Moments after pitching a five-round shutout against one of the best featherweights to ever don four-ounce gloves and cornrows, former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar got on the mic and observed, no more than half-jokingly, that maybe UFC President Dana White didn’t show up for the organization’s first event in the Philippines because “he owes me a title shot.”

Ha, just kidding, right? Except, you know, kind of not. Kind of actually totally serious, since Edgar (19-4-1 MMA, 13-4-1 UFC) is, after all, on a four-fight winning streak at featherweight.

That streak includes one thorough demolition of the legendary B.J. Penn, who showed up past his expiration date and suffered accordingly. It also includes consecutive wins over two perennial top contenders, fights in which Edgar dominated, as if trying to make his case as plainly as he could without being forced to endure the indignity of begging for another crack at the title.

If the UFC isn’t ready to grant his wish now, after this one-sided unanimous decision victory over Urijah Faber (32-8 MMA, 8-4 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 66 on Saturday, it’s hard to imagine what it might take. Short of kidnapping Conor McGregor and holding him for ransom, there’s nothing more that Edgar could do to make his case at the division’s top contender.

So now what? With UFC featherweight champ Jose Aldo set to defend his title against McGregor in July, Edgar has a couple months to consider his future. The trouble is, from here on out there are a lot of variables that aren’t exactly up to him.

Say Aldo retains the title. In a way, that’s a good outcome for Edgar. His claim to a rematch is as strong as anyone else’s at the moment. With the McGregor hype balloon thus deflated, he could justifiably assume the next spot in line.

The only problem is, fighting Aldo is one of those rewards that, from a distance, looks not unlike a punishment. No doubt Edgar would relish the opportunity to avenge his loss, but would any of us be too surprised if the second fight looked an awful lot like the first?

Then there’s the other option, the one in which McGregor turns out to be every bit the champion he keeps telling us he is. Depending on how the fight goes (as well as how much money the UFC pockets as a result), it wouldn’t be at all out of the question for the UFC brass to give Aldo an immediate rematch. Then it wouldn’t matter how airtight Edgar’s case for a title shot is. He’d find himself on the outside looking in, with his mid-30s coming on fast.

If that’s the way it goes, according to Edgar, he won’t sit around and wait his turn. He also won’t have an easy time finding an opponent against whom he’d have more to win than lose.

That’s the problem with having made such a strong case as the division’s top contender. If you’re asked to keep making it while the title picture sorts itself out, the best you can do is hold firm at the top.

If that’s the way it goes, it’s not hard to imagine Edgar still in the same place months from now. Still headlining “Fight Night” cards. Still dominating quality opponents. Still joking about the title shot he knows he deserves. Finding less and less humor in that joke the more he tells it.

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 66, check out the UFC Events section of the site.