After capturing the UFC Featherweight Championship at UFC 194, Conor McGregor had three clear options in front of him for his next fight in a rematch with Jose Aldo, a fight with No. 1 contender Frankie Edgar, or a move up to fight for the Lightweight Championship.
He chose a run at UFC Lightweight Champion Rafael dos Anjos, with that fight happening at UFC 197 in March, and during the press conference this past week for the bout he commented on why Edgar wasn’t the choice.
“Frankie has a little bit of desperation about him or something,” McGregor said (transcribed by MMAJunkie.com). “He went 0-2 at lightweight, got the chance to fight for the Featherweight Title and got the head slapped off him. Now he’s running around begging. It has a stink of desperation off of it, so I’m just going to let him sit for a while.”
“A while” might be just a few added months, as Edgar could still be in line for McGregor’s Featherweight Championship by UFC 200.
Penick’s Analysis: It’s an unfair characterization of where Edgar’s at, especially when he just took out Chad Mendes in an even more forceful and decisive manner than did McGregor last summer. Regardless, it’s just a slight delay to that title fight while McGregor attempts to take a second. Win or lose for McGregor at UFC 197, UFC 200 is a likely destination for his next fight, and Edgar’s probably the more likely fight than Jose Aldo for that event.
[Photo (c) Gary A. Vasquez via USA Today Sports]
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