Retired UFC Hall-Of-Famer Making Ill-Advised Return In Bare Knuckle

(Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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Frankie Edgar, the 43-year-old UFC Hall-of-Famer who retired from the UFC in 2022 is making a comeback to combat sports.

On Monday, the Uncrowned’s Ariel Helwani reported the news: Edgar is unretiring and set to compete in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship on October 4 in his hometown of New Jersey. To put it plainly, it seems that almost everyone besides Edgar believes this is a bad idea.

Edgar will be facing another former UFC fighter in Jimmie Rivera on the card set for the Prudential Center. The only thing standing between Edgar and this comeback appears to be a passing grade from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board.

Edgar’s return will take place on a high-profile BKFC card headlined by Mike Perry vs. Jeremy Stephens for the promotion’s “King of Violence” title. The event is expected to be one of the company’s biggest of 2025.

The move has Edgar back into the spotlight almost three years after he left his gloves in the Octagon. He had taken a series of losses via savage knockout. It seemed the definitive nature of those losses pushed him to walk away from fighting.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 12: (R-L) Chris Gutierrez knocks out Frankie Edgar in a lightweight bout during the UFC 281 event at Madison Square Garden on November 12, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC)

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In his prime, Edgar was one of the best in the sport.

He is a former UFC lightweight champion and featherweight contender. While he was never a big striker–which makes this decision all the more perplexing–Edgar built his reputation on heart and resilience.

He scored career-defining over B.J. Penn in 2010 and had iconic fights against Gray Maynard.

BOSTON – AUGUST 28: Frank Edgar (R) connects with a punch to the face of BJ Penn during their UFC 118 lightweight title bout at the TD Garden on August 28, 2010 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

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Over the course of his career he collected wins against other stars like Charles Oliveira, Urijah Faber, and Chad Mendes. Edgar was a no-doubt choice for the UFC Hall of Fame when he was inducted in 2024.

His final UFC stretch was brutal, though.

Edgar went 2-6 across his last eight bouts, suffering four knockout losses, including a violent finish in his retirement fight against Chris Gutierrez. That decline, combined with his age, is why many fans and analysts are calling this return dangerous.

I searched comments across multiple social media platforms and I couldn’t find a single person supporting this idea.

The Ring Magazine’s Wade Plemons said:

The MMA Bee posted a Breaking Bad GIF and captioned it, “Don’t do it, Frankie.”

Others said, “can’t take another Frankie highlight reel loss.”

“Oh my god, it’s crazy some of these guys just don’t care about the damage they’ve taken, I don’t understand it, why Frankie.”

We could seemingly go on forever.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – FEBRUARY 27: In this handout image provided by UFC, (R-L) Jimmie Rivera punches Pedro Munhoz of Brazil in a bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event at UFC APEX on February 27, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

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Rivera, meanwhile, presents a legitimate challenge. The 34-year-old former UFC contender has been with BKFC since 2021, tallying a 2-2-1 record. His best bare-knuckle performance came in a 2024 win over ex-Bellator champion Daniel Straus.

In November 2024, he dropped a decision to BKFC featherweight champ Kai Stewart, but he seems far more fit to be dangerous in this format compared to Edgar.

To put it as plainly as possible, this feels like a terrible idea in every way.

Edgar’s age, skill set (his base is wrestling) and the fact that he lost three consecutive fights and five of his last six leading to his retirement should tell us something. Apparently, the person who probably should have gotten the message as loud and clear as anyone doesn’t believe it.

I don’t know Edgar’s financial situation, and I hope he’s not in dire straits on that end. I also know it is possible BKFC made him an attractive offer.

That said, this just doesn’t feel right. We’ll see a warrior with a name competing, but he’s likely to be a shadow of himself competing in a sport that wouldn’t have been his specialty even in his prime.