With Conor McGregor intent on climbing up weight classes as he chases history, the featherweight champion appears to have little thought for defending his title. That doesn't sit well with one of the main contenders for the belt, Frankie Edgar.
Edgar's manager, Ali Abdel-Aziz, was approached about his client taking Rafael dos Anjos' spot after he pulled out of his March 5 bout with McGregor due to a broken foot, but Edgar had to decline as he's recovering from a torn groin.
McGregor will now face Nate Diaz at UFC 196 in his first welterweight fight.
"I got a call from Ali saying that Rafael dos Anjos got hurt, and (the UFC) had texted him, 'will Frankie fight him at 155?' And, I’ve been hurt for the past four weeks," Edgar told Chuck Mindenhall of MMAFighting on Wednesday. "I'm pissed off for a couple of reasons. I’m pissed off that I've got this opportunity slip through again. I'm sitting here, I’m the one who's been trying to fight this guy for months now.
"I'm flying myself to Vegas on my own dime to lobby to get a fight with this guy and now here comes the opportunity, and I'm hurt and I can't take it. I haven’t done anything in four weeks. I didn't just pull my groin, I tore it. I sent Dana and everyone in the UFC my MRI."
Edgar was promised a chance at the featherweight title back in December, but he's been stymied by injuries and McGregor's desire to capture the lightweight belt.
Edgar is concerned he's missed his only chance to capture the featherweight title, and he didn't hold back from expressing his frustrations with what he considers the UFC's preferential treatment of McGregor.
"I feel like my integrity is something that I’ve built over the years and I’ve been such a good guy to the UFC, and then they’re going to throw me under the bus like I ‘refused’ to take this fight," Edgar said. "I would take that fight in a heartbeat, even if I wasn’t training. If I was healthy enough, I would absolutely take that fight."
Edgar added: "And this is what my team was pissed at. This dude, they were going to let this guy hold the 145-pound title, go up to 55, now two weight classes are being held up. And now they're saying he’s going to go up to 70. This is a circus. The 'C' in UFC stands for Conor. This guy runs the show."
