Frankie Edgar Talks Possible Bantamweight Drop: I’ll Cut to ’35 For the Title and Take it From There

Though he remains one of the very best fighters on earth, Frankie Edgar is currently in a bit of a tough spot.

After losing his lightweight title to Benson Henderson, and failing to reclaim it in a rematch with the same man, he dropped down to featherweight in search of greener pastures. Unfortunately, he would lose his first featherweight title fight against Jose Aldo, and three years later, lose a second title fight with Aldo on the main card of UFC 200. So, while no sane person would refute his status as one of the game’s best fighters, he’s suddenly a bit of a tough-sell as a title challenger at both lightweight and featherweight.

This has led many fans and pundits to speculate as to how Edgar might fare in the 135-pound bantamweight division, which is currently ruled by Dominick Cruz.

In a recent interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani–which occurred in a pizza restaurant owned by famed MMA coach Mark Henry–Edgar discussed the possibility of a bantamweight drop.

“I do think about [a drop to bantamweight] now,” Edgar told Helwani. “But I kind of want to go down for the title… only for the title.”

“I don’t think I’d want to cut to ’35 just to fight anybody,” Edgar elaborated. “I’ll cut to ’35 for the title and take it from there.”

While Edgar barely cut any weight to make the lightweight division’s 155-pound cap, and only cuts a small amount to make the 145-pound featherweight limit, he’d likely have to undertake a fairly significant weight cut to make bantamweight. He’d be willing to make that cut if the proper incentive existed, however.

“Right now I’m about 162 [pounds],” Edgar said. “It’ll be harder [to make bantamweight]. It’d be tough. I wrestled at 135 in my senior year of high school. I’d obviously be much better at it now, I’d be more knowledgeable about how to get down, and I’d use my nutritionist and everything. I’d do it the right way. I could make the weight, it’d just suck a little bit, and I can beat guys [at featherweight] without it sucking. But if I can go down for the title, that’s cool.”

So, the verdict is in: Frankie Edgar is willing to make the cut to 135, but it’ll probably take a title shot to get him to commit.

Do you want to see Frankie Edgar at bantamweight? If so, how do you think he’d fare against Dominick Cruz? Sound off, PENN nation!