Frankie Edgar Says He Wasn’t Informed of Conor McGregor’s Offer to Step in at UFC 222

If Conor McGregor truly did offer to step in and face Frankie Edgar at UFC 222, as the Irishman said he did late last week, nobody told “The Answer” about it.

“I found out that news when I read the headline,” Edgar told TMZ Sports. “Unless the UFC didn’t tell me, I don’t know if it’s true. Of course I would’ve been game to fight him. But I’m fighting a guy that fights in the UFC currently, Brian Ortega. The No. 3 guy in the world and that’s my focus.”

Edgar was initially scheduled to challenge Max Holloway for the featherweight title in the UFC 222 headliner before Holloway withdrew from the bout due to injury. Top contender Brian Ortega agreed to take the fight in Holloway’s place, and the contest was moved to the co-main event below Cristiane Justino’s title defense against Yana Kunitskaya. The Edgar-Ortega winner is expected to get a shot at Holloway sometime in the future.

Edgar, who lobbied hard for a fight with McGregor when the SBG Ireland standout was in the featherweight division, is skeptical of the motives behind the announcement.

“Four weeks ago, when I didn’t have an opponent, Conor was nowhere to be found,” Edgar said. “A week away, now he knows I’m fighting and now he wants to say something. Like I said, I’m not worried about him, I’m not worried about Holloway – I’m worried about Brian Ortega.”

However, if McGregor is actually interested in a future showdown with Edgar, the Toms River, N.J., native is all ears.

“Down, up, sideways – we’ll do it anywhere,” Edgar said. “That’s cool if he wants to do that.”