Frankie Edgar Gives His Pick for Max Holloway vs Jose Aldo II at UFC 219

Frankie Edgar had to pull out of his title fight with Max Holloway at UFC 218, but a rematch against Jose Aldo isn’t bad at all for a late replacement. Of course, Edgar would rather it be him, but a broken orbital in training forced him out of the bout. For now, he is back on the sidelines waiting for his crack at the belt once again and giving his insight into the match-up. The former UFC lightweight champion thinks Holloway comes away with his hands raised against Aldo for the second time.

“I think [Max] Holloway is going to get it done, but [Jose] Aldo is always dangerous, so you never know. Yeah, for sure I got a message for the winner. I’m coming for that belt man. I’ve not changed my goals. I want to become a two weight champion and I know I’m close to it. I’m just going to get back fit and get it done. […] I think [Max Holloway] understands that it was something out of my hands. I think he understands that and I’m not one to ever back out of anything. I’ve been wanting this shot for a very long time so if anyone is upset about it, it’s going to be myself. I knew it was going to be one of those guys. I don’t know how they come to their decisions, but no, I wasn’t really surprised that they picked Aldo. For sure, it makes more sense that I fight Holloway. Those guys will figure it though. When they fought last time I said they would figure it out and that the true champ would come out. I know I’ll fight the winner.”

Injuries are part of this fight game. Frankies the man. Wish him a speedy recovery

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) November 9, 2017

“Yeah it was just a regular sparring session [where I sustained my injury] you know, it was nothing crazy and it was kinda a freak accident. It was just really unfortunate. I’m pretty bummed about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It was just one of my guys you know. I don’t even know. I was training with the guys and then at the end I noticed my cheek was numb. I got it checked out and it was a broken orbital. Luckily, no, I’m not going to have surgery. It just six weeks no contact and then I’m going to be ready to go again. I want to get back in there as soon as I’m able. I just got to see what happens with Aldo and Holloway and then see what fight makes sense after that.” — Frankie Edgar speaking to Jim Edwards of MMAnytt.

The good news is that, despite the broken orbital bone, Frankie Edgar will not be undergoing surgery and just has to wait six weeks for no contact before he can ease into training again. That means what whoever wins at UFC 218, Edgar could potentially challenge them sometime early next year. Somehow during Max Holloway’s 11-fight winning streak, he never met Edgar in the Octagon. This is one of the reasons why the clash was so highly anticipated.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/16/2017.