Edgar, still at lightweight, aims to regain title from Henderson

DENVER - No matter how much Frankie Edgar accomplishes as an undersized lightweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, he can't avoid the question of when he is going to drop down to the featherweight division.

Fans, media, even his boss constantly ask him about moving from 155 pounds to 145.

"I'm getting sick of answering it, but you guys aren't sick of asking it," Edgar said Thursday. "It is what it is. You guys are going to keep asking, and I'm going to keep telling you the same thing."

He's also had to answer to Dana White. The UFC president long has thought the 5-foot-6-inch Edgar would be much better served dropping down a weight class. White used Edgar's losing the lightweight belt to Benson Henderson in February as an opportunity to do one more round of convincing, trying to sell Edgar on the virtues of the move.

"I told him, 'I'm not giving you (a rematch). I want to see you move down to another weight, and I think it's better for you, healthier for you and everything else,' " White said. "I was trying to talk to his wife and his parents and everyone, and they're all on his side. They all teamed up on me in New York one day."

Edgar wasn't persuaded, and he indeed has been granted a rematch for the belt against Henderson tonight in the main event of UFC 150 in the city where UFC 1 was held in 1993.

"He let me know his reasons, and I let him know my reasons, and here we are," said Edgar, who might not be able to win the argument any longer should he suffer consecutive losses to the champion.

Edgar says in addition to preferring to fight at 155, part of his insistence of remaining at lightweight was a desire to avenge the loss to Henderson.

"It's just the fact that in the last fight, I wasn't the victor," he said. "It gives me so much more motivation to go in there and try to get some redemption."

Edgar is getting accustomed to rematches. After taking the belt from BJ Penn in April 2010, he beat Penn again in August 2010.

Then he moved on to top contender Gray Maynard in January 2011, and after the fight ended in a draw, he fought Maynard again in October and knocked him out.

Henderson was Edgar's next challenge in February, and now he will participate in yet another rematch.

"It's tough to fight guys back to back, but since I've been doing it, I've gotten used to it. It's kinda comfortable now," Edgar said. "I mean, there's two sides to it. You get to see what your opponents are all about, and they get to see what you're about."

Henderson said he believes Edgar has been better in each of his previous rematch fights than he was in the first meeting and knows he must prepare for a better version of Edgar than he saw in February.

"We all know he's a lot better in rematches," Henderson said. "It's one of his biggest things. His coaches are great, and they always put together a great game plan for rematches and finding weaknesses and holes in their previous opponent. So for me I expect just kind of more of the same - just a lot hungrier, tougher, smarter, a more well game-planned Frankie."

Henderson also has dealt with the added pressure of being champion this time around. The belt comes with unique responsibilities.

"It is awesome. No complaints. But as far as time management, it has been kind of rough," Henderson said. "At one point, a time after I won the belt, I wasn't home for, like, six weekends in a row. Once the fight got closer and everything, I've had to tell the UFC, and tell everybody else, my managers, like, 'Hey, I'm done traveling. I just want to train now. I want to get back in the gym.' "

The fight headlines a pay-per-view card airing at 7 p.m. that includes an expected lightweight brawl between Donald Cerrone and Melvin Guillard, who weighed in 1½ pounds over the limit Friday. Also, Jake Shields moves back to middleweight to face Ed Herman.

A four-fight preliminary card airs live at 5 p.m. on FX (Cable 24).

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.