Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will finally be making his move down to bantamweight as a bout between himself and Pedro Munhoz is being targeted for July 11 on Fight Island.
First reported by MMAFighting.com, Fight Island is close to securing another bout as a fight between former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar and bantamweight contender Pedro Munhoz is being targeted for July 11.
Frankie “The Answer” Edgar will be looking to fight in his third weight class in the UFC as he makes his 135 pound debut. Originally expected to make the move down against Cory Sandhagen in January, Edgar’s plan to debut at bantamweight was paused when the UFC asked him to step in to save an event by fighting “The Korean Zombie” at featherweight in December. Despite several years of speculation that it would provide him with the greatest competitive advantage, Edgar consistently dismissed the idea of moving down until last July where he failed to wrest the featherweight title from Max Holloway in what was his third shot at gold at 145 pounds.
In 2015, Pedro “The Young Punisher” Munhoz embarked on his current run that has seen him post a 7-3 record in the UFC that included both a four and three fight win-streak. While he earned three Performance of the Night bonuses during his first run, it was his breakout streak in 2018 that garnered him recognition as he defeated Brett Johns, Bryan Caraway, and stopped former champion Cody Garbrandt. In his last outing, Munhoz came up short against fellow top contender Aljamain Sterling and the fight with Edgar will be his first fight in 2020.
The booking would be the second high profile 135lb bout that has been announced in recent weeks as top contenders Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen are also set to face each other in early June. With Henry Cejudo’s recent announcement that he plans to retire, it is speculated that these recently announced bouts will determine the top contenders for the now vacant title.
Currently, a bout between Paige VanZant and Amanda Ribas is also being targeted for this date and it is believed that it will be the first event to be held on the widely publicized Fight Island.
