UFC’s Frankie Edgar: A fast start is paramount for Jose Aldo fight

Frankie Edgar has lost, learned and hasn’t tasted defeat again.

As he concluded preparations this week in New Jersey for a rematch with the last man who beat him, Edgar has reemphasized the importance of a quick start against former UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo in UFC 200 on July 9 in Las Vegas.

“My weakness can be not coming out of the gate 100 percent confident. Sometimes it takes me awhile to get it going,” he said. “We’ve seen that in a [Benson] Henderson [lightweight title] fight and in the [2013] Aldo fight.

“But these past five fights, I’ve gotten over that and haven’t lost a round since then. It’s just believing in myself from the get-go, without having to get hit a couple times first.”

Edgar (19-4-1) and Brazil’s Aldo (25-2) will fight for the interim featherweight belt created by champion Conor McGregor’s decision to fight for a second time out of his weight class when he fights Nate Diaz in a welterweight rematch Aug. 20 at UFC 202.

Aldo returns to the octagon for the first time since his 13-second knockout loss to McGregor in December, an event that heightens Edgar’s interest in starting fast.

“You want to put the pressure on him early and set the tone,” he said. “If I can do that, it’s going to make the rest of the fight and my job easier -- as long as I can get my foot on the gas from the get-go.”

Victory will make Edgar the permanent featherweight champion if McGregor announces after his Diaz bout that he’ll fight above featherweight again.

“I’m not thinking about Conor at all, my sole focus is Jose Aldo,” Edgar said. “Without doing that and winning this fight, Conor won’t even be on my radar.”

Edgar’s five-fight win streak included a first-round knockout of Chad Mendes in December.

“I don’t adjust my camps for anyone, I just want to be a better fighter than last time -- from the start of training camp to the end, whether it’s my striking, my wrestling or my jiu jitsu,” Edgar said. “I want to push that pace.

“I don’t [study], I’m not a big tape guy. I put my opponents on a pedestal and I’m not one to believe my own hype. But my coaches are the ones who are very obsessive on tape. Then we address it in training. I don’t like to watch guys too much because in the fight I can be thinking, ‘He’s going to do this, then this,’ and I should be worrying about what I’m doing.”

With the perspective of being a 34-year-old who debuted in the octagon at UFC 67 in 2007, Edgar said not worrying about any opponent shenanigans has been one of the major pre-UFC 200 strides for his sport, which has implemented a more stringent anti-doping policy supervised by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

“It legitimizes us,” Edgar said. “One of the biggest stains on our sport was that guys were accused of juicing. Now, if you juice, you get caught. You get suspended. That’s a positive, and other sports can take note.

“I don’t think the NFL has USADA following them around, having to tell them where they are every day like we do.”