Former UFC lightweight champion and current 145-pound contender Frankie Edgar believes Conor McGregor's grappling chops haven't been tested yet, and he won't worry about the surging contender until that happens.
During yesterday's edition of UFC Tonight, "The Answer" said he is focused on his UFC Fight Night 57 headlining bout with Cub Swanson on Saturday, which many believe is an unofficial featherweight title eliminator bout.
While Edgar said he's unsure who will get the next crack at 145-pound kingpin Jose Aldo, his main priority right now is just getting through Swanson (transcription per Fighters Only):
I’m not focused on any of that. If I don’t win this fight, none of that matters. I’ve got to win this fight, then I go bug Dana about that. ... Lots of guys are talking. They’re following Conor’s lead. I’m just going to let my fighting speak for myself and make it so they have to give me my shot. ... [McGregor's] going to be [tested] eventually, then we’ll all have the answers. There’re still lots of unknowns. He’s handling it tremendously. But he hasn’t been in deep water and hasn’t fought a wrestler yet.
Edgar is 2-1 at featherweight after a controversial failed lightweight title bid against Benson Henderson at UFC 150 in August 2011—a close bout that most pundits agree Edgar should've won.
After losing a competitive but clear-cut championship bout against Aldo at UFC 156 in February 2013, Edgar has since rallied back with decisive wins over Charles Oliveira and BJ Penn.
As impressive as his resume is at lightweight, scoring wins over Penn (three times), Gray Maynard and Sean Sherk, Edgar is lacking a win over a top-10 featherweight. A victory over Swanson would do just that.
According to the UFC's official rankings, Swanson is the No. 2 lightweight in the world, while Edgar is right behind him at No. 3.
Swanson, a Greg Jackson MMA fighter, has rattled off six wins in a row (four knockouts), looking like a completely different fighter than the one knocked out by Aldo in nine seconds back in June 2009.
Should the winner of Edgar vs. Swanson get the next featherweight title shot, or should that right be reserved for charismatic trash-talker/knockout specialist McGregor—assuming he gets past Dennis Siver in January?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
