The UFC Fight Night scheduled for May 16 in the Philippines has received a heavy-duty featherweight fight for a main event, as Frankie Edgar faces Urijah Faber. It is a showdown between two of the top fighters in the lower weight classes, and for Faber it signals a return to the Featherweight division after several years of competing at Bantamweight. For Edgar, it is a hard fight that he needs to win to keep his spot in line for a title shot.
Faber has been a top fighter and a favorite of the UFC brass for a long time now. His big bugaboo is that although he held a title with the WEC, he has failed to win a UFC title. He has been given a few chances as well, but he could not overcome Renan Barao at 135 lbs. A few things will need to fall into place for it to happen, but if Conor McGregor does defeat Jose Aldo for the title and Faber were to get a win over Edgar, he could very well be first in line to face McGregor. With his skill level and wrestling base, he might even go into a match with McGregor a favorite. So if Faber is serious about mounting a title run again, it all starts here with a win over Edgar.
Edgar is a former lightweight champion, and he is the man who thoroughly dispatched UFC legend BJ Penn into retirement by defeating him three times overall. For a man with that type of resume, he has gotten little respect at featherweight, where he has gone on to establish himself as the number one contender after failing in his initial bid to win Aldo’s title. Edgar is going to feel he was skipped over for the shot at Aldo by the less deserving McGregor, but he does not want to sit around inactive waiting.
Faber is a tough assignment, but it is one that Edgar should come in as the favorite for. Faber teammate Chad Mendes is also a top dog at featherweight but has failed twice to gain the championship, so it is clear the UFC would move Faber into a title shot again before Mendes, just for the variety.
Check out the UFC’s profile on Frankie Edgar:
