Chael Sonnen: Frankie Edgar deserves title fight, whether against McGregor or Aldo

Frankie Edgar

Call it a wrestler’s preference, but Chael Sonnen wants to see Conor McGregor fight Frankie Edgar before anyone else.

“You’ve got to defend the belt,” Sonnen told MMAjunkie Radio. “In my opinion, you can’t just vacate a belt.”

Although it remains to be seen what McGregor will do after knocking out Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to claim the UFC featherweight title, the popular Irish fighter is already certain about one thing: He will not be vacating any belt. But he also wants to test himself one division above his current one at lightweight, where Rafael dos Anjos recently notched his first title defense at this past Saturday’s UFC on FOX 17.

That puts him in an interesting position in the UFC, which has yet to outline its plan for the two divisions. McGregor, meanwhile, said he’ll figure out what he’s doing after the holidays, though his camp has outlined a possible lightweight title bout in April before a featherweight title defense in July against Edgar.

Luckily for the new champ, everyone from dos Anjos to Nate Diaz to Edgar to Max Holloway is clamoring to fight him, no doubt seeking the “red panty night” offered with a bout agreement.

McGregor boasts he wants the UFC to “line them up on their knees with their hands out,” but Sonnen said Edgar deserves a shot at the featherweight belt, regardless of what the champ does.

“He’ll get his shot either way; this isn’t about Frankie,” Sonnen, who like Edgar wrestled prior to transitioning to MMA, said. “He will get his shot, whether he and Jose have to fight for the vacated title or he and Conor do it. I just really want to see him fight Frankie.”

Edgar (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC), of course, doesn’t disagree. With a knockout of three-time title challenger Chad Mendes the night prior to McGregor’s (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) victory, he secured his fifth straight UFC win. Perhaps more importantly, he secured a promise from UFC President Dana White that he would be the next featherweight title contender.

In the end, however, McGregor may have other ideas. After challenging the popular Irish fighter outside the cage following his interim title win in July, Edgar told MMAjunkie he was stopped from entering the cage to make another bid following Aldo’s loss. The reason? No one knew what McGregor would do next.

Edgar has already said he isn’t getting any younger and doesn’t plan to wait around while McGregor makes up his mind. The rest of the featherweight and lightweight world might not feel the same way.

That could put Edgar on another path. But while Sonnen prefers Edgar get the big fight, he won’t be outraged if there’s another plan.

Maybe more than anyone not named McGregor, Sonnen can spot a red panty night for the UFC.

“But I’m not upset about it either way,” he said. “I like all those matchups. If you’re asking me which one I prefer, it’s Frankie. That’s a bad son of a bitch, man.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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