Frankie Edgar spoke to Fighters Only ahead of his UFC 205 fight with Jeremy Stephens on Saturday.
Tony Reid: How do you see this fight playing out?
Frankie Edgar: I am going to go in there and do what I do. I will push the pace. I will throw a bunch of punches, look for takedowns and look for submissions once I get there. It’s pretty simple for me. I let me coaches steer me in the direction that they think I can win. Whatever they say I will try to execute.
What does it mean to be fighting at the mecca of combat sports in Madison Square Garden?
This is a big thing for me. I was one of the first guys, along with the UFC execs, to go up to Albany to try to lobby to get MMA sanctioned here in New York. I have been training across the street at Renzo Gracie’s for many, many years. To be able to finally fight in the world’s most famous arena is a dream come true for sure.
Stephens said he was going to brutally knock you out. What are your thoughts on a comment like that leading up to this fight?
Talk is talk. Everybody says they are going to knock me out. Nobody has done it so far. I am going to go in there and put him on his ass.
What are your thoughts on your teammate, Eddie Alvarez’s fight with Conor McGregor?
I think Eddie is going to take care of the whole belt situation Saturday night. I think Conor will only have one belt to worry about. I have a good feeling Eddie is going to get it done this weekend.
Do you think McGregor is taking divisions hostage on some level?
If he wants to continue to be a champion he is going to be forced to defend the title. If not, he will be forced to give it up. If he wants to make the cut and be the big guy I guess he will come down. We will see what happens.
How do you react to him saying you weren’t fighting him because you weren’t good enough to beat Aldo?
Edgar-Conor is an actor and he’s good at it. He sells himself. He sells fights. He said I wasn’t good enough. He wasn’t good enough when he fought Nate Diaz the first time. He got beat down in a round and a half. He’s lucky Nate was injured coming into the second fight or it probably would have happened again. I think he needs to put his focus on Eddie and not worry about me so much.
The word was that you would only drop to bantamweight for a title shot. Is that accurate?
I think right now at this point in my career if I do go to bantamweight it would be for a title shot. I could make the weight. I would have to suffer a bit. In order to suffer, I think I want to have something on the line, like a title shot. I have to worry about this weekend but who knows what the future holds?
