Frankie Edgar senses the UFC may be setting him up to lose against Yair Rodriguez

A fight that has the potential to really shake up the 145-pound division is set as #2 UFC ranked featherweight Frankie Edgar takes on #9 ranked Yair Rodriguez on May 13 at UFC 211.

Edgar, a former UFC lightweight champion has much more to lose currently sitting near the top of the featherweight division while Rodriguez has everything to gain in their competition. However, Edgar talking with Jon Anik and Kenny Florian on their Anik and Florian podcast said he was game as always didn’t have any issues with taking on the flashy rising star.

“I don’t know. I wanted to fight May 13th. I know [Ricardo] Lamas reached out to me on Twitter a couple of times,” said Edgar (transcribed by MMA Fighting). “I was cool with that fight but the UFC looked like they wanted to go in a different direction. They suggested Yair, and I’m pretty easy so I said, ‘Let’s do it. May 13th sounds pretty good to me.’”

With Lamas sitting at #3 on the UFC featherweight rankings, the matchup would have made sense in terms of establishing one of the next title contenders. However, the UFC offered Edgar the bout with Rodriguez, which “The Answer” feels fans may possibly be a bit more excited for.

“I don’t know [if it’s a bigger fight]. If it’s any indicator in the buzz I’m getting, I’m definitely getting a lot of buzz. This fight seems like a pretty big fight. People are interested in seeing Yair and testing him against someone like myself. So yeah, the buzz has been great with the media and my social network so maybe it is the bigger fight. To me it doesn’t matter. I’ve still got to show up on May 13th and get the job done.”

With Rodriguez coming off a win over UFC Hall of Fame Legend BJ Penn, “El Pantera” has a chance to beat another UFC champion in Edgar and build his name. Edgar was asked by Florian if he feels the UFC is trying to use this fight as a way to catapult Rodriguez to the top.

“A little bit,” Edgar said. “I’d be stupid not to see the picture they’re painting here a little bit. Yair’s kind of in a win-win situation I think. He beats me, that’s great for him, it’s good for the UFC to push a prospect. But if he loses, he wasn’t supposed to win, kind of situation. For me, a lot’s on the line.”

What are your thoughts on the exciting featherweight matchup between Frankie Edgar and Yair Rodriguez? Sound off in the comment section!

This article first appeared on 3/14/2017.