. For Edgar, he admits this camp has been a long one and he is excited to finally be able to fight.
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“It definitely feels like this is a marathon training camp. This isn’t ideal times for anybody so just doing what I got to do. I wanted to get it over with instead of pushing it back,” Edgar said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “But, the UFC is always good to me so of course I will take that main event spot.”
When Pedro Munhoz tested positive for COVID-19 before departing Fight Island, Edgar was offered a replacement opponent. But, the future UFC Hall of Famer just wanted to rebook the Munhoz fight after spending so much time preparing for him.
“I just wanted to rebook the Pedro fight. Whenever I’ve jumped at short notice fights it hasn’t been going my way. Not that I am afraid to do that, I just felt like the training was well and we could get it rebooked and one month later we got it done.
“It is not the matchup, it doesn’t matter. It is just that I’ve been planning for this guy for a while,” Edgar later added. “S**t, if he gets another positive, we are fighting anybody come August 22.”
Now, against Munhoz, Edgar will fight five rounds once again. Munhoz has never done it in the UFC before so “The Answer” knows that is an advantage for him.
So, for Edgar, he says he plans on pushing the pace and seeing if Munhoz can keep up with his cardio.
“I think it could touch all facets of the game,” he explained. “I’m going to be in his face. I will push the pace and if the takedown is there, I will utilize it. He has good jiu-jitsu and I’m sure if he sees a takedown he will go for it, too.”
Frankie Edgar is confident he will get his hand raised and the hope for the future Hall of Famer is he can get another fight in 2020. But, he knows he has to take the right matchups as he believes a win over Munhoz gets him into title contention at bantamweight.
“I’m always in the mix as long as I win fights and beat the right guys based on what I did in my career,” he said. “I’m always in that conversation.”
If Edgar does earn and win a title at bantamweight he knows he secures that legacy. But, for now, he is focused on Saturday night and beating Pedro Munhoz.
“That has never been done before. I could be the first to win belts in two weight classes apart,” Edgar concluded. “I’ve been gunning for a second belt since 2012, I am just worried about winning fights right now.”
Do you think Frankie Edgar will beat Pedro Munhoz in the main event of UFC Vegas 7?