UFC legend Frankie Edgar’s return from retirement ended before it really began.
On Wednesday, Edgar was pulled from his return fight at BKFC 82 on Saturday after he was not cleared to compete. Edgar was originally scheduled to face fellow UFC veteran Jimmie Rivera on the card.
BKFC president David Feldman confirmed that the promotion ultimately decided to pull him from the event over medical concerns, although there’s a chance he may still compete for the bare-knuckle promotion in the future.
“After further review with our medical officer, we decided that Frankie Edgar was not going to compete this Saturday,” Feldman said. “We’re going to look into it and see what his future looks like but he will not be competing this Saturday.”
Rivera is still expected to compete on the card against replacement opponent Timmy Mason. NJ.com initially reported the news
The news comes after Edgar’s surprising return to action after he announced his retirement ahead of his final UFC fight back in 2022.
The New Jersey native and former UFC lightweight champion called it a career after suffering a trio of knockout losses and since that time he’s opened a gym and worked as a coach helping other fighters.
When BKFC announced plans to hold an event in New Jersey, Edgar’s interest was piqued and he eventually signed a contract to make his return on Saturday despite friends and family showing concerns about him fighting again.
“My wife was a little concerned with me doing this as well,” Edgar told MMA Fighting in September. “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.”
BKFC president David Feldman admitted he had initial concerns about even signing Edgar to the promotion until he went to watch him in sparring ahead of the fight against Rivera.
“I went up to watch him spar and I’m completely sold on it. 100 percent,” Feldman told MMA Fighting. “It’s a different Frankie Edgar. It’s a light on his feet Frankie Edgar. It’s a volume punching Frankie Edgar. It’s a hard-punching Frankie Edgar. I saw everything I needed to see.
“The one thing I was looking for this weekend, I just wanted to make sure his legs didn’t look like they were in quicksand and they weren’t. He was moving around on his feet, he’s punching, putting punches together, he looked good. Doing everything I needed him to do and I was happy with it.”
Edgar hasn’t directly addressed his removal from the card yet and it remains to be seen if he still plans on returning from retirement in the future.
