Frankie Edgar to Conor McGregor: 'If he's got balls, he'll pick me'

[Jehannum]

Conor and Nate are both 155lb fighters who simply didn't cut much if any for this fight and came in at 170.

Nate Diaz is not some 190lb dude who cut down to 170.

If they had fought at 155, the result would have been the same.

Conor is a non-issue at 155 and Nate proved that. Next up, Frankie taking his belt, after which, the hype train is over.

I'm not making excuses. the fight was at 170 which means it wasn't a 155 fight. nothing else to read into that.

and Nate didn''t prove Conor can't compete at 155, because Conor hasn't fought there in the UFC. He lost a fight, Nate's lost loads of fights and he just won a big one. Thompson destroyed Nate and that included in the striking but he got back on the horse and here we are. We have to wait now to see if there is any truth to the prediction that Conor can't compete at that weight, but it's way too early for calling it.

 

[Sweets]

I see it more of a toss up, rather than "very unlikely". If Cmac can land some bombs on Frankie, yes it could be a quick (T)KO, but Frankie has very good standup as well, (his previous fights prove that) and i believe he's a better ground fighter currently.

He is a better ground fighter but if Conor gets a camp dedicated to Frankie he'll be fine. Conor looses if he starts chasing hard while Frankie circles that's it. If he is any way patient Frankie's toast.

 

[Punch]

He is a better ground fighter but if Conor gets a camp dedicated to Frankie he'll be fine. Conor looses if he starts chasing hard while Frankie circles that's it. If he is any way patient Frankie's toast.

That is one possible scenario for sure. I'm not convinced that's how it plays out, but we will indeed see. If you call it right, i'll be sure to give you your props homie.

The fights that are the most intriguing to me are the ones with the most variables. I like surprises.

 

[Jehannum]

I really don't get why people transfer things that they see on other forums over here to TMMAC. We by and large (yes there are a few exceptions that do get addressed to those posters) don't behave like what you described.

Cmac's the 145 champ still, and regardless of his loss i'm still a fan. I don't ever want to not see the best fight the best. On a long enough timeline everybody will lose. That's just the nature of fighting, and the potential for negative fan interaction will not sway me from wanting to see top dogs go at it.

Perhaps it's because i don't find myself as a person tied up into the accomplishments of another human being, only my own. You see people that make sports teams, fighters, hell even their countries so closely interwoven into their own identities that when something goes poorly for those entities, it crumbles them. I don't get that, and i find it rather silly. I am me, not anybody else. To self identify with another human like that is setting yourself up for inevitable failure, because we all do in fact fail like Conor did the other night. Bandwagoning isn't for me, and never will be.

It can't be all that different, I'm here

there is only one guy I rooted against cause of the fans and it wasn't Edgar. I do find him to be insufferable but I think I've said enough about his abilities to prove I do respect him a lot. I'm a big Benson fan too but I couldn't be biased when they rematched, Edgar won and should've had his title back and ever since that night he's had a pretty raw deal, even though he did get another title shot but down at 145.

Regarding the bandwagoning stuff and being too attached to whatever sport you follow ... having some passion about something like that isn't some abhorrent behaviour, it's just another form of escapism. I bet you watch movies and TV shows and it really isn't all that different. You wouldn't watch The Matrix and spend the entire time pointing out every aspect that you don't consider realistic, no, you suspend your disbelief to enjoy it, and getting behind a team definitely adds something to the experience (for most of us) win or lose, and we do accept the bad with the good even if it is traumatic lol. I'm an England supporter in a few different sports and we are guaranteed to lose under all sorts of different conditions, but I wouldn't enjoy their matches as much if it was just about the football or cricket and and I had no connection to the team. Yeah fighting is a bit different and I've watched great fights between 2 unknowns, but guess how many I can remember? ZERO. I can name dozens of England footballers or cricketers and various moments of glory or embarrassment BECAUSE I am passionate about following them.

