Frankie Edgar’s bantamweight debut may well come sooner rather than later after reports have emerged linking the him with a 135-pound top contender bout opposite the surging Aljamain Sterling in the UFC’s November return to Madison Square Garden.
UFC 244 is slated for November 2 but UFC boss Dana White iterated over the weekend that it will be a couple of weeks before the headliner for the card is announced. While we wait for that one to be revealed, it seems as though one of the potential main cards fights is close to being agreed as ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reports that the match-up is in early stages of deliberations.
In addition, hearing they are currently discussing Sterling v Edgar @ 135 for the same card. Preliminary stages.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 17, 2019
Edgar announced he was moving down a division following a loss in a featherweight world title bout opposite Max Holloway at last month’s UFC 240. He said that he had resisted moving down divisions for his entire career but that the recent loss to Holloway was apparently enough to convince the former lightweight champion to try his hand at 135 — the division in which Sterling has been recently showing the best form of his career.
The New Yorker has wracked off four impressive wins in a row since suffering defeat to Marlon Moraes in December 2017, adding names like Brett Johns, Cody Stamann, Jimmie Rivera and more recently, Pedro Munhoz, to his win column.
Further details on the UFC’s annual event in Madison Square Garden are expected in the coming weeks, including more on a rumoured Darren Till vs. Kelvin Gastelum contest.
