With the featherweight title changing hands at UFC 245, there’s suddenly a lot more on the line for Frankie Edgar.
Edgar (23-7-1 MMA, 17-7-1 UFC) steps in on short notice this Saturday, when he takes on Chan Sung Jung (15-5 MMA, 5-2 UFC) in the UFC on ESPN+ 23 headliner in Busan, South Korea. The full card streams live on ESPN+.
With Alexander Volkanovski dethroning UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway, who was coming off a title defense over Edgar, a win over top contender Jung could potentially put Edgar next in line.
Initially scheduled to make his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen on Jan. 25, it appears that Edgar is willing to put that move on hold, if bigger opportunities arise.
“I would absolutely take a fight against Volkanovski,” Edgar said in an interview with Rank5. “I’m in it to fight the best guys; that’s why I’m fighting Chan. I came into this sport to be a champion, and if it’s not at ’45 or ’35 or ’55, then what am I doing?”
Edgar was expected to face “The Korean Zombie” in November 2018, but “The Answer” was forced out of the planned bout due to a bicep injury. Just over a year later, Edgar is jumping at the chance to potentially add another accomplished featherweight to his resume.
“I felt like it’s kind of a little bit ‘unfinished business,’ you know?” Edgar asked. “I was really close to fighting him. I believe he wanted to fight me; I know I wanted to fight him, and to have a guy like Chan on my record, is something that I wanted – wanted to have, and luckily this opportunity came up.”
In a matchup that pits two tough veterans, Edgar is expecting a war with Jung this Saturday.
“You know, I think what makes it intriguing is fighting ‘Korean Zombie’ here in his home country, the style he brings, I mean they call him the ‘Zombie’ for a reason,” Edgar said. “He takes a beating, keeps coming – you can’t really rput him away. He fights with a ton of heart, and I consider myself a guy that fights that way as well.”
