UFC 200: Frankie Edgar knows he can beat Jose Aldo, Conor McGregor

LAS VEGAS — Conor McGregor is in town to promote his fight with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August.

The featherweight champion has been on the minds of a lot of fighters this week.

Count Frankie Edgar as one of them.

The former UFC lightweight champion will have a rematch with former featherweight champion Jose Aldo for the interim featherweight title Saturday at UFC 200 at the T-Mobile Arena.

Naturally, it’s nearly impossible to not bring up McGregor when discussing Aldo.

It was the brash Irishman who, at UFC 194 in December, set a UFC championship fight record by flattening Aldo in a mere 13 seconds.

And No. 2-ranked Edgar knows that has to play on Aldo’s mind.

“There’s no way a guy’s been as dominant as he has the last 10 years and kinda get iced like that by McGregor, no way he can just say ...” Edgar, 34, said. “I know he’s trying to write it off as if it’s never happened and it’s probably the best way to approach it. In the back of his head, he has to get along with those demons.”

Now the No. 1 contender, Aldo (25-2) had been undefeated for a decade, rattling off 18 consecutive victories, including nine title defenses.

Now he’s coming off an embarrassing knockout loss and encountering a well-rounded fighter who has won five in a row.

Edgar is confident he can hand Aldo, 29, another loss.

“I’m gonna definitely stop this fight within the five,” said Edgar, from Toms River, N.J. “I’m not a really big guy on picking rounds ... I’ll say I’m gonna finish it within the five rounds.”

Edgar’s last victory was a stunning, first-round left-hook knockout of Chad Mendes in December.

“It felt great, you know? I was due for a win like that. I always have to outwork my opponents and I was prepared to do that,” Edgar said. “I trained to do that every time out, but it’s always nice when you can get an in and out like that and make it to the press conference in one piece.”

So Aldo has Edgar’s punching power to think about as well as his own chin.

But Edgar is not taking the Brazilian lightly.

“To me, he’s still the best fighter at featherweight. He’s the best featherweight champion the division has seen so far — outside of a 13-second fight against McGregor, but you can’t forget about it either,” he said. “I’m sure that’s something he’s had to deal with every day throughout this camp. I’m sure he isn’t sure how he’s gonna bounce back from that either.”

Which takes it back to McGregor. With him chasing bigger fighters in bigger weight divisions, the UFC decided an interim 145-pound title would be fitting.

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Enter Edgar and Aldo. In February 2013, Aldo defeated Edgar via unanimous decision, each eaing Fight of the Night honors.

It was Edgar’s third consecutive loss and via decision after he lost the lightweight strap to Benson Henderson, as well as the rematch.

Edgar said it was a dark time in his career that motivated him to make some changes.

“They were just very close fights and didn’t go my way,” he said. “I had to figure out a way to make sure I make the gap between me and the next time much bigger so it doesn’t happen to me again.”

Now he’s looking for his sixth consecutive win, which he hopes might lead to an eventual fight for the real featherweight title against McGregor.

Edgar sees himself as the guy to beat McGregor at 145 pounds.

“I think I’m tailor-made for that guy,” he said. “My conditioning. I can put him on his back. My standup is second to none. I do think I’m a very good matchup for him.”

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