The Answer may not be happy about it but he is prepared to wait for his title shot.
Frankie Edar met with UFC officials in Las Vegas on Tuesday and, last night, word emerged that he is not going to fight again until it is for the featherweight belt.
On December 11, Edgar stopped Chad Mendes in devastating fashion and was told, by Dana White, he could have ‘whatever he wants’.
The 34-year-old wants a shot at Conor McGregor’s featherweight strap but The Notorious has stepped up a weight class to take on Rafael dos Anjos at March’s UFC 197.
Edgar has openly expressed his anger and disappointment that dos Anjos will get the next crack at the Dubliner and this week’s meeting was of the clear-the-air kind.
Following the pow-wow, it would seem that Edgar is placated.
Ali Abdelaziz, who is Edgar and dos Anjos’ manager, told Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports that the New Jersey won’t be in the octagon again until gold is on the line.
Spoke to @AliAbdelaziz00 who tells me @FrankieEdgar won't fight again until it's for the championship.
— Kevin Iole (@KevinI) January 14, 2016
The fact that Edgar retweeted the post [above] adds more slightly more credence to the claims. Edgar recently revealed, however, that he allowed his manager to tweet on his behalf during a Q&A session.
Abdelaziz then expanded, on his own account, about why McGregor is fighting the lightweight champion first.
If he loses to frankie now nobody will care about him. When he loses to RDA he will still have a belt. He's smart https://t.co/XGFmLLZ7LM
— Ali Abdelaziz (@AliAbdelaziz00) January 14, 2016
The most likely course of action will see Edgar rest up until after UFC 197 – regardless of how McGregor fares – before going into a 12-week camp ahead of his UFC 200 title shot.
This was touched on at September 2015’s ‘Go Big’ showcase.
Asked about waiting for a shot at McGregor, Edgar replied, “That’s what he [McGregor] has been saying over and over. He’s the money fight. I’d be stupid not to take it.”
He may not like waiting but Edgar appears to be heeding his own words.
