UFC: Frankie Edgar KOs Chad Mendes in 1st round

Frankie Edgar, left, celebrates with a member of his corner after Edgar defeated Chad Mendes in a featherweight bout during The Ultimate Fighter finale Friday, Dec. 11, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Frankie Edgar may have just propelled himself to the UFC featherweight title picture after he rocked Chad Mendes and scored a technical knockout win in the first round of their main event bout at The Ultimate Fighter 22 Finale on Friday (Saturday Manila time) in Las Vegas.

Mendes controlled the early going of the fight with his hard-hitting kicks on Edgar’s lower half. But just when Mendes looked like he was dictating the tempo of the match, Edgar fired a hard right-left combo to floor the 30-year-old less than three minutes into the fight for the victory.

Edgar, the number two contender for the 145-pound belt, continued his hot streak to five wins and improved to 20-4-1. His last match was against Urijah Faber last May in UFC Fight Night: Manila.

“I always prepare for battles,” Edgar said. “I always get my mind right that I’m going to walk away with a bloody nose and stitches. It was nice to walk out of there unscathed and with a KO.”

Edgar could face whoever wins in the UFC featherweight championship match between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor scheduled the day after.

The former UFC lightweight champion had been frustrated by his inability to get a shot at Aldo since his drop to 145 pounds. After his third stoppage victory in four fights against big-name competition, UFC President Dana White confirmed Edgar is next in line.

“Nobody can deny Frankie anymore,” White said. “He looked amazing tonight, and he’ll get whatever he wants.”

Mendes, meanwhile, fell to 17-4, with all of his losses coming from featherweight division elites McGregor, Aldo, and now Edgar.

Although Mendes fell awkwardly from Edgar’s blow, he was angry that he didn’t get a chance to recover in his first fight since losing an interim lightweight title shot against McGregor in July. Mendes, who has lost three of his last four bouts, also thought his second-round loss to McGregor was stopped too early.

“Everybody was talking about Chad’s power,” Edgar said. “It’s something I had to worry about, but I’ve got a little bit of juice, too.”

Edgar thought the stoppage was right, and he’s eager for his next assignment: He will be cageside to watch UFC 194.

“I just feel like I’ve been knocking on this door for this title shot for quite a while,” said Edgar, who doesn’t care which featherweight holds the belt. “I know if I just kept putting myself in this position, I couldn’t be denied, and here I am. I got it.”

Edgar’s stoppage put a dramatic finish on the second of three UFC fight cards in three nights on the Las Vegas Strip. The big week concludes Saturday night in the MGM Grand Garden Arena with UFC 194, headlined by Aldo’s meeting with McGregor and Chris Weidman’s middleweight defense against Luke Rockhold.

Tony Ferguson also choked out Edson Barboza midway through the second round of a spectacular lightweight bout at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Earlier, Ryan Hall beat Artem Lobov by unanimous decision to win the 22nd season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC’s long-running reality show.

Ferguson (21-3) won his seventh straight fight and established himself as a clear 155-pound title contender after finishing a bloody fight with a D’Arce choke. Ferguson won despite losing a point in the first round for hitting Barboza with an illegal kick to the face.

Both fighters bled early in the second round, but Ferguson finished with his trademark choke. Ferguson hasn’t lost since May 2012, while Barboza (16-4) performed well despite taking the fight on short notice after Khabib Nurmagomedov pulled out of the matchup with an injury.

“I said I was going to take apart this entire division, and that’s what I’m doing,” Ferguson said.

Evan Dunham also won a clear decision over Joe Lauzon in a meeting of veteran lightweights. Dunham peppered Lauzon with 146 strikes in three rounds to earn his third victory in 2015 after a three-fight losing streak.