Frankie Edgar shocked many when he decided to step in on short notice to face The Korean Zombie in the UFC Busan headliner on December 21.
It wasn’t only because he was making the move to bantamweight, but because he actually had his divisional debut lined up against Cory Sandhagen in the UFC Raleigh co-main event next month.
Instead, “The Answer” will seemingly compete at featherweight one last time against an opponent he was originally supposed to face at UFC Denver last year. He revealed the reasons behind the decision.
“I’ve been trying to get a fight since November,” Edgar said on The Luke Thomas Show recently.
🔊 @FrankieEdgar explains why he took the fight against 'The Korean Zombie' at #UFCSouthKorea and his future plans for the drop to bantamweight #TLTS@lthomasnews
⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1a65iEt3kw— MMA on SiriusXM (@MMAonSiriusXM) December 11, 2019
“I thought I was going to be on the MSG card [UFC 244]. I kind of was in camp for a little bit for that and then it fell through. Then I was going to be on the December 16th [14] card [UFC 245] that’s coming up now. That kind of fell through.
“So when this opportunity came up, I wanted to get a fight. I think in 2018, I only fought once and I didn’t want that to happen again this year. So I jumped at the opportunity, man.”
But make no mistake about it — Edgar will be competing at bantamweight in the future.
Whether he’ll be able to come through unscathed against The Korean Zombie and face Sandhagen next month is another question. But he believes 135 is where his fighting future will be.
“I’m going to get there eventually,” Edgar added of fighting in the bantamweight division. “A little hiccup on the way.”
“… For sure, man [it’s a priority]. I’m really not that heavy. When I found I was fighting [Korean Zombie], I actually had to gain a little weight for this one. So I think I need to be at 135 for the future.”
