Conor McGregor turned down numerous opportunities to fight Frankie Edgar in the past, the American's trainer has claimed.
McGregor surprisingly said last week that the 37-year-old was firmly on his radar for a return to the Octagon.
The Notorious told ESPN: “You know who else is at the top of the list, Frankie Edgar, is also right there, up there at the top of the list.
“Because he has similarities to Khabib [Nurmagomedov]. Runs on the back foot, shoots on the single leg.
"I want these types of similar bouts and also Frankie has been very respectful. Frankie has always been respectful.”
Edgar, 37, has since expressed his interest in the fight on social media. But his trainer Mark Henry has claimed that McGregor turned down chances to take on his man before.
“He didn’t want to fight Frankie before and he had opportunities too,” Henry told MMA Fighting’s Eurobash podcast.
“It’s like he didn’t want to fight him, he had a couple of chances. [When Jose Aldo was forced out of UFC 189] he knew Mendes wasn’t in a camp, that he was filming a hunting show and he hadn’t trained in a long time.
"He knows that Frankie trains all year round and it would’ve been perfect timing. Mendes had just lost the fight before to Aldo.
"That week, Frankie was ranked ahead of Chad [Mendes] too and they switched it fast after Chad got the fight…Frankie was ranked ahead of him, he had more wins than him. Chad had just lost within two fights prior to the title fight.”
Henry recalled McGregor declaring that he would fight Edgar if the American managed to defeat Mendes.
But despite Edgar winning the fight in December 2015, a showdown with the Crumlin fighter never materialised.
“When he had the opportunity to fight Frankie again he turned it down. When Chad and Frankie fought each other, [McGregor] said that Frankie would lose and if Frankie does beat [Mendes], [McGregor] would fight him, which then happened too, and then he didn’t fight Frankie again after that.
"There have been a lot of excuses, but all in all, he’s bashed other people and he’s seems to have been pretty respectful to Frankie. And Frankie’s been pretty respectful to him, like he has been to everybody."
Henry revealed that Edgar would relished the opportunity to step into the Octagon with one of the sport's biggest names.
He said: “Frankie would love to fight him, he’s always wanted to fight him; Frankie always wants to fight the best guys.
"I think Conor’s that way too. I know Conor didn’t fight Frankie, but he’s taken fights at the last second and he’s not afraid of anything. I give him a lot of credit, so many guys don’t wanna fight when their opponents get hurt.
"Look at Frankie, he loses a match and he takes a fight with [Brian] Ortega in two seconds. I believe Conor is the same; Conor is a guy that will fight, so they’re perfect for each other.”
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