Frankie Edgar Didn't Hesitate Accepting Short-Notice Jose Aldo Fight: ‘It Was Easy to Say Yes'
It was common knowledge that once Frankie Edgar dropped down to the featherweight division, a title shot would likely come peeking around the corner in pretty short fashion.
It turned out he got the shot even quicker than anticipated when Erik Koch suffered a training injury and it forced him out of his scheduled bout against UFC champion Jose Aldo at UFC 153 in October.
With five weeks training time to go, Edgar got the call and while he did talk to his coaches and manager just to make sure everybody was on board, there was zero chance he was saying no to the opportunity.
“To be honest, in my head I said yes right away. I just wanted to call my team and talk to them about it, more of a respect of my coaches type situation, but I don't think anybody could have talked me out of it at any point,” Edgar told MMAWeekly Radio.
“In my mind, I had already made up the fact that I wanted to fight this fight.”
While the situations are absolutely different, there are still comparisons being made between Edgar's decision to say yes and UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones' recent decision to say no to a short-notice fight.
In Jones' case, he was asked to change opponents on eight days notice, but right or wrong, he's been vilified for his decision to turn down the chance to still compete at UFC 151. In Edgar's case, he's taking a fight on approximately five weeks notice, but he is just three weeks removed from a five-round title fight. He's also competing at a new weight class, but still, there was no chance he wasn't stepping up when the UFC came calling.
“I'm not trying to compare myself to anyone else, I just know my situation. It was easy to say yes. I fought less than three weeks ago when I got the call, injury free fight. I was already back in the gym a little bit, so it was just an opportunity you can't let slip,” Edgar stated.
“I feel I'm a company guy. When they ask me to do stuff, I'm usually on board with them. So nothing changes this time around. Let's not get this twisted, this is definitely a good opportunity for me. It's not like I'm doing them such a favor. Them offering me this is good on my part as well.”
Edgar now gets the chance to fight for the UFC featherweight title just over two months after competing for the UFC lightweight title. He will be the first fight to accomplish that feat, and he'll try to also become the first fighter to hand Jose Aldo a loss inside the Octagon.
To hear the full interview with Frankie Edgar, check out Monday's edition of MMAWeekly Radio.
