Frankie Edgar: "I Can Be a World Champion."

I recently had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with UFC lightweight contender Frankie "The Answer" Edgar for Tapology in order to discuss his upcoming fight with the undefeated H.I.T. squad-product Matt Veach this Saturday night, the meaning of his May victory over Sean Sherk, and how he feels he stacks up against the top dogs in the division, BJ Penn and Diego Sanchez.

On Sherk:

Tapology: Talking about your last two wins; you defeated Sherk and Hermes Franca before him. Those two guys are obviously two of the biggest names in the division, so did beating them the way you have change the way you think about yourself as a fighter or give you more confidence in your skills? 

Edgar: Yeah, it was great, especially with the win over Sean Sherk. Beating the former lightweight champion in the division was great for my confidence. I know I’m a competitor and I can compete with anybody. I’ve always been confident, but I think the win over Sean really pushed me over the edge and made me realize that I can be a world champion.

On Veach:

Tapology: How do you feel about the new match up against Matt Veach? What do you see as his strengths, and what kind of problems is he going to pose for you?

Edgar: I know he originally fought at 170lbs, he is big and strong, he’s a good wrestler, and he comes from a great camp. In his last fight he showed a lot of resiliency, so I know he’s going to be ready to bang and he’s going to be willing to put it on the line. I’m definitely going to be aware of the power he has in his hands, but you can’t really focus on it too much, you’ve just got to go in there and do your thing.

On Penn and Sanchez:

Tapology: From a technical standpoint, what do you think you could bring into a fight with either Penn or Sanchez that they have not had to deal with to this point in their careers?

Edgar: I don’t know if it’s something they haven’t seen, but I think my well roundedness and my conditioning can pose some problems for them. The 155lb division is just a long list of evenly-matched guys—a lot of wrestlers, a lot of strikers—so I’m sure they’ve seen it all, but I don’t know, maybe I can just bring a little more heart and a better combination of everything into a fight with them, who knows.

Be sure to read the full interview to hear Edgar's thoughts on his loss to Gray Maynard last year--the only loss thus far in his professional career--how close he feels he is to a shot at the title, and his goal to remain undefeated throughout 2010.