Ex-Lightweight Champ, Featherweight Title Challenger Frankie Edgar to Drop to 135 Pounds
Frankie Edgar will try his hand at a third weight class in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
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Edgar initially captured the UFC’s lightweight belt with a decision win over B.J. Penn in April 2010. He defended the title on three occasions but elected to drop to 145 pounds after consecutive losses against Benson Henderson.
“The Answer” then went 8-4 during his stint at featherweight. He challenged for 145-pound gold three times, losing to Jose Aldo twice and most recently, to Max Holloway at UFC 240 on July 27. Despite his success, Edgar has often looked undersized in both divisions, something trainer Mark Henry expects to change at bantamweight.
"It feels like a new beginning for us," Henry told ESPN. "I love the kid, and I feel it will be safer for him at 135. He always does better when he fights guys his own size. When he's fighting guys with similar height and range -- sometimes they still weigh more than him, but I feel like it's an even playing field.
"He was barely cutting any weight at featherweight. I think during this last camp, he was 152 pounds a few weeks before the fight. And he hadn't started cutting yet."
The 37-year-old Edgar is 23-7-1 as a pro and owns notable wins over the likes of Cub Swanson (twice), Yair Rodriguez, Jeremy Stephens, Chad Mendes, Urijah Faber, Penn (three times), Charles Oliveira and Gray Maynard.
