‘Vampire’ Frankie Edgar wants blood from Yair Rodriguez at UFC 211 – MMAmania.com

Its not quite Halloween season yet, but Frankie Edgar is already channeling his inner-vampire, as the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight champion is on the hunt for some blood.

And he wants some fresh, young Mexican blood at that, as The Answer intends on getting it from rising sensation Yair Rodriquez when the two collide at UFC 211 on May 13 in Dallas, Texas. While hes at it, Edgar wants to take Yairs growing fan base by preventing El Pantera from using him to catapult himself higher up the pecking order.

Id be stupid not to suspect that, at least, Edgar said. Its kind of win-win for them. This guy beats me, he catapults up the rankings, but if I beat him, theres no loss for him because he really wasnt supposed to win. So I feel like its a good way to get his name out there, but Im looking at it in a different way. Im like a vampire Im gonna go get some of that young blood and steal some of his fans, Edgar told UFC.com.

Coming off a victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 205 last November, Edgar hopes a win over Rodriguez puts him back into the title picture, despite the fact that he came up short against Jose Aldo in an interim featherweight title fight for the second time prior to his win over Lil Heathen.

I think Im always going to be knocking on the door for a title based on what Ive done and who I am, Edgar said. But yeah, I think Holloway would have to win for me to get that next title shot. Im not one to root for it, though.

Things will play out the way they do and if they dont, so be it. Ever since I lost that title in 2012, Ive been gunning for it, and you lose sight of whats in front of you at times, he continued. So right now, I just want to worry about whats next, keep fighting and stay busy.

Undefeated so far in his UFC career, winning his first six bouts inside the Octagon including a devastating second-round finish over BJ Penn earlier this year (see it), Rodriguez is quickly becoming one of the fastest-rising stars in all of MMA.

Whether or not hes ready for a top-caliber contender such as Edgar, however, remains to be seen.

I dont know, Edgar laughs. I dont think he knows. Its definitely a big step for him, and were gonna find out on fight night for sure. But no matter what, hes gonna have a bright future in this sport, being so young and being where he is right now, explained Frankie.

But there are levels to this and sometimes you cant get to the next level until you see whats in front of you, and I feel like Im still the man. I had that hiccup against Aldo, it wasnt my best performance. I felt I rebounded nicely against Stephens and Im still one of the best fighters at 145 and Im gonna go out and show Yair what its all about.

Anyone expect the torch to be passed come fight night? Or will Edgar show he still has plenty of fire to hang with the new breed of competition?

Read more from the original source:
'Vampire' Frankie Edgar wants blood from Yair Rodriguez at UFC 211 - MMAmania.com

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero