Former UFC Lightweight Champion and Hall of Famer Frankie “The Answer” Edgar has recently announced his return to combat sports—this time in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC). This announcement has been met with some apprehension by both fans and fighters. A legend in the sport, Frankie Edgar reigned over the storied Lightweight division long before scientific weight cutting became common. After defeating the prodigy BJ Penn in 2010 to capture the belt, Frankie Edgar became part of one of the deepest championship eras in UFC history.

Edgar was also one half of one of the greatest trilogies in MMA history: Edgar vs. Gray Maynard. I vividly recall being thirteen, sitting in the living room with my father, completely losing my mind watching their second fight. Edgar was dropped six times in the first round—but he came back and executed, in my opinion, the most iconic takedown in UFC history: he went completely inverted to slam Maynard on his back. At that moment, Frankie Edgar became my favorite fighter of all time. Win or lose, he was my guy. He inspired me as a young kid. He was never the biggest guy, but he always brought the biggest fight.

He later dropped to Featherweight, where he brutally outmatched Mexican star Yair Rodriguez and challenged for the title two more times. By then, I was a 21-year-old man. On the day I brought my then-newborn daughter home from the hospital, I held her in my arms just as Brian Ortega landed the uppercut knockout that lifted Frankie Edgar off his feet. I screamed while cradling my daughter—the first of countless times she’d have to endure these intense moments. I woke up the entire house. The disbelief of seeing my hero finished for the first time was almost too much for my mind to process. I legitimately couldn’t believe it.

Edgar eventually moved down to Bantamweight, where he won a split decision against top contender Pedro Munhoz. Frankie Edgar would be finished in his last three consecutive fights. He suffered more damage in his last six losses than in his previous twenty bouts combined. When Chris Gutiérrez knocked him out at UFC 281 in 2022, I—now a 25-year-old man, still watching with my father—had tears in my eyes as he left the cage for the final time. Now with his imminent return, some fighters have concerns.

“Father Time is Undefeated”: Aljamain Sterling on Frankie Edgar’s BKFC debut

While sitting down for a recent interview, former UFC Bantamweight Champion Aljamain “The Funkmaster” Sterling weighed in on Frankie Edgar’s return to combat in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC).

“I don’t like it. I understand it—because I’m getting close to that point where the doors… I can see the light at the end of the tunnel where I’m gonna have to hang it up at some point. Father Time is undefeated, and only bad things are going to happen after that. I would hate to see either one of those guys get hurt, especially Frankie.

At the end of the day, I always support [them], but I’d urge caution and say I don’t think this is a good idea. But the coaches are letting him do it. He’s a grown…”

Frankie Edgar, who is now 43 years old and known for his wrestling background, is set to fight former UFC contender Jimmie Rivera on October 4 in Newark, New Jersey.

Joshua Banas

Lifelong MMA fan out of southern California.