Retired from competition for nearly three years, UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar making a return to action for a bare-knuckle fight in BKFC was definitely an unexpected surprise.
After orchestrating his plan to call it a career back in 2022, the former lightweight champion moved onto new endeavors including opening his own gym in his native New Jersey, doing a podcast and even dabbling in acting in his spare time. More than anything, Edgar was excited to become a full-time family man after his own career had
pulled him away from so many important obligations as a father and husband.
So why exactly did Edgar, now 43 years old, decide to compete again?
“It’s kind of the perfect storm,” Edgar told MMA Fighting. “Bare knuckle coming to my backyard here in Jersey, they caught me when I’m feeling pretty good. My body’s got no injuries right now. It’s a good payday and just an opportunity.
“I’m not going to be able to do this ever again. There’s going to be a point where I won’t be able to take a fight. I know people are kind of concerned and this and that. I get it. But it’s just in me and I’m going to let it fly.”
The concerns come primarily from Edgar ending his career on a 1-5 skid in the UFC with four of those losses coming by way of knockout. His final three fights in particular saw Edgar suffer a trio of brutal finishes, including his final appearance when he ate a nasty knee strike from Chris Gutierrez that ended his night at just over two minutes into the opening round.
Edgar admits that his family wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the idea when he broke the news that he was contemplating a comeback.
“I get people’s concerns,” Edgar said. “My wife was a little concerned with me doing this as well. I’ve been doing this for so long, it’s tough to walk away. I’m not going into this naïve. I understand the risks. I’m willing to take that chance, I guess you could say. The juice has got to be worth the squeeze and I feel like it is.
“They were all a little against it honestly. I got my wife on board maybe. Maybe she’s not happy about it, but she ain’t going to leave me, I guess. That’s a plus. The kids, my boys kind of understand it. My daughter definitely is not too cool with it but one more time and we’ll see how it goes.”
In order to compete in BKFC, Edgar actually had to get permission from the UFC because he was still under contract when he retired from the sport.
That led to him reaching out to promotion officials, and it was UFC chief business officer Hunter Campbell who dealt with Edgar’s request to get released so he could take a bare-knuckle fight.
“I didn’t fight out my contract. They gave me permission, they gave me the release,” Edgar said about the UFC. “Hunter [Campbell] reached out to me, and Hunter’s a great dude. He was looking out for me as well.
“He was concerned for me. But said ‘hey, I can’t stop you from fighting your fights and living your life’ so I’m glad he did that. The UFC’s always been good to me.”
The UFC could have technically prevented Edgar from competing again because of his existing contract, but he appreciated that the promotion didn’t stand in his way, even if executives weren’t necessarily excited about him returning from retirement.
“What I did in UFC, the opportunities they gave me in the UFC, led me to have the value that I have,” Edgar said. “If that never happened, I wouldn’t be here doing this.”
While Edgar certainly understands and appreciates that so many people love and care about him enough to question why he’s fighting again, the decision was really just his alone.
It even took a little convincing to get Edgar’s head coach on board but once they started putting together a full training camp to prepare for a showdown against fellow UFC vet Jimmie Rivera in October, all the pieces started to fall into place.
“He tried to talk me out it, too, but he can’t help himself either,” Edgar said about his head coach Mark Henry. “He’s ready to go. I got the juices going on him again.”
Whether it’s MMA, kickboxing, boxing or in this case bare-knuckle fighting, all combat sports come with an inherent risk of injury or potentially serious consequences.
Edgar isn’t oblivious about the risk he’s taking by making his comeback now but he’s also going into this upcoming fight with his eyes wide open.
“When it’s in you, the past two weeks I’ve been walking around with a little pep in my step,” Edgar said. “I’m back in that zone. It’s fun. It’s just fun. I can’t explain it other than saying it’s fun. The whole process is fun.
“I always love training. If I had success, I’d still be fighting MMA. But I think I’ll have success here. I really do. I like the style, the ruleset, just everything about it, I feel positive.”
As far as the future goes, Edgar isn’t thinking past Oct. 4 and his fight against Rivera because that night likely determines his future.
He isn’t shutting the door on competing again after BKFC 82 but he’s also not declaring plans to immediately retire no matter the outcome. Edgar expects that fight to tell him whether he’s done or just getting started again.
“I’m approaching it as let’s see what happens Oct. 4,” Edgar said. “I’m keeping an open mind. It’s going to be some tough conversations to have with my family if we keep moving forward. But again, we’ll see what happens.”
