Frankie Edgar reveals he’s on last fight of UFC contract, says ‘money talks’ for future

Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar would like to close out his career in the UFC. And he’s also looking out for No. 1.

During an interview Tuesday on the JRE MMA Show, Edgar said he’s on the final fight of his current contract and indicated a good deal will keep him around.

”Money talks,” he said Tuesday on the JRE MMA Show. “But honestly, if I’m being straight up, where do I want to finish my career? I do want to finish in the UFC. I got in the UFC (at) 5-0, and pretty much grew up here. It’d be nice to finish, but everything has to make sense.”

Edgar, 38, has spent the majority of his career in the octagon. But he admitted recent defections from ex-UFC champs like Demetrious Johnson and Eddie Alvarez have gotten his attention. Alvarez, a longtime training partner, has raved about the way fighters are treated in the Asia-based promotion.

In 2017, Edgar campaigned for a new contract with the UFC at the same point in his previous deal. With one fight remaining, he expressed a similar wish to remain with the promotion and said the two sides weren’t “that far apart.”

Before he contemplates his long-term future, Edgar’s immediate plan is to make a long-anticipated move down to bantamweight, where he’ll be more competitively sized. A short-notice fight this past December against Chan Sung Jung sent the ex-champ packing with a quick stoppage loss and nixed a scheduled fight against 135-pound standout Corey Sandhagen. He aims to shake off that setback.

”He got me with a good shot,” Edgar said of Jung. “Motherf*cker hits hard. I was really down on myself for a while. Nobody takes losses well, and I definitely took it pretty bad.

”I thought I was going to go there, put this dude away, and enjoy Christmas. But it turned out to be the opposite. A little bit depressing during Christmas time. You’re trying to be nice to your family, but what’s weighing on your head is, ‘I just got TKOd.’”

Edgar has fought bigger opponents for the bulk of his career and has long resisted the idea of moving down. Even now, he doesn’t expect to have much of an advantage at bantamweight.

”I don’t think I’ll be the biggest guy at 135, but I’ll definitely be much more comparable to the rest of them,” he said.