Frankie Edgar vs Conor McGregor: Was the fight ever close to becoming a reality?
Frankie Edgar and Conor Mcgregor were linked to each other a couple of times but the fight could never actually materialize. It is even more unlikely now after Frankie Edgar suffered a devastating KO at the hands of Cory Sandhagen at UFC fight night: Alistair Overeem vs Alexander Volkov.
However, the two men have exchanged social media messages in the past discussing a potential fight.
While Frankie Edgar accepts that a fight with the Notorious One might be well in the past, he can't help but wonder what would have been. In a recent interview 'The Answer' stated to Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com-
Of course it upset me. He is the most popular guy in our sport. Anytime you can get in the cage with someone like that you jump at the opportunity. I do think it is in the past, he is at 155, maybe even 170 if he fights Nate, Iām a couple of weight classes below.
Why Frankie Edgar never got to face Conor McGregor
While McGregor was moving up the ranks, Frankie Edgar was a top contender and a there certainly were talks of a fight between the two. However, the Irishman chose to move up in weight after facing Chad Mendes and Jose Aldo.
However McGregor was still interested in a fight with Frankie Edgar as he called out for a matchup with 'The Answer' in 2019 promising to donate his entire fight purse to charity.
However the UFC President Dana White didn't seem interested and highlighted a number of reasons. In an interview with Boston Herald, he said:
Edgar is two weight classes below him. (Edgar) was supposed to fight Aljamain Sterling. Aljamain fell out and got hurt. Frankie is coming to the end of his career, and he could end up getting himself into a title position again. To take the Conor fight makes no sense.ā
Therefore, a fight between Frankie Edgar and Conor Mcgregor never got to see the light of the day even though the chances of it happening were high at some point of time.
Once, during one of his lengthy lay-offs, McGregor even floated an idea of facing Edgar for the new 165-pound division UFC belt.
Needless to say, Dana White shot down the idea and it didn't come up again.