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UFC

Source: Edgar vs. Mendes expected to headline TUF 22 Finale

By Damon Martin FoxSports
Published | Updated
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After a ton of speculation over the past week, "The Ultimate Fighter" season 22 Finale card on Dec. 11 in Las Vegas just landed a monstrous main event as Frankie Edgar is expected to meet Chad Mendes in a five-round fight in the featherweight division.

Sources close to the contest confirmed to FOX Sports that verbal agreements are in place for the fight, although bout agreements have not been issued just yet. Lancenet.com initially reported the pairing.

The matchup between Edgar and Mendes has been in discussion for several days, according to sources speaking to FOX Sports, but only now did the fight actually come together.

Edgar recently posted on Twitter that he was interested in possibly facing either Max Holloway or Jeremy Stephens in the headline bout for the TUF 22 Finale.

Instead, it's Mendes who gets the call after stepping up on short notice for his last bout, in which he took on Conor McGregor at UFC 189 with just two weeks to prepare for the fight.

Now, Mendes will get a full training camp to face Edgar with a potential title shot hanging in the balance for the winner to face the undisputed featherweight champion. UFC 194 goes down just 24 hours later with McGregor and Jose Aldo headlining that card.

Edgar is riding a four-fight win streak, including his last fight in which he defeated Mendes' teammate and close friend Urijah Faber. To get to five in a row, Edgar will have to go through Mendes, who has suffered losses only to Aldo and McGregor in his entire UFC career.

"The Ultimate Fighter" season 22 finale also will feature a lightweight co-main event between top-ranked challengers Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, as well as the finals from the reality show competition that kicks off on FOX Sports 1 on Sept. 9.