UFC veteran Frankie Edgar says he doesn’t regret the last-minute fight against “The Korean Zombie” Chan Sung Jung and still intends to cut to bantamweight.
Jung was set to face Brian Ortega at UFC Fight Night 165, but the latter was forced to pull out following an ACL injury.
Edgar stepped in at the last minute to replace Ortega at the first ever UFC event to be held in Busan, only to suffer a first-round TKO and a broken eye socket.
‘No Regrets’
The former lightweight champion has insisted that he doesn’t regret taking the fight at such short notice despite the outcome.
Speaking to MMA Fighting, he said: “It was something I did,”
“You can’t go back and dwell on sh*t you can’t change anyways.”
“No regrets for me.”
“Obviously, I wanted a different outcome, but I took the opportunity. It didn’t go my way. Sh*t happens, but those are the breaks.”
“I was definitely depressed for a little bit, a little down on myself, but you move on. What else are you going to do?”
Edgar has been humble in defeat and was quick to give credit to the Korean Zombie.
He continued: “He caught me with a good shot,”
“I’m sure I’ll look at it and I’ll be a little critical of something I did, but he’s on a tear,”
“He’s been putting dudes away for a long time. He got me with a good shot.”
“I did my best to stand there as long as I could, but it’s the way it went.”
Temporarily Sidelined
Edgar had been set to make his bantamweight debut against Cory Sandhagen on January 25, but things changed when he was drafted in to replace Ortega.
And there was speculation he might change his mind about plans to cut weight following the emphatic loss.
But despite being temporarily sidelined, Edgar has confirmed that he still intends to make the transition as soon as his medical suspension lifts.
Talking about the impact the defeat may have on his future plans, Edgar said: “I broke my orbital, nothing super bad, no surgery.”
“Just six weeks to heal and I’m good to go.”
“I’m going to go down to bantamweight,”
“That was the whole plan before this obviously.”
“The cards have been stacked against me my whole career being the smaller guy.”
“Going out there and fighting in Korea on short notice, that kind of stacked the cards even more.”
“I think what I need to do is put myself in a favorable position to win my next fight, and that’s at 135.”
Back in the Gym
The 38-year-old says he isn’t thinking about opponents or a date yet, and instead is focused on making a full recovery.
“I’m not worried about anything right now,” he said.
“I’m not thinking of anything yet. I want to heal up.”
“I’m already back in the gym doing what I can do right now, obviously not getting punched in the face or anything, but just trying to improve.”
(Featured image source: Instagram/ Frankie Edgar)