https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2015/12/whatever-happens-edgar-should-get-the-next-ufc-title-shot-but-a-lot-can-still-happen
Whatever happens, Edgar should get the next UFC title shot – but a lot can still happen
Frankie Edgar
It wasn't so much what Frankie Edgar said, but the way he said it. You could hear it in his voice, the grim knowledge that comes with experience in this business.
He'd just knocked out Chad Mendes (17-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) in the first round of the TUF 22 Finale in Las Vegas. He did it without even getting himself all bloody and bruised first, which is unusual for Edgar (20-4-1 MMA, 14-4-1 UFC). He looked for all the world like the baddest featherweight not currently in possession of a gold belt with the letters UFC printed on it.
And yet you could tell as he took to the mic to discuss his future in a post-fight interview that even Edgar knew how little that might mean when this busy week of MMA action comes to a close.
At least for now, the promises are all where they're supposed to be. UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference that Edgar would get "whatever he wants" after this latest win. What he wants, according to Edgar, is the winner of the UFC 194 main event between UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo and interim beltholder Conor McGregor.
And, not that it's up to him, you could make a strong case for why either of those fights would be an attractive option for Edgar.
First there's Aldo, who defeated Edgar via unanimous decision nearly three years ago. With Edgar being the type of guy who relishes a chance at revenge, he'd no doubt love a chance to take the belt from the man who denied it to him.
And, while that first fight wasn't exactly close, the Edgar we've seen lately is a much more dangerous version than the one Aldo faced at UFC 156. Anybody who puts Mendes away inside of one round isn't someone you can look past, even if you're the greatest featherweight of all time.
But then there's McGregor, the traveling meal ticket who draws big crowds and promises of "red panty nights" for any fighter lucky enough to get his face on the same poster. He's quickly become one of the biggest stars in the sport, and if Edgar should get a chance to face him for the title, he'd get a profitable match-up that also seems to favor him stylistically.
The problem is, we all know what promises are worth in this business. You can bet Edgar does. It's one thing to be told while you're sitting at the dais just minutes after your main event knockout win that whatever your heart desires is now yours, just ask and receive. It's another thing to actually get it, especially when a blockbuster fight with complex ramifications for your future is roughly 24 hours away.
The UFC could have every intention of giving Edgar the winner of Aldo and McGregor. The fight itself could also find some way to thwart those plans, and if we're being honest there are probably more paths to a rematch than there are to Edgar getting exactly what he's been promised.
That's the trouble with waiting on other people to sort out their business before you get to handle theirs. It's also the trouble with competing in a sport where there's rarely a clear, unalterable path from one point to the next.
The fight business is, after all, still a business. When forced to choose between keeping a promise to a fighter and making a bunch of money, UFC executives aren't exactly known for agonizing over the decision. Making future plans for any particular UFC title is often the first step to breaking those plans, and Edgar has been in the game long enough to know it.
It's a shame too, because no one's earned his shot more than Edgar. Ever since that loss to Aldo in his first UFC fight at featherweight, he's been rolling up one contender after another, getting better as he goes. The former UFC lightweight champ is now 34, and seemingly better than he was three years ago, back when he still had gold around his waist.
Edgar deserves the next shot, regardless of which featherweight has the one true title when this wild weekend winds down. As he watches Aldo and McGregor circle each other in the cage on Saturday night, a throng of Irish fans whooping it up in the darkness behind him, you can bet that's what Edgar will be telling himself.
You can also bet that he knows this sport well enough by now to know that deserving something is only one part of what ultimately getting it. And honestly? Plenty of times it's not even the most important part.
For complete coverage of the TUF 22 Finale, check out the UFC Events section of the site.