There’s been a change to the upcoming Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship card.
UFC Hall-of-Famer Frankie “The Answer” Edgar was scheduled to take on another UFC alum, Jimmie Rivera at BKFC 82 on Saturday in New Jersey. Edgar will no longer be participating in that fight as medical officials connected to the promotion have removed the 43-year-old from the bout due to medical concerns.
The event will still take place and Rivera will remain on the card. He will now face Timmy Mason. The card is headlined by two other former UFC fighters, Mike Perry and Jeremy Stephens.
After a career-ending string of knockout losses in the UFC, is this last-minute medical withdrawal the ultimate, final answer that Edgar needs to hear, or will he find a way to step back into the danger one more time?
The Medical Verdict and Conor McGregor’s Take
The specifics of the health concern remain unclear, but some information was shared that sheds some light on the situation.
“After further review with our chief medical officer, we decided that Frankie Edgar was not going to compete this Saturday,” BKFC President David Feldman said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. “We’re going to look into it, and see what his future looks like, but he will not be competing this Saturday.”
According to NJ.com’s Kevin Armstrong, who had the original report, Edgar had to pass an echocardiogram, stress test, eye examination, bloodwork panel, EKG and MRI to be deemed fit to fight. It’s unclear which of these tests he failed or if there were other factors that played into the decision to have him removed from the card.
Conor McGregor, who serves as co-owner for the promotion also chimed in.
“I’m very upset for Frankie,” McGregor said, per Sherdog. “I’m sure he’s devastated, and you know, health is paramount here. We will address it, and we will re-evaluate it, and see where we go. Hopefully, we get Frankie in here at another date, but safety is paramount, and we take that with great care at Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship.”
Edgar made it clear in the weeks leading up to the fight that his close friends and family were against him making a comeback. He decided to move forward with the plans, but it appears the athletic commission and BKFC officials have pulled the plug on the comeback attempt.
Edgar’s History of Brutal KO Losses
Edgar is a legend, a former UFC Lightweight Champion who gave us some of the greatest wars in combat sports history.
While he was stopped this time, one has to wonder if Edgar will attempt to make this comeback in another state with more leniency on pre-fight health checks. Edgar is as tough as they come, but sometimes fighters can be too tough for their own good.
It’s important to note, Edgar’s UFC career ended brutally. He lost his last three fights via vicious knockout. Chris Gutierrez stopped him with a knee to the face in what should have been Edgar’s retirement fight in November 2022 at UFC 281.
In the fight before that, Marlon Vera stopped Edgar in the third round with a front kick to the face at UFC 268 in November 2021. And in February 2021, Cory Sandhagen knocked Edgar out with a flying knee during a UFC Fight Night.
He turns 44 in two weeks.
Because of these events, it’s easy to see why Edgar’s family and friends were against this now failed comeback attempt. Many Edgar fans will likely be happy he has been removed, but it is hard to say if he is truly done trying to compete.
