UFC 211: Stipe Miocic vs. Junior dos Santos IIMar 9, 2017 by Duane Finley
Frankie Edgar Ready to Solve the Yair Rodriguez Puzzle at UFC 211
Frankie Edgar Ready to Solve the Yair Rodriguez Puzzle at UFC 211
Former UFC featherweight title challenger Frankie Edgar looking forward to fighting Yair Rodriguez and UFC 211.
Texas is a place where Frankie Edgar has notched two of the biggest victories of his career, and he'll be looking to keep that streak alive on at UFC 211.
A Tweet from Brett Okamoto of ESPN on Thursday afternoon revealed the former UFC lightweight champion will be facing red-hot upstart Yair Rodriguez on May 13 in Dallas, Texas. The featherweight showdown joins an already stacked lineup filled with two title fights and a number one contender bout in the welterweight division, and Edgar couldn't be more excited.
"Texas is my place and I have some big wins there," Edgar told FloCombat in an exclusive interview. "I got the win over Gray [Maynard] there. I got the win over Cub [Swanson] there and it's going to be great to go back there for this one. These Texans are coming to see the kid. That's who they are coming to see."
As soon as the fight between Edgar and Rodriguez was announced, social media platforms erupted with a mixture of excitement and confusion. Due to the public back-and-forth between the two, many believed it would be Ricardo Lamas standing opposite of the New Jersey native next.
Nevertheless, the dynamic striking phenom was offered by the UFC, and that's all it took for Edgar to make the scrap official.
"Whoever they give me is who I get fired up for," Edgar said. "It doesn't matter to me. It looked like it would be Ricardo Lamas for a bit there. We agreed to fight over Twitter and basically set it up for them, but then they wanted this guy instead. It doesn't matter who it is. Sign me up.
"For me the objective is always the same and that's to get the job done. It doesn't matter how, where or who made it happen. I just go in there and get it done. I'm a robot I guess in that aspect. Winning is the only objective."
Jan 15, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Yair Rodriguez (left) hits B.J. Penn during UFC Fight Night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Team Iron Army leader is not only fired up to derail the rising talent, but is well aware of the reason this particular matchup came together.
"I know what they are trying to do," Edgar said of the UFC's matchmaking. "They want to bring this dude up using my name and we ain't gonna let that happen. No way will that happen."
The 24-year-old Valle Flow representative has won all six of his showings inside the Octagon, and dynamic finishes have helped Rodriguez build a solid amount of buzz along the way. The Mexico native's versatile striking have baffled every man he's faced, but that is a puzzle Edgar is looking forward to solving in Dallas.
"We've been playing with this dude's style for a little bit already because we heard his name was on the table," Edgar said. "Mark Henry has some great guys to throw at me. I've never fought anyone like [Rodriguez] and it's tough to even prepare for a fight like that, but come fight night we'll be ready.
"Every fight possesses a different challenge whatever it may be. You may be dealing with injury or your opponent has crazy knockout power or submissions. In this case my opponent is a very tricky fighter and that's just the next fight I have to deal with."
Nov 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Frankie Edgar (red gloves) fights against Jeremy Stephens (blue gloves) during UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a huge victory over Jeremy Stephen at UFC 205 in New York City, put "The Answer" back into the win column after a disappointing setback at UFC 200. A shot at the featherweight title was constantly on Edgar's mind leading into the rematch with Jose Aldo in Las Vegas, but those thoughts have been put on the shelf for awhile.
He knows there is drama at the top of the featherweight ranks that will keep the championship picture blurry for a bit, and Edgar believes the perfect route through the quagmire is to keep fighting and getting his hand raised.
"Winning has a way of taking care of things," Edgar said. "I have to go out and handle my business in May and then we'll see what happens with Max Holloway and Jose Aldo in June. We'll take it from there when it comes, but it's good to have a fight. It's good to have motivation to be in that gym everyday.
"I'm keeping it moving and that's my aim right now. I get to fight. I get to make some money and there isn't much outside of that I worry about right now as far as the future goes. The only future I'm thinking about is May 13."
A Tweet from Brett Okamoto of ESPN on Thursday afternoon revealed the former UFC lightweight champion will be facing red-hot upstart Yair Rodriguez on May 13 in Dallas, Texas. The featherweight showdown joins an already stacked lineup filled with two title fights and a number one contender bout in the welterweight division, and Edgar couldn't be more excited.
"Texas is my place and I have some big wins there," Edgar told FloCombat in an exclusive interview. "I got the win over Gray [Maynard] there. I got the win over Cub [Swanson] there and it's going to be great to go back there for this one. These Texans are coming to see the kid. That's who they are coming to see."
As soon as the fight between Edgar and Rodriguez was announced, social media platforms erupted with a mixture of excitement and confusion. Due to the public back-and-forth between the two, many believed it would be Ricardo Lamas standing opposite of the New Jersey native next.
Nevertheless, the dynamic striking phenom was offered by the UFC, and that's all it took for Edgar to make the scrap official.
"Whoever they give me is who I get fired up for," Edgar said. "It doesn't matter to me. It looked like it would be Ricardo Lamas for a bit there. We agreed to fight over Twitter and basically set it up for them, but then they wanted this guy instead. It doesn't matter who it is. Sign me up.
"For me the objective is always the same and that's to get the job done. It doesn't matter how, where or who made it happen. I just go in there and get it done. I'm a robot I guess in that aspect. Winning is the only objective."
Jan 15, 2017; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Yair Rodriguez (left) hits B.J. Penn during UFC Fight Night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
The Team Iron Army leader is not only fired up to derail the rising talent, but is well aware of the reason this particular matchup came together.
"I know what they are trying to do," Edgar said of the UFC's matchmaking. "They want to bring this dude up using my name and we ain't gonna let that happen. No way will that happen."
The 24-year-old Valle Flow representative has won all six of his showings inside the Octagon, and dynamic finishes have helped Rodriguez build a solid amount of buzz along the way. The Mexico native's versatile striking have baffled every man he's faced, but that is a puzzle Edgar is looking forward to solving in Dallas.
"We've been playing with this dude's style for a little bit already because we heard his name was on the table," Edgar said. "Mark Henry has some great guys to throw at me. I've never fought anyone like [Rodriguez] and it's tough to even prepare for a fight like that, but come fight night we'll be ready.
"Every fight possesses a different challenge whatever it may be. You may be dealing with injury or your opponent has crazy knockout power or submissions. In this case my opponent is a very tricky fighter and that's just the next fight I have to deal with."
Nov 12, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Frankie Edgar (red gloves) fights against Jeremy Stephens (blue gloves) during UFC 205 at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Coming off a huge victory over Jeremy Stephen at UFC 205 in New York City, put "The Answer" back into the win column after a disappointing setback at UFC 200. A shot at the featherweight title was constantly on Edgar's mind leading into the rematch with Jose Aldo in Las Vegas, but those thoughts have been put on the shelf for awhile.
He knows there is drama at the top of the featherweight ranks that will keep the championship picture blurry for a bit, and Edgar believes the perfect route through the quagmire is to keep fighting and getting his hand raised.
"Winning has a way of taking care of things," Edgar said. "I have to go out and handle my business in May and then we'll see what happens with Max Holloway and Jose Aldo in June. We'll take it from there when it comes, but it's good to have a fight. It's good to have motivation to be in that gym everyday.
"I'm keeping it moving and that's my aim right now. I get to fight. I get to make some money and there isn't much outside of that I worry about right now as far as the future goes. The only future I'm thinking about is May 13."