The Savage Truth: McGregor vs. Edgar vs. Aldo

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sherdog.com, its affiliates and sponsors or its parent company, Evolve Media.

It seems like Conor McGregor’s choices for his first UFC featherweight title defense have been narrowed down to Frankie Edgar and Jose Aldo. That is not much of a shocker for anyone who follows MMA, but the choice is a significant one for the promotion. UFC has consistently handed out rematches to deposed titleholders, so logic would dictate that Aldo might have the edge.

I would argue the opposite in this case: former lightweight champion Edgar should be first in line to get a shot at the Irishman’s 145-pound strap.

Now, I’m not necessarily against immediate rematches, and I do understand Aldo’s position when he claims he should be next in the queue despite his 13-second knockout loss. He dominated the featherweight division for the better part of a decade, but his spotty injury history and the obliteration in their first fight have me questioning the wisdom of putting Aldo in a main event of what will probably be the biggest event in UFC history.

On the flip side of the coin, there is Edgar, who has been pretty sturdy throughout his career. He has been champing at the bit to fight McGregor. He is also a former champ at lightweight, the division to which “The Notorious” wants to jump. It would be a nice test for McGregor, especially after coming off a rough outing at 170 pounds against Nate Diaz.

Were I the matchmaker, the determining factor for me would be the marketability of the fight. Sure, I have to consider the options either outcome leaves me, and we’ll get into that in a minute, but for UFC 200, I want to make the fight we can sell to the most people, and I think Edgar trumps Aldo in that column.

Edgar, who generally let his fighting do the talking when he was running the lightweight division, has become an underrated smack talker over the last year or so. Unfortunately, it was out of necessity because he felt he wasn’t getting the push he deserved from the UFC. Edgar has been calling for a rematch with Aldo or a shot at McGregor for quite some time, and he feels like he has been put on the back burner because he was a big-time threat to UFC’s favorite son. No matter what the cause of his newfound sharp tongue, it has been an enjoyable development and should be integral to building the fight if it is made.

A matchmaker has to consider what either outcome of a major fight means to the division as well as the fighters both, win or lose. I know a second consecutive loss for McGregor might be something that scares the UFC, but, to be honest, MMA is a crapshoot. Anything can and will happen; you have to be prepared either way.

The fact that McGregor lost is not that big a deal. While a second defeat could ding his brand a bit, it’s not like people aren’t going to tune in to watch the guy fight. Sure, his act worked better when he was starching everyone, but if people aren’t fans, they’ll still buy the pay-per-view to potentially watch him get humbled.

With that in mind, if Edgar wins, you have a situation eerily similar to the women’s bantamweight division and UFC’s other golden child, Ronda Rousey. There would be three featherweights with a win and a loss against each other. I know it probably doesn’t look too good to some of the up-and-coming potential challengers, but it would be a fan’s dream to see them battle it out over the course of a year or so.

We’ve seen divisions stagnate over time because of the dominance of a champion -- welterweight with Georges St. Pierre at the top comes to mind. Keeping it fresh in the midst of a three-way blood feud could be an entertaining look for the 145-pounders. The only way I don’t see the scenario playing out is if McGregor wins and bolts to lightweight. If he sticks around at featherweight, he’ll eventually have to fight both guys. Hell, if he does go up, I have a feeling whoever doesn’t get the shot at him will chase him up to the higher weight.

I didn’t get it when everyone lost their minds over Holly Holm dropping her belt to Miesha Tate. It gave the promotion options. The same thing goes for the 145-pound triumvirate of McGregor, Edgar and Aldo. The options for a series of entertaining bouts are there for the making in a division that has been steadily growing into one of the strongest the sport has to offer.

The best first option for the division, the fans and the sport is Frankie Edgar. I expect to see them squaring off in Las Vegas’ new T-Mobile Arena on July 9, with Aldo on deck to face the winner.

Sherdog.com Executive Editor Greg Savage can be reached by email or via Twitter @TheSavageTruth.