Sean Sheehan 
In a week of big fight announcements, another huge match-up came to light today as Brazilian outlet Lancenet first reported and MMAJunkie confirmed with sources that featherweight contenders Frankie Edgar and Chad Mendes are being lined up for the main event of “The Ultimate Fighter” season 22 finale on December 11th in a Las Vegas venue yet to be announced.
A former UFC lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar has been a mainstay around the top of the featherweight division since his move down in 2013. His 145 lbs debut saw Edgar lose to champion Jose Aldo but four consecutive wins have put him within touching distance of another title shot. A fifth will all but guarantee it.
@FrankieEdgar if your looking for a real contender fight, let's do this. December sounds good 2 me! @arielhelwani @danawhite @mikeMMAinc
— chad mendes (@chadmendes) August 24, 2015
Like Edgar, Chad Mendes has been a long time UFC title contender at featherweight since he entered the division in 2011 after the WEC’s closure. Three title shots have come the way of the team Alpha Male man since but losses to Jose Aldo (twice) and Conor McGregor (for the interim strap) have seen him, as of yet, fail to become a champion. A win against Edgar would probably give him a fourth chance.
Already on the card is Khabib Nurmagomedov taking on Tony Ferguson, Evan Dunham vs. Joe Lauzon
and Mike Pierce returns against Ryan LaFlare.
The fight will take place on the eve of UFC 194 and with Jose Aldo vs. Conor McGregor unifying the title there, the featherweight division could do plenty of moving by year’s end.
