Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will next fight at the 135-pound bantamweight limit according to coach Mark Henry.
This comes after Edgar fell short on his third attempt at winning UFC featherweight gold at UFC 240 against Max Holloway.
In his previous two attempts, Edgar lost out to Jose Aldo by decision both times.
“I’ve been wanting him to make this move since he first got in the UFC,” Henry said of Edgar’s future as a UFC bantamweight. [H/T MMA Junkie]
“It’s dangerous when you’re fighting somebody that much bigger than you.”
Henry says Edgar never considered retirement following his loss to Holloway.
Edgar is now 37, but Henry believes a move to bantamweight will revitalise Edgar, his career, and his love for fighting.
“Sometimes he bites my hand, then I just walk away,” Henry said in a previous interview with MMA Junkie.
“Other times, he’ll sit there for a second, and I might get a different reaction. His family loves him, and I think they would like to see him fight guys his size. It’ll also make his career go longer because he loves what he’s doing.
“I think it will be a tough sell but, for me, it’s about taking the clearest path to the belt. Not only that, but he’s also fought pretty much everybody at featherweight, so bantamweight would be something new and fresh and exciting.”
Edgar has three teammates who compete at 135 pounds – namely Marlon Moraes, who lost out on the belt to Henry Cejudo at UFC 238 in June. Though, Henry insists this will not be an issue.
There currently isn’t an opponent lined up for Edgar. However, it’s thought he’s targeting to fight in the annual Madison Square Garden show, UFC 244, in November.