I think you are in a minority. or at least there is enough people that are similar to me in this regard for it not to be some character flaw, and you only have to look at the involvement for events like the football world cup to see how many people support their teams with real emotions. The other side to this is those same athletes wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much if every single event was behind closed doors with no supporters. (in a hypothetical situation where income from fans wasn't important) Fighters give credit to the fans after every fight and it's not just to thank those who cut your check so to speak, they want people to see them perform and get behind them, or even to get behind their opponent and give them additional motivation, so that relationship is very important.

finally, I come to MMA forums not to talk about myself and my own achievements or lack of, I come to discuss other men (and now women too) and their achievements. If that isn't a form of living through them I don't know what is, and you're here doing the same thing.I know you want to feel like you're a noble supporter but it's all the same thing in a different guise.

If Dana put a contract in front of me to make the Conor vs Edgar fight happen of course I would sign it in an instant. I guess you're gonna have to accept I flip-flop from one end of the spectrum to the other because my opinions and emotions change from minute to minute, day to day or sometimes not at all.

PS: I should proof read this but here goes

 

[Punch]

I'm not making excuses. the fight was at 170 which means it wasn't a 155 fight. nothing else to read into that.

and Nate didn''t prove Conor can't compete at 155, because Conor hasn't fought there in the UFC. He lost a fight, Nate's lost loads of fights and he just won a big one. Thompson destroyed Nate and that included in the striking but he got back on the horse and here we are. We have to wait now to see if there is any truth to the prediction that Conor can't compete at that weight, but it's way too early for calling it.

Agreed, no one can say for certain that Cmac can't be competitive in an entire division (that i feel is more his natural weight class to begin with) from the results of one fight.

 

[TheAwkwardTitan]

@Jehannum The fight being at 170 doesn't change the fact that Nate is a 55er.

 

[Qat]

Well, can we at least agree Conor's next step NEEDS to be defending his belt at 145 against Frankie?

Yes, absolutely.

I'm sorry, but weight class jumping should be reserved for people who look totally indestructible. Conor no longer looks like that. He needs to step down from the failed dream of two belts and

A. Give up his 145 belt and move permanently for 155.

B. Defend his belt at 145 and forget about 155.

Agreed.
But he can still go to A) if he loses at 145 or if he beats Frankie and perhaps Aldo a second time, or however that division shakes out.

 

[Jehannum]

I think that is far too early to say. Far too early.

Frankie absolutely deserves it.

@Jehannum So you do not like Frankie, because? His fans? I wouldn't call myself a fan of anybody honestly, but I certainly support Frankie. He has never shown to be a bad dude afaik, is working hard and as gritty as they come. Also kind of always fought guys bigger than himself, and never backed down from anyone. How can you wish ill on the dude?

Are you into pro wrestling and liking the bad guys there by any chance?

He can be a bit too salty for my liking

 

[PeteyParker]

a bit surprised he didn't flinch.

 

[Punch]

It can't be all that different, I'm here

there is only one guy I rooted against cause of the fans and it wasn't Edgar. I do find him to be insufferable but I think I've said enough about his abilities to prove I do respect him a lot. I'm a big Benson fan too but I couldn't be biased when they rematched, Edgar won and should've had his title back and ever since that night he's had a pretty raw deal, even though he did get another title shot but down at 145.

Regarding the bandwagoning stuff and being too attached to whatever sport you follow ... having some passion about something like that isn't some abhorrent behaviour, it's just another form of escapism. I bet you watch movies and TV shows and it really isn't all that different. You wouldn't watch The Matrix and spend the entire time pointing out every aspect that you don't consider realistic, no, you suspend your disbelief to enjoy it, and getting behind a team definitely adds something to the experience (for most of us) win or lose, and we do accept the bad with the good even if it is traumatic lol. I'm an England supporter in a few different sports and we are guaranteed to lose under all sorts of different conditions, but I wouldn't enjoy their matches as much if it was just about the football or cricket and and I had no connection to the team. Yeah fighting is a bit different and I've watched great fights between 2 unknowns, but guess how many I can remember? ZERO. I can name dozens of England footballers or cricketers and various moments of glory or embarrassment BECAUSE I am passionate about following them.

