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December - 2014
SCRAPP! FIGHT MAGAZINE
34
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar
seemed almost like an after-
thought in the build up to UFC
Fight Night 57, an event he
headlined against Cub Swan-
son, winning late in the fifth
round by rear-naked choke.
Despite being a former cham-
pion, despite being consid-
ered by many one of the best
pound-for-pound fighters in
the UFC, despite being a head-
liner, all talk was of Cub Swan-
son, and whether he would be
granted a title shot with a vic-
tory. The Answer never seemed
to be part of the equation, was
never posed the same title-shot
questions as Cub — but in the
end, he came out and spoiled
the Swanson party, exposing
holes in the California fight-
er’s game, something Swan-
son himself admitted after the
fight.
In the process, Frankie Edgar
put himself in the record books
with the latest finish in UFC
history. He derailed a popular,
exciting fighter and proved
that he still has what it takes to
compete at the top tier of the
featherweight division.
So here’s the problem, and it’s
a perplexing one for the UFC:
in dispatching Cub Swanson,
dominating him thoroughly
en route to victory Saturday
night (really the wee hours of
Sunday morning for many of
us), Frankie Edgar has placed
himself firmly back in the title
hunt, but do you give him the
shot?
He took out the man the UFC
had tapped for a title fight
should he have won, and things
would seemingly be coming
up roses for Edgar — except
for the ever-present shadow
of the Notorious One. Conor
McGregor is now officially the
highest ranked fighter Jose
Aldo has yet to beat (he had al-
ready topped Swanson back in
their WEC days), and is primed
to take the next shot with a
win over Denis Siver in January,
even though it was Edgar who
took out the man previously
promised a title fight.
Number one contender status
in the UFC is, of course, a fluid
designation, and McGregor
represents the biggest draw
the featherweight division has.
Aldo may be too much, too
soon for the rising star, but
waiting is always a gamble, as
a loss would set him back pos-
sibly a year or more. Timing
is everything in MMA match-
making, and as a result, despite
Frankie Edgar having the an-
swer for Cub Swanson, he may
have to wait a while longer to
get another crack at Jose Aldo
— assuming the champion still
holds the belt by then.
THE UFC DOESN’T HAVE AN
“ANSWER”
FOR FRANKIE EDGAR
Article By: Jay Anderson
(Dave Mandel/Sherdog)