Dana White spoke to the press following Frankie Edgar’s monumental comeback KO victory over Gray Maynard. He complimented the lightweight champion for his performance, and says that he thinks Edgar is the No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the sport:
“If you really look at what pound-for-pound means, you cannot deny that Frankie Edgar is Number 2. The guy weighs 145 pounds and he’s beating guys at 155 pounds. He beat a guy who had him out of it. A guy who many believed had his number. He knocked him out tonight… He’s an amazing human being. He’s an incredible athlete, and he’s got a heart the size of this room.”
That’s pretty high praise from the UFC president, especially considering that majority of pundits think that those top two slots belong to Anderson Silva and Georges St. Pierre respectively.
Dana also went on to say that he still wants Edgar to make the drop to featherweight, and face the current champion and fellow UFC 136 winner, Jose Aldo:
“Honestly, I’d like to see him move to 145 and fight Aldo”
“Did you see the size difference between those two tonight? I’ve been telling him for a long time he should fight at 145. I’m not his dad or trainer. That’s his decision. He’s a grown man and knows what he’s doing.”
“All these other guys that he fights are so much bigger than him. I think that fighting out of your weight class isn’t healthy. I don’t think it’s healthy long-term. I don’t think that guys that fight a weight class above them and take damage can have the longevity that other fighters can have. I think when you fight with guys that are your own size, you don’t take the punishment that you take when you fight bigger guys. The weight classes are there for a reason.”
Aldo is likely set to face Chad Mendes next, and with Melendez in the works to join the stacked UFC lightweight shark tank, Edgar isn’t likely to run out of challengers at 155 anytime soon. He has already proven that he is the best lightweight in the world, so it is very tough to say that he should change things up and leave the division.
Although that being said, I don’t think the fans would mind seeing Edgar take on the Strikeforce champ in Melendez, then try to challenge for the featherweight title regardless of the outcome.
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