I think you are in a minority. or at least there is enough people that are similar to me in this regard for it not to be some character flaw, and you only have to look at the involvement for events like the football world cup to see how many people support their teams with real emotions. The other side to this is those same athletes wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much if every single event was behind closed doors with no supporters. (in a hypothetical situation where income from fans wasn't important) Fighters give credit to the fans after every fight and it's not just to thank those who cut your check so to speak, they want people to see them perform and get behind them, or even to get behind their opponent and give them additional motivation, so that relationship is very important.

finally, I come to MMA forums not to talk about myself and my own achievements or lack of, I come to discuss other men (and now women too) and their achievements. If that isn't a form of living through them I don't know what is, and you're here doing the same thing.I know you want to feel like you're a noble supporter but it's all the same thing in a different guise.

If Dana put a contract in front of me to make the Conor vs Edgar fight happen of course I would sign it in an instant. I guess you're gonna have to accept I flip-flop from one end of the spectrum to the other because my opinions and emotions change from minute to minute, day to day or sometimes not at all.

PS: I should proof read this but here goes

I don't feel that what you describe is wrong or invalid, but simply that i don't understand or share it because of my life experiences. You're most certainly entitled to feel the way you do and express it in a respectful manner. I don't feel it is some sort of character flaw. For me to say anything less would be really fucked up of me. I completely accept that i'm in the minority in that regard. I don't feel i'm some sort of "noble supporter", i merely have a detachment from the events and value objectivity.

I do however remain steadfast in my assessment that people bringing drama over here from other sites is absurd. We as a community have modeled ourselves to rise above that sort of behavior. Some people have momentary mistakes and forget that. When that happens, the large majority of posters try to respectfully remind them of what this place is all about.

Regarding escapism i do not correlate that to fighting. To me, i think that there is not much more absolutely true than a fight. You see what a person really is when you fight them. I grew up constantly being the new kid, so i got into a lot of fights growing up. Those people who chose to fight me found out who i was very quickly, win or lose. So in that regard, no i don't place verisimilitude in fighting. To me there is no disbelief to be suspended. My point was that it amazes me the extent people will allow themselves to be upset when something or someone they are a fan of fails to live up to their expectations. All i expect when that cage door closes is that there will be a fight.

 

[PeteyParker]

I see it more of a toss up, rather than "very unlikely". If Cmac can land some bombs on Frankie, yes it could be a quick (T)KO, but Frankie has very good standup as well, (his previous fights prove that) and i believe he's a better ground fighter currently.

Conor rarely uses the jab, as pointed out by Slack and Edgdar is constantly moving. What did Mendes do in their first fight? move most of the time and as Conor fired the left hand, Mendes for the most part moved his head of the center line and got clipped twice in the entire 1st round.

Frankie is a bad match up for Conor and maybe he knows that. Just like Holm has a weakness of getting taken down while she leads in striking, that's also where Mendes found success vs Conor. Edgar will have the same takedown threat, except with proven cardio and he does way more damage when he takes opponents down.

I don't think this is a coin flip fight anymore, I'm seeing it more like 70/30 for Edgar, based on what their tendencies and past patterns are, but Conor sure does have that left. I would be a bit worried for the Conor fans, especially now since Conor had gained muscle mass and now that could potentially hinder his weight cut to 145.

 

[Punch]

Conor rarely uses the jab, as pointed out by Slack and Edgdar is constantly moving. What did Mendes do in their first fight? move most of the time and as Conor fired the left hand, Mendes for the most part moved his head of the center line and got clipped twice in the entire 1st round.

