Frankie Edgar has been there and done it all in the fight game.

The fighting pride of Toms River, New Jersey has been a prospect, a challenger, a champion and a staple in the elite tier of whatever division he’s chosen to compete in. Edgar has been fighting at the top of the game and has been doing so for the better part of a decade.

Longevity is an attribute few experience or accomplish in the chaotic realm of mixed martial arts, but Edgar has done so by keeping his game in constant evolution, but also keeping his sharpest tools battle ready and accessible at the drop.

That said, despite everything Edgar has accomplished, there has yet to be a downturn for the former lightweight king turned featherweight contender. The 34-year-old is still moving with precision quickness and the bullish tenacity he made his name off of has never left the forefront where Edgar is concerned.

“They say in this sport you’re either an athlete, a martial artist or a fighter,” Edgar told FloCombat. “I’m a fighter first...hands down. I’ve become an athlete and a martial artist during this process, but the dog is in me and that’s who I am. That’s who I’ll always be.

“It’s still fun for me. I don’t dread going to the gym. I don’t dread putting in the work. I’ll fight on the 13th and I’ll be back in the gym that following week for sure. That’s just who I am and this is what I do. I’m not ready for umbrella drinks and what not. I’m still in it.”


Photo Credit: © Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Over his storied career Edgar has gained a trove of experience competing in big fights against the best in the world, which is an effect that cannot be mimicked inside of a gym. And it’s that that resume, and what it took to build it, that is figured to be his biggest advantage when he faces a surging young prospect at UFC 211.

On May 13 in Dallas, “The Answer” will need to find just that against talented and unconventional striker Yair Rodriguez. “El Pantera” has won all six of his showings, and is coming off the most high profile win of his career when he defeated MMA legend B.J. Penn via TKO at UFC Fight Night 103 back in January.

The win over Penn was undoubtedly the biggest of Rodriguez’s career, and earned him the opportunity to face Edgar on the most stacked card the UFC has put together in 2017.

There will be mass media in attendance to the sellout event, and while this will be Rodriguez’s first rodeo, the biggest stage and the biggest moments has become second nature for Edgar.

“I’m comfortable in the lead up to the fight, but of course there is some uneasiness when you are there about to do it,” Edgar said. “Those feelings show you you’re alive and this thing still means something to you. If I were too comfortable in there I’d start to question how much it means to me, but it still means everything.

“I still care about the outcome of the fight a great deal just as much as I did in my first fight. That means I’m doing the right things to get the outcome I want.”


Photo Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

While Edgar vs. Rodriguez is a high profile tilt featuring two of the featherweight division’s best fighters, it’s also a high stakes affair in full. With Cub Swanson soundly defeating Artem Lobov, and champions Jose Aldo and Max Holloway fixing to settle their business at UFC 212 in July, the missing piece to the puzzle will most likely emerge from UFC 211 on Saturday night.

Edgar has been vocal in the past about keeping his championship dreams alive, but he’s also been fighting long enough to know nothing matters without continued success.

“It’s easy to block out because if I don’t get the job done on the 13th none of that talk matters,” Edgar said. “In order to stay in that talk I have to do my job. I have to get my hand raised next Saturday and that’s the only thing I’m focused on.

“Given the style Yair [Rodriguez] brings to the table I think we addressed everything we needed to. Come fight night I don’t think I’m going to see anything we haven’t prepared for.”

Although Edgar had words to say about the matchup when it was initially booked, the two-time featherweight title challenger has had a full camp, and countless hours of work to trim his view down to what really matters.

Edgar simply doesn’t care about what’s being said. He doesn’t care about what could possibly be on the line. The only thing on his mind is running through the obstacle standing before him, and there’s nothing that fires him up bigger than a job to be done inside the cage.

“I don’t need outside motivation,” Edgar said. “I kind of know what [the booking] was, but this is the fight game. This is how it works. I don’t feel slighted at all. My motivation is the guy who is standing in my way who says he’s going to beat me and says he’s going to knock me out. He’s saying it just like the last f*cking twenty guys said they were going to do. That’s who I’m going to prove wrong. I’ll be there ready to go in Dallas. Let’s do it.”