Frankie Edgar announced this week that he will be dropping down to the bantamweight division for his next fight, and two rising stars have now called him out.
Just two weeks after losing to Max Holloway in the main event of UFC 240, Edgar has realized he’s too small to compete with the elite featherweights and decided to make the move down in weight. It didn’t take long for him to get some takers.
First, Ricky Simon took to Twitter to call Edgar out. Simon just lost in an upset to Urijah Faber a few weeks back at UFC Sacramento, but clearly wants to get back in the cage quickly to make amends. Edgar makes a lot of sense as his next opponent.
Here’s what Simon said.
November works for me https://t.co/npHvNEMA6C
— Ricky Simón (@RickySimonUFC) August 7, 2019
“November works for me.”
A Simon vs. Edgar matchup at UFC 244 this November in New York is something that should work for both parties, with each man coming off of a loss.
Later on, Petr Yan also said he wants a piece of Edgar, simply using an emoji to do his talking.
— Petr “No Mercy” Yan (@PetrYanUFC) August 8, 2019
Yan is coming off of a decision win over Jimmie Rivera and has an excellent record of 5-0 inside the Octagon. However, he is lagging behind Aljamain Sterling in the race to fight Henry Cejudo for the UFC bantamweight title. Rather than waiting around, Yan wants a piece of Edgar in the meantime in what would be his highest-profile fight to date.
We’ll see who the UFC ultimately ends up matching Edgar with, but two things seem likely. One, that Edgar will make his 135lbs debut at UFC 244. And two, that one of these young fighters who are calling him out will get their wish as the UFC matchmakers love when the fighters call their own shots.
Who do you think Frankie Edgar should fight in his UFC bantamweight debut?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 8/8/2019.