However, just days before fight night, BKFC President David Feldman announced Edgar was pulled from the card due to medical issues.
Feldman later told MMA Fighting Edgar was still compensated for the bout despite not fighting, which Edgar has confirmed.
“I was not thinking about fighting,” Edgar said.
“No matter what scenario went down, people are going to say, even still after this explanation, people are going to say, ‘Yo, you weren’t fit to fight,’” Edgar said.
‘You were medically not fit to fight.’ That’s going to be the narrative.
Frankie Edgar would have returned to fighting in his hometown this month if he had his wish.
Edgar blames BKFC for the cancellation of his fight with Jimmie Rivera, but it was not meant to be.
Edgar, a longtime featherweight contender and former UFC lightweight champion, was scheduled to take on Jimmie Rivera, another octagon veteran, at BKFC 82 in Newark, North Carolina. J. October. 4. But BKFC President David Feldman revealed a few days prior to fight night that Edgar had been removed from the card because of health concerns.
Edgar has acknowledged that Feldman later told MMA Fighting that even though he did not fight, he was still paid for the fight. Edgar, however, expressed his opinion on his Champ and the Tramp podcast, indicating that he is not content with the current state of affairs.
“I had been training for six or seven weeks, and a week after the fight, we received an email from someone at BKFC telling my manager that the restaurant’s owner was leaving for Manchester and that he was not carrying a phone,” Edgar remarked. “He will call you eventually, but he is unable to do so right now. However, his physician advised against fighting in the interim due to my age, history of TKO defeats, layoff, and record, which sounds fugazi. That’s crazy because he set me up a week before the fight, and he hadn’t even seen my medicals, this doctor, or anything else.
“Of course, we made a contract months ago. In addition to the fact that I passed every medical exam, all of those details were known long before we signed that contract. I completed an extensive amount of medicals. “.”.
Following his retirement from the UFC in November 2022 after losing to Chris Gutierrez via first-round knockout—his third consecutive loss by KO/TKO—Edgar would fight for the first time at BKFC 82. Edgar maintains that despite health concerns, the 43-year-old underwent a comprehensive battery of medical examinations prior to his planned bare-knuckle boxing debut.
Edgar claims that despite sending BKFC the results of his medical tests, the commission never received them.
“I had an eye exam, a blood test, and a physical,” Edgar stated. After that, I had to visit three separate cardiac facilities. I had to go through a carotid, echo, and stress test. Three separate appointments. Afterward, I also visited a neurologist. My MRI and MRA were performed. All of the doctors said that my stuff was excellent. additionally an eye doctor.
Edgar describes the BKFC opportunity as the “perfect storm” to persuade him to come out of retirement because it offers him the opportunity to fight in New Jersey and a healthy pay day. The fact that he had no intention of fighting again and that BKFC made several offers to him before he signed on, only for the fight to fall through, only makes him even more irate.
Edgar remarked, “I wasn’t considering fighting.”. I once ignored them when they approached me. After that, they approach me once more. After that, [my manager] and BKFC make an agreement. I got a number from him. That was an incredibly high number. “No,” I said. “No,” I said. Upon their return, they provided me with the sum of money for which I would perform the task. I only f*cking got off the couch for that reason.
“All I wanted to do was fight after you awakened the beast, Granted. The money was not the main factor. Although I wanted to fight, I won’t do it for no reason. “.”.
“This isn’t a good look, but I’m not sure what BKFC will do,” Edgar remarked. “You guys harassed me in my home state, but I can’t let it get to me that much. I want to be even more angry about it.”. That’s crazier. Think about it, that’s f*cked up. They approached me. By the way, I did everything they asked me to.
Edgar remarked, “That appointment was bullshit, so I never even went.”. I believe their physician wanted to see me in order to declare me unfit to fight. “”.
Edgar is wondering if there were financial reasons to keep him off the card, but he has few hard answers thanks to the fiasco.
Edgar stated, “They decided to remove one of the highest-paid men from the card to avoid having to pay him because they didn’t sell enough tickets.”. Or they lost a sponsor. All of these are conjectures. “.”.
“I believed that BKFC had something,” Edgar continued. I thought this was really entertaining. They got something. . But not if fighters are treated in this manner. For I’ll tell you what, fighters, take caution. “”.
Given his lack of interest in battling Feldman and his crew in court, Edgar has no plans to sue BKFC for his entire fortune. Furthermore, he thinks that he may have received a higher salary for not fighting than the majority of the boxers who participated in BKFC 82, which only makes the situation seem more bizarre to him.
The fact that BKFC’s handling of the situation gives the impression that Edgar is incapable or unwilling to fight is what irritates him the most. Edgar wants it known that, in addition to being prepared to enter the bare-knuckle ring, he believes that nothing will prevent him from fighting again if a more lucrative opportunity arises.
Edgar stated, “Regardless of the outcome, people will still say, ‘You weren’t fit to fight,’ even after this explanation.”. “That is what they will say. You weren’t fit to fight due to your health. That’s going to be the story.
“To be honest, I don’t really care because my friends and family know that I was prepared to leave. On reflection, I haven’t had any of these medicals since my fight, and I passed every f*cking one. I recently received good health news. I am ready to go. “”.
