Dana White on Frankie Edgar title shot: 'He'll get whatever he wants'

Frankie Edgar

Frankie Edgar earned the most significant victory of his featherweight career when he knocked out Chad Mendes at the TUF 22 Finale. And it appears to have finally earned him another UFC title shot.

Edgar (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC) finished Mendes (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in dramatic fashion less than three minutes after the highly anticipated main event began for his fifth consecutive octagon victory.

“The Answer” has been pleading for a UFC featherweight title shot for some time, and according to his post-fight interview on FOX Sports 1, he’s been granted his wish by UFC President Dana White.

“I just got out of the room with Dana, and I got good news; he says I got it,” Edgar said. “He says I put myself in position to where I get that title shot. I definitely had to pull his collar a little bit and throw a little shot at him, but he knows it’s all love.”

White confirmed the conversation, and said Edgar would be difficult to pass over after the statement performance.

“When Frankie came downstairs I said, ‘Nobody can deny you now. Not me, not nobody,'” White said. “Everybody believes they’re ready for the title shot and they deserve it, and Frankie’s one of those guys. …Frankie really, really solidified himself tonight as the guy.

“Nobody can deny Frankie anymore. He looked amazing tonight, and he’ll get whatever he wants. He put the stamp on it tonight. I bet he has people buzzing right now. People are interested. People want it.”

Although White’s given Edgar his word, history has proven that isn’t always a guarantee. Saturday’s UFC 194 main event will see the long-awaited 145-pound title unification match between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor, and naturally the outcome will significantly impact the shape of the division.

Aldo has been the only featherweight champion in UFC history and has not suffered a defeat in more than 10 years. Should he suffer his first octagon defeat, he would have a rightful claim at an immediate rematch.

Edgar admitted that he understood the situation depending on the UFC 194 title fight, but he said he believes the nature of his victory over Mendes should give him the opportunity to become just the third fighter in UFC history to win belts in multiple weight classes.

“I had some criticism early on about, ‘I’m not a finisher’ – I got three finishes in the last five fights over some of the best guys in the world,” Edgar said. “I can’t be happier about.”

If everything goes Edgar’s way, he could face Aldo or McGregor sometime in the first half of 2016. Who would he like to meet for the title though? Edgar said he doesn’t care.

“I just want the belt,” Edgar said. “I originally said I wanted to be the guy to take it from Aldo, especially because I lost to him – McGregor’s a big money fight, so I feel like I can’t go wrong either way.”

For complete coverage of the TUF 22 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.