An Interview With Frankie Edgar….A Man With All The Answers.

With a win over former UFC lightweight champion Sean Sherk added to his resume, New Jersey native Frankie Edgar should be well on his way towards a title shot. The Rutgers standout holds victories over such stars as former UFC lightweight #1 contender Hermes Franca, Spencer Fisher, Jim Miller and he was the first man to have defeated Tyson Griffin when they fought back in 2007. With wins like that you would think he would be next in line to face the winner of next months lightweight championship fight between champion BJ Penn and challenger Kenny Florian, but Edgar is patient enough to know that his time will come, especially if he keeps beating all of the other top contenders. I recently spent some time on the phone with Frankie and here is what he had to say about everything that has been going on in his career.

Bryan Levick: How are you feeling after your fight with Sean Sherk?

Frankie Edgar: I am feeling good, I am at 100% and I didn’t sustain any injuries at all. A funny thing happened the weekend after the fight was memorial day and my parents pitbulls got into a scuffle and I tried to break it up. I had to get stitches in both of my arms after that.

BL: How did it feel beating a former champion like Sean Sherk in such a coonvincing fashion?

FE: It’s definitely the biggest win of my career being that he held the title at one point. If you look at his career he has fought and beaten a lot of tough guys. To hold a win over him is good it gets me to the next step which is where I want to be.

BL: Were you shocked at how quickly he abandoned his wrestling and chose to keep the fight standing even though you continously beat him to the punch?

FE: I was movign around a lot and utilizing some very good footwork which made me an extremely hard target for him to takedown. He had also been working on his stand-up a lot as evidenced in his last two bouts against BJ Penn and Tyson Griffin.

BL: We saw some much improved stand-up from you that night, who is your boxing coach?

FE: My coach is Mark Henry who I have been training with for about two or three years. He is a perfectionist and has tightened up my boxing tremendously.

BL: Are you still training at Ricardo Almeida’s gym?

FE: Yes I am.

BL: With wins over the likes of Jim Miller, Tyson Griffin, Spencer Fisher, Hermes Franca and Sean Sherk what do you think it will take in order for you to get a title shot?

FE: I don’t know, I just think I will get it but it depends on what match-ups the UFC wants to see. My resume is really good and with the guys I have beaten I believe it warrants a title shot. I feel all my wins have been convinving and none of them have been debatable. If it takes a couple of more wins to get a shot then that’s what I have to do.

BL: What do you think about Diego Sanchez dropping down to 155 and winning two bouts then staking his claim to a title shot?

FE: He was the face of the first Ultimate Fighter and a guy who can help see a lot of tickets. He is a very marketable fighter who is a good guy for the UFC to push because they have so much invested in him already. He deserves it and there are a few others who deserve it as well but it’s the UFC’s call.

BL: Do you feel that he is getting shot based on his fighting abilities or because of the fact that he is more marketable right now?

FE: Absolutely, it’s a business as much as it is a sport and you want to get the most out of your business so I can see why he would get a shot so soon.

BL: Who do you like in the bout between BJ Penn and Kenny Florian?

FE: I gotta go with Penn because he has the belt and no one has been able to touch him at 155lbs in recent years. He is coming off a devastating loss to GSP but from what I have heard he is training really hard and is more focused than ever. Kenny has won his last six fights and is a great game planner but I have to give the edge to BJ.

BL: Who are some of the lightweights outside of the UFC that you would like to fight?

FE: Right now I am just worried about the guys in the UFC and whomever my next opponent is. I just want to fight the best guys in the world.

BL: After your loss to Grey Maynard some people called for you to drop down to 145lbs where you would have some interesting match-ups with guys like Urijah Faber, Mike Brown, Leonard Garcia, etc.. Is that something you considered?

FE: No not at all, I have a win over the former 155lb champ and there is no reason for me to drop down. You don’t ever know what the future holds but I am making a run at the lightweight title, I want a shot at the champion before I make any other decisons.

BL: Going back to the loss to Maynard what do you feel you would do differently if you were to fight him again?

FE: I would make myself more elusive and not so easy for him to take down. We have both improved a lot recently and it would be a much different fight this time around. I really didn’t have a game plan the when we fought.

BL: Do you have any idea when you will be fighting again?

FE: Not at this time but I am hoping to fight in either September or October.

BL: Being you are from New Jersey was there any thought to having you fight on the UFC 101 card which will be held in Philadelphia?

FE: No it was too close to my fight with Sherk and the card was pretty much filled up by the time we fought anyway. The turn around time was a little too soon as well.

BL: How does it make you feel that the lightweight title is being defended for the first time in 15 months?

FE: Well it makes it harder to get an opportunity so if you get it you better make the most of it. Of course the other contenders would like to see it defended more often but that is the luxury of being a champion.

BL: Can you name three of your all time favorite UFC fights?

FE: Well I remember watching UFC 1 & 2 growing up but there have been so many good fights lately. One that comes to mind is the fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar from the Ultimate Fighter Finale.

BL: Any particular fighters you enjoyed watching as you were coming up the ranks?

FE: No one really in particuar, I was always into the wrestlers so maybe a guy like Randy Couture.

BL: Are there any young fighters you are currently training that we should watch out for?

FE: There is a 145lb fighter who trains at Ricardo Almeida’s gym named Dancy Ambrose, he is 2-0 thus far and is a tough kid.

BL: Who do you think will win the two main events at UFC 100?

FE: I am very bad at making predictions but I will go with Frank Mir and GSP.

BL: How mamy fights are left on your current contract?

FE: I have two fights left. The UFC is my home and this is where I want to be.

BL: Frankie thank you for time, is there anyone you would like to thank?

FE: I would like to thank my teammates, Ricardo Almeida, the Rutgers University wrestling team and my boxing coach Mark Henry. You can check me out at www.frankedgar.com and I am doing something with a shirt company called Sanguio. A big thanks to all my fans as well.