Frankie Edgar has admitted he was playing the game a bit by slating the UFC’s favouritism of Conor McGregor.
The Answer let fly at Dana White and co after it was announced that McGregor would be fighting Nate Diaz at welterweight in the main event of UFC 196, in place of the injured Rafael dos Anjos.
Edgar had suggested the promotion allowing the Notorious to move up two weight classes while holding his 145 lb title showed blatant favouritism, claiming “The ‘C’ in UFC stands for Conor.”
However, during an interview on the MMA Hour on Monday, Edgar sang a very different tune about McGregor getting preferential treatment by the UFC.
“He does, but how can you say it’s not just?” Edgar said.
“He brings in the numbers, he performs. I’m not one to sit here and complain, he’s kind of earned it, I guess you could say.
“I feel I’ve earned it too in a different way through years of work and years of just doing the right thing for these guys.”
Edgar confessed he was angry about missing out on a red panty night through injury, but also that his uncharacteristically angry interview was also to create hype and promote himself.
“Yeah, it definitely was the most p*ssed off, at least in an interview. That’s just the way this sport’s going. You’ve got to speak up, you’ve got to talk, you’ve got to get people interested in the cause you’re fighting for. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m just following the lead of the guys who are going before me.”
The New Jersey native has never been known as an outspoken fighter in the media and he explained that he’s attempting to change that to promote himself better. He believes his change of tactics with the media has worked so far.
“I tried doing it the old fashioned way and just earning it and working hard but there’s more to it these days.”
“People are talking about me. Whether they’re talking good or talking bad about me, but I’ve definitely been steering clear of social media as much as I can. Yeah, there’s a lot of Conor fans out there, I’ll say that.”
He also addressed his manager’s reputation for tweeting, often in a confrontational tone, through his fighters’ accounts. Edgar confirmed that he has banned Ali Abdel-Aziz from taking over his Twitter account since the last incident.
“I have to stay off this social media. These people affecting my God damn mood. Half the people still think (Ali’s) doing it anyway. (laughs). I think it’s comical. I learned my lesson. No more Twitter privileges for that man.”