Frankie is a bad match up for Conor and maybe he knows that. Just like Holm has a weakness of getting taken down while she leads in striking, that's also where Mendes found success vs Conor. Edgar will have the same takedown threat, except with proven cardio and he does way more damage when he takes opponents down.

I don't think this is a coin flip fight anymore, I'm seeing it more like 70/30 for Edgar, based on what their tendencies and past patterns are, but Conor sure does have that left. I would be a bit worried for the Conor fans, especially now since Conor had gained muscle mass and now that could potentially hinder his weight cut to 145.

That's a good point about the way he packed on some lbs.

 

[Qat]

He is a better ground fighter but if Conor gets a camp dedicated to Frankie he'll be fine. Conor looses if he starts chasing hard while Frankie circles that's it. If he is any way patient Frankie's toast.

It's very unlikely Frankie beats Conor, hate is the reason a lot think he will.

Hold your horses there, big fella.

I think this is an interesting matchup that is hard to predict. Of course Conor can win, but so can Frankie.

First of all, Frankie is a fighter that brings his pace and disrupts others, he will not fall easily into Conor's pace, nor stay in the range Conor likes for long. Nate disrupted Conor as well, and he was not in a range that he liked. Of course Frankie doesn't have the reach, but he has the footwork and speed to get on inside, and stay there if he wants to. He has tremendous basics and great boxing. His defence as a whole is great as well, he won't be hit flush easily.

What does he need to watch out for? The left hand and the left leg of Conor. Is there anything else Conor brings to the table that is dangerous for him? Takedowns? No. Right-sided offence? No. That makes this task a lot easier. And I don't think Conor will be able to get his kicks to go in this fight.
If he can defend Conor's left-sided offence, he is good to go.
And make no mistake about it, Frankie will hit him and put it on him as well.

And I'm not even talking about getting it to the ground.

Sure, Conor can catch him. But dude, I wanna see this, it is not easy to predict, and everyone picking a clear winner.. well, lets just say I disagree.

 

[Sweets]

First of all, Frankie is a fighter that brings his pace and disrupts others, he will not fall easily into Conor's pace, nor stay in the range Conor likes for long. Nate disrupted Conor as well, and he was not in a range that he liked. Of course Frankie doesn't have the reach, but he has the footwork and speed to get on inside, and stay there if he wants to. He has tremendous basics and great boxing. His defence as a whole is great as well, he won't be hit flush easily.

This is why I emphasised patience chasing Frankie would be a bad idea. Conor is better in the pocket than Frankie and has better footwork there. You could as easily say Conor will be hard ho hit flush, look how hard Diaz had to work for it round 1 with better boxing and range than Frankie and with Conor wildly reckless in front of him, which is a detail Luke Thomas forgot to mention when analysing Conor's defence v Diaz, he made no attempt to be elusive, none at all.

What does he need to watch out for? The left hand and the left leg of Conor. Is there anything else Conor brings to the table that is dangerous for him? Takedowns? No. Right-sided offence? No. That makes this task a lot easier. And I don't think Conor will be able to get his kicks to go in this fight.
If he can defend Conor's left-sided offence, he is good to go.
And make no mistake about it, Frankie will hit him and put it on him as well.

Just because he knows it's mostly coming from the left, doesn't mean it's easy to avoid everyone else has known that too, Conor ring cuts as well as anyone it's hard to get him out of your face. He could easily have worked more kicks v Diaz but he got complacent and went head hunting, Frankie will be eating them, set up of hands to avoid reactive TD's. By the way, Mendes had to turn the corner three time on a deep double to get Conor down, with Conor injured and camped for Aldo. Frankie will work hard for his TD's.

Sure, Conor can catch him. But dude, I wanna see this, it is not easy to predict, and everyone picking a clear winner.. well, lets just say I disagree.

It's not about catching him Conor can finish this in three Edgar needs a TD or 2 every round to win and I don't see that happening.

 

[Qat]

Conor is better in the pocket than Frankie and has better footwork there.

I wouldn't be so sure there. Like, at all.

