And the “Frankie Edgar would beat Conor McGregor” drum is beaten again.
Just days after watching Eddie Alvarez, the man many were touting as having all the answers for McGregor’s quiz book, get brutally stopped by the Irishman, Alvarez’s head coach has claimed that he’s got the man in his gym to upend ‘The Notorious’.
It seems like it’s been years since former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar was first named as the fighter who had the skill-set to put McGregor to the sword and derail the hype train.
And that talk shows no signs of stopping.
“I think I’d 100 per cent do Frankie Edgar, that’s who I’d do,” Mark Henry, head coach of Alvarez and Edgar, said when asked on the Heavy Hands podcast about who he felt could defeat the new two-weight world champion.
“It’s been two years now since he could have fought Frankie, it hasn’t happened. Frankie’s never been stopped.
“You can’t say that McGregor beat Aldo (and therefore would beat Frankie) because that’s just ridiculous. That’s just the same as saying that everybody who beat Nate Diaz would beat Conor or knock him out so it’s just stupid to even say that Aldo beat Frankie so Conor would too. That’s just the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life. You probably never watch too much MMA if you say that or you’re just so full of Conor that you can’t help yourself.
“I think Frankie is the perfect guy. He’s got foot movement, he sees punches coming way ahead of time, he’s never been stopped, his wrestling is unbelievable, his set-ups to his wrestling are unbelievable.
“When Conor fought Nate, he was ranked eighth at the time and McGregor got stopped.
“Look at Frankie who fought a bigger guy in Jeremy Stephens. They weighed them too right before the fight and Jeremy was about 15lbs bigger than Frankie.
“You see what happens when Frankie fights someone bigger than him and you see what happens when Conor fights someone bigger than him.”
If McGregor decides to return to featherweight following his scheduled break from the sport then a bout with Edgar is not exactly miles away as ‘The Answer’ has just beaten ranked opposition in Jeremy Stephens.
It wouldn’t even be surprising to see Edgar accept a bout at lightweight against McGregor, such is his confidence, but he would join a lengthier queue of contenders at 155lbs with the likes of Khabib Nurmagomedov, Tony Ferguson and Nate Diaz likely ahead of him in the higher weight class.
But Henry is adamant that, in terms of styles, Edgar is the guy who matches up perfectly with McGregor’s skills although he added that Nurmagomedov is right up there too.
“I would put together an exact Frankie Edgar (to beat McGregor),” Henry continued.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BLn9-xUjQD9/?taken-by=mark_henry7
“Defence, fast hands, fast feet, feints, amazing wrestling, amazing Jiu-Jitsu, kicks that could get him by, amazing defence with kicks.
“My perfect guy would be a Frankie Edgar. My second perfect guy would be Khabib (Nurmagomedov) or even Khabib first.
“I think as much next level that Conor is with his striking, Khabib is on a whole other level with his wrestling and Khabib’s not afraid of anything.
“Then there’s the other style of Edson Barboza. He’s never really had a really good Muay Thai guy go at him. That’s another skill-set where there’s a question mark at the moment.”
Aaron Kernan joins Colm Parkinson on The GAA Hour to explain the work he’s doing for the Club Players Association. Derry captain Chrissy McKaigue talks Slaughtneil and a Dublin club advertising for hurlers gets a sore touch. Subscribe here on iTunes.
