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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes will indeed square off in the main event of the Ultimate Fighter 21 Finale this December, with the UFC confirming the bout on Wednesday.
The card will take place in Las Vegas on Dec. 11, one night before UFC 194, but it does not yet have a venue.
Edgar has won four straight fights into this event, dating back to a Feb. 2013 loss to Jose Aldo for the UFC Featherweight Championship. He's looked excellent in each of those fights, and after a win over Urijah Faber in May it seemed he was in line for another title fight.
Unfortunately for him, Aldo was forced out of a fight with Conor McGregor at UFC 189, and the UFC decided to put Mendes in that slot on short notice. With McGregor winning that fight, once again setting up the Aldo matchup, Edgar needed another fight to keep himself busy and stay in line for the next title fight.
He's taking perhaps the toughest fight he could take in the division outside of the Aldo rematch, with Mendes remaining in the elite of the division despite his losses to Aldo and McGregor in two of his last three. The Team Alpha Male competitor believes he'd have fared better against McGregor with a full camp, and if he can best Edgar in December, he may just get another fight with whomever emerges from UFC 194 with that title.
Mendes is expected to appear on Wednesday night's new episode of UFC Tonight on Fox Sports 1 to discuss the bout.
[Frankie Edgar art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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