In January, Yair Rodriguez finished B.J. Penn in two rounds, establishing himself as one of the legit contenders at the featherweight division. At UFC 211, he will be facing another former lightweight champion, Frankie Edgar.

Should the 24-year-old Rodriguez emerge victorious, it will be another feather in his cap as he makes his way further up the rankings. At the same time, a defeat would not hurt him that much, considering that he is the young stud who would be losing to one of the sport’s notable veterans.

The same cannot be said about Edgar though. During his Monday guest spot on The Anik and Florian Podcast, “The Answer” kind of feels that he is actually being set up to lose and be pushed further away from a potential title shot.

“A little bit. I’d be stupid not to see the picture they’re painting here a little bit,” Edgar said (transcription via MMA Fighting). “Yair’s kind of in a win-win situation I think. He beats me, that’s great for him, it’s good for the UFC to push a prospect. But if he loses, he wasn’t supposed to win, kind of situation. For me, a lot’s on the line.”

Edgar was previously called out by fellow top contender Ricardo Lamas, but he opted to go for Rodriguez instead, when he was offered. For him, the hype surrounding Rodriguez makes this fight more significant.

“I don’t know [if it’s a bigger fight]. If it’s any indicator in the buzz I’m getting, I’m definitely getting a lot of buzz. This fight seems like a pretty big fight,” Edgar said. “People are interested in seeing Yair and testing him against someone like myself.”

“So yeah, the buzz has been great with the media and my social network so maybe it is the bigger fight. To me it doesn’t matter. I’ve still got to show up on May 13th and get the job done.”

UFC 211 takes place on May 13^th in Dallas.