MMA fighters Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar have agreed that the one emerging as the winner at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale should be the one who will get the chance at the featherweight title shot. However, both fighters seem to have a different stand on what should they do if things will go differently.
Frankie Edgar, who has a current record of 19-4-1 MMA and 13-4-1 UFC, is fairly certain that he is not willing to wait for that chance.
“I’m not getting any younger; I don’t plan on waiting. I don’t think I’ll be fighting any lesser competition. I don’t think there is any lesser competition; I think all the guys are hammers right now. Any fight is going to be a tough fight at this point in my career,” Edgar said today during a recent interview for the event this coming December 11th at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.
Mendes, on the other hand, feels the exact opposite. Chad, who holds a record of 17-3 MMA and 8-3 UFC, had three chances with the belt. While he agrees that he is in an industry that has a high probability of short career, Chad thinks he can still wait a little longer and let the hype with McGregor and Aldo pass. He will then go after the title against whoever will emerge victorious between the two.
“It doesn’t make any sense if you win a fight and you have the opportunity to fight for a title to do anything else. I’m here to fight the best guys in the division, and I want to be the champion. I would definitely wait,” Mendes said.
Both Mendes and Edgar have gone against UFC featherweight champion, Jose Aldo, and lost. Just recently, Mendes took Aldo’s place and went against McGregor but he unfortunately came on the losing side as well. Mendes admitted that it was a bit risky for him to seal an agreement in such a short notice and he wasn’t quite prepared for the fight, that’s why he lost. Aldo was supposed to be the one to fight McGregor, but Aldo became injured weeks before the said fight, so he had to back out and withdraw from the event.
Even though he lost to McGregor, Mendes believes he still deserves a shot at the title if he can win over a great fighter like Edgar. Unlike other spectators, Mendes thinks he is fit to go against the winner of UFC 194 main card.
“This is a fight, in my opinion, that’s going to cement the true No. 1 contender. I felt like that when I got in there and fought against Lamas, and that was a fight that pushed me right back in line. I feel like the winner of this fight should be right back in line for it whether it’s me or Frankie. Obviously, I’ve fought Aldo twice and Conor for the fake belt. But you beat a guy like Frankie, who’s been on a tear, you have no choice but to give the guy that wins that fight a title shot, in my opinion,” Mendes said.