You could as easily say Conor will be hard ho hit flush

Maybe, but Frankie's defence is better imho. And well, Conor's chin did not look all that great.
Diaz has clearly better boxing? You underestimate Frankie. They are different.

Just because he knows it's mostly coming from the left, doesn't mean it's easy to avoid everyone else has known that too, Conor ring cuts as well as anyone it's hard to get him out of your face.

What makes you so sure Conor will be moving forward, and not Frankie? You could easily turn that sentence around. See, that's what I mean, its hard to predict and will be interesting to see.

He could easily have worked more kicks v Diaz but he got complacent and went head hunting, Frankie will be eating them

So you are banking on the fact that he will make a good gameplan and not overestimate himself again? Again, I wouldn't be so sure there, he probably still thinks he can beat any man headhunting, apart from Diaz, especially at 145. Also wouldn't be so sure that the kicks will work in his favour.
And if he adjusts his striking not to gas himself again, then they won't be as effective, will they? Maybe he starts extra-slow, and maybe that will cost him. We don't know.

Mendes had to turn the corner three time on a deep double to get Conor down, with Conor injured and camped for Aldo. Frankie will work hard for his TD's.

Sure. I'm also sure Conor will be able to get up here and there, and give some good scrambles. But Frankie will do it with a smile on his face, knowing it will affect Conor's cardio more than his. Frankie will turn corners all night if he has to. Can Conor keep his gas all night? Questionmarks right there. Huge ones.

It's not about catching him Conor can finish this in three Edgar needs a TD or 2 every round to win and I don't see that happening.

And maybe he only needs to survive the first two rounds and Conor will be done.
And I wouldn't even count him out on the feet.

 

[Sweets]

I wouldn't be so sure there. Like, at all.

I would.

Maybe, but Frankie's defence is better imho. And well, Conor's chin did not look all that great.
Diaz has clearly better boxing? You underestimate Frankie. They are different.

Diaz is a more effective boxer than Frankie. Fixed and you're right his chin didn't look great.

What makes you so sure Conor will be moving forward, and not Frankie? You could easily turn that sentence around. See, that's what I mean, its hard to predict and will be interesting to see.

Watching their fights, there are patterns.

So you are banking on the fact that he will make a good gameplan and not overestimate himself again? Again, I wouldn't be so sure there, he probably still thinks he can beat any man headhunting, apart from Diaz, especially at 145. Also wouldn't be so sure that the kicks will work in his favour.
And if he adjusts his striking not to gas himself again, then they won't be as effective, will they? Maybe he starts extra-slow, and maybe that will cost him. We don't know.

Diaz was the worst version of Conor I've seen and he did it to himself, where was the body shots? Diaz was in his head and he fucked up, that shouldn't happen as easily again, remeber both guys should get a proper camp this time. He's not the exclusive head hunter people are talking about. He doesn't need to adjust his striking not to gas, he only needs to not be desperate. There is zero chance he starts slow, Aldo fight slow maybe, I'm not talking about the time but rather his cadence.

Sure. I'm also sure Conor will be able to get up here and there, and give some good scrambles. But Frankie will do it with a smile on his face, knowing it will affect Conor's cardio more than his. Frankie will turn corners all night if he has to. Can Conor keep his gas all night? Questionmarks right there. Huge ones.

We'll see how Frankie does with Conor camped for him. He might turn corners all night, he might get broken up with uppercuts we'll see.

And maybe he only needs to survive the first two rounds and Conor will be done.
And I wouldn't even count him out on the feet.

You really are convinced about this gas tank, the Diaz fight is a very atypical example to extrapolate from, of course I'm not surprised people are jumping all over it. How was his gas tank v Holloway or Dave hill or anyone else that made it out of the first.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

I see it more of a toss up, rather than "very unlikely". If Cmac can land some bombs on Frankie, yes it could be a quick (T)KO, but Frankie has very good standup as well, (his previous fights prove that) and i believe he's a better ground fighter currently.

lol.

