In a little more than two weeks UFC lightweight Frankie Edgar will find himself in a familiar situation, facing an opponent he’s fresh off an outing against. His headlining bout against Benson Henderson at UFC 150 marks the third straight instance of Edgar’s involvement in an immediate rematch of a title-fight with the first two involving B.J. Penn and Gray Maynard.
However, this time around Edgar is serving as challenger rather than champion due to Henderson’s solid showing against him in February at UFC 144 where he emerged with the divisional strap due to a Unanimous Decision.
Edgar recently opened up on the tilt in an extended preview for the August 11 show where he explained he’s approaching things as he would any other fight regardless of how much is on the line.
“A fight’s a fight. Whether there’s a belt involved or not, you still have to prepare; you still have to prepare for your opponent and you still have to get in there and apply everything you’ve trained,” said Edgar in the clip.
“The fight was close, it was controversial, and now it’s my turn to get a rematch,” he continued, adding his expectations of an outcome different from those in his previous pairings with Penn/Maynard where he retained his title. “Ben Henderson will not defend the belt because the belt belongs to me.”
Edgar’s loss to Henderson snapped a seven-fight unbeaten streak for “The Answer”, while “Smooth” has lived up to his nickname as of late with a slew of slick showings since coming over from WEC including victories against Jim Miller and Clay Guida.
Check out the complete UFC 152 preview piece below:
PHOTO CREDIT – UFC
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