UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar is poised to come out of retirement for a bare-knuckle boxing contest.
Edgar, 43, is expected to face fellow UFC veteran Jimmie Rivera at a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championships event Oct. 4 in his home state of New Jersey. Conor McGregor, a partial owner of BKFC, posted the news to his social media after an initial report by Uncrowned. Edgarâs manager, Ali Abdelaziz, also confirmed the news.
âIâm super excited to get back in competing, especially here in Jersey,â Edgar said of his bare-knuckle boxing debut.
Edgar retired from MMA in 2022 with a record of 24-11-1. The former lightweight champion is one of the most beloved figures in UFC history, renowned for his heart and willingness to face bigger opponents in the prime of his career. He won the UFCâs 155-pound title despite being a sizable underdog against BJ Penn in 2010. Edgar fought for the 145-pound title twice in 2013 and 2019, coming up short to JosĂ© Aldo and Max Holloway.
Fighting out of Toms River, New Jersey, Edgar was inducted into the UFCâs Hall of Fame in 2024.
The BKFC 82 event, which will be at Prudential Center in New Jersey, is headlined by two other UFC veterans in Mike Perry and Jeremy Stephens.
Frankie Edgar vs. Jimmie Rivera Booked For BKFC 82
Edgar made his MMA debut in 2005, going on to sign with the UFC in 2007 and having a 15-year career with the promotion, competing in three weight classes and getting inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2024. His last fight came at UFC 281, where he was knocked out by Chris Gutierrez â Edgarâs third consecutive knockout loss.
Edgar defeated B.J. Penn in upset fashion at UFC 112 to become UFC lightweight champion. Heâd retain the title in a rematch against Penn at UFC 118 before retaining in a pair of fights (the latter two in a trilogy) against Gray Maynard in 2011.
After dropping the title to Benson Henderson and losing a subsequent rematch, Edgar moved down to 145, unsuccessfully challenging for featherweight gold three times (twice undisputed, once interim), losing to Jose Aldo at UFC 156 and UFC 200 and to Max Holloway at UFC 240.
Edgar moved down to bantamweight in 2020, winning his division debut against Pedro Munhoz before the three-fight losing skid that ended his UFC tenure.
Rivera, who finished his MMA career 23-5, fought for the UFC between 2015 and 2021, going 7-4 in the promotion. Rivera has not fought in MMA since his last UFC bout â a loss to Munhoz at UFC Vegas 20.
Rivera signed with BKFC later that year, and he is 2-2-1 in the promotion thus far. Rivera most recently fought at BKFC Fight Night Montana in November, unsuccessfully challenging Kai Stewart for the BKFC featherweight title.
BKFC 82 will be headlined by Mike Perry defending his King of Violence title against Jeremy Stephens.
LOL @ Comments
Frankie in BKFC? I still havenât forgot the back to back to back knockout losses.
Wouldnât be surprised to see Dave Feldman sign the corpse of Evan Tanner next
READ COMMENTS ^
Have yet to see a single person excited about this on every platform Iâve been on so far. I donât wanna see Frankie take more damage.