Frankie is light years on the ground ahead of Conor, and I see absolutely no chance for conor in that fight.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

He is a better ground fighter but if Conor gets a camp dedicated to Frankie he'll be fine. Conor looses if he starts chasing hard while Frankie circles that's it. If he is any way patient Frankie's toast.

do you really think a couple months of sprawl training is going to help him against a monster like Frankie?

the fuck you smoking?

 

[Punch]

lol.

Frankie is light years on the ground ahead of Conor, and I see absolutely no chance for conor in that fight.

There's a chance. There's always a chance. Underdogs can definitely win as evidenced by the last ufc event.

 

[Psychotropic Wanderlust]

There's a chance. There's always a chance. Underdogs can definitely win as evidenced by the last ufc event.

of course underdog's can win. if I was to put a number on it.

1/20.... conor wins 1 out of every 20 fights with Frankie.

Frankie has manhandled better fighters than conor could be on his best day.

 

[Punch]

of course underdog's can win. if I was to put a number on it.

1/20.... conor wins 1 out of every 20 fights with Frankie.

Frankie has manhandled better fighters than conor could be on his best day.

I hope we get to see, sooner rather than later.

 

[Qat]

He's not the exclusive head hunter people are talking about.

I hope he knows that himself. Some fighters turned into that after they got obsessed with their power.

Diaz was the worst version of Conor

Of course.

Diaz was in his head and he fucked up, that shouldn't happen as easily again, remeber both guys should get a proper camp this time.

He had a proper camp.. and he chose to fight Nate.

He doesn't need to adjust his striking not to gas, he only needs to not be desperate.

Which is an adjustment. Mentally, yes, but it impacts the physical actions. I mean I know you mean the fights he had beforehand, and fair enough, he never seemed to have a problem with it. But once it is out, it may not be so easy to get it back in, for himself. And he might be desperate because he comes of a loss and has even higher pressure. But that is speculation of course.

We'll see how Frankie does with Conor camped for him. He might turn corners all night, he might get broken up with uppercuts we'll see.

Exactly, we will see.
And its not like uppercuts will be any surprise. Also, uppercuts leave you quite open, it is dangerous to throw them, especially against a quicker opponent. Conor might get broken down because he throws them.

You really are convinced about this gas tank, the Diaz fight is a very atypical example to extrapolate from, of course I'm not surprised people are jumping all over it. How was his gas tank v Holloway or Dave hill or anyone else that made it out of the first.

Yeah I get that. But neither of those fights had Frankie Edgar pace nor this pressure surrounding it. And now that it is known that Conor is vulnerable there..

 

[Pitbull9]

Conor rarely uses the jab, as pointed out by Slack and Edgdar is constantly moving. What did Mendes do in their first fight? move most of the time and as Conor fired the left hand, Mendes for the most part moved his head of the center line and got clipped twice in the entire 1st round.

Frankie is a bad match up for Conor and maybe he knows that. Just like Holm has a weakness of getting taken down while she leads in striking, that's also where Mendes found success vs Conor. Edgar will have the same takedown threat, except with proven cardio and he does way more damage when he takes opponents down.

I don't think this is a coin flip fight anymore, I'm seeing it more like 70/30 for Edgar, based on what their tendencies and past patterns are, but Conor sure does have that left. I would be a bit worried for the Conor fans, especially now since Conor had gained muscle mass and now that could potentially hinder his weight cut to 145.

Not hinder it fuck it up for Conor. He thought going up and down was so easy. Sure its easy if youre a fat fuck with a bunch of BF to lose, but if you have bodies like GSP and Conor going up and down doesnt work. He will be FRIED at 145 unless he starts downsizing now.

 

[Punch]

I really like the way that @Sweets and Q @Qat are breaking down the way this fight could potentially go. Good job homies.

 

[Atto]

I have never seen someone so desperate as Frankie Edgar hahaha . I just love it