Pedro Munhoz thrilled to welcome 'living legend' Frankie Edgar to bantamweight at UFC on ESPN 15
Pedro Munhoz is relishing the most special moment of his career so far.
At UFC on ESPN 15, Munhoz (18-4 MMA, 8-4 UFC) gets his first opportunity to headline a UFC card when he takes on former UFC champ Frankie Edgar (23-8-1 MMA, 17-8-1 UFC) on Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The show airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
It’s taken 14 UFC fights for Munhoz to get a main event, but it appears the wait was worthwhile. He gets to welcome Edgar, a former lightweight champion and three-time featherweight title challenger, down to 135 pounds for the first time. Moreover, “The Answer” is a surefire UFC Hall of Famer, as he’s the only fighter in company history to have spent more than seven hours in the octagon.
Munhoz said it’s an honor to fight Edgar, whom he’s been watching since years before he became a UFC fighter.
“Frankie is a guy who used to have my attention because it was not a jiu-jitsu guy fighting a boxing guy,” Munhoz told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 15 virtual media day. “It was a well rounded guy. Now I have the opportunity to fight a living legend like that in a main event. It’s one of the biggest fights of my life. … This is one of the biggest fights of my career, but I do believe every fight is the biggest fight of my career. My fights previously prepared me for this.”
Munhoz originally was scheduled to fight Edgar in a three-round bout on July 16 in Abu Dhabi. The Brazilian tested positive for COVID-19, though, and the matchup was postponed. He admits it was a difficult time, because he wasn’t the only person in his household who contracted coronavirus. Munhoz said he’s come out of the other end, though, and is prepared to compete.
“In that moment I just tried to be grateful,” Munhoz said. “Nothing worse could’ve happened to me and the family. We all got sick, we all tested positive for COVID. But all grateful none of us had to go to the hospital. We got a little bit sick, but it’s something we could work through, and we’re happy to be here today.”
Munhoz gets the main event spot at a time when he can make a lot of noise in the bantamweight division. All signs point to champion Per Yan defending against Aljamain Sterling next, then there are a number of other key 135-pound matchups on the horizon.
With the right kind of performance, Munhoz said he can put himself right in the mix and even thinks jumping to the front of the line is possible.
“I do believe that I did my homework,” Munhoz said. “Saturday is a good test to see where I am. I want to make a big statement, and I want to be next for the title shot.”