After about three years away from active combat competition, UFC Hall of Famer Frankie Edgar is set to return on October 4 in a completely different environment.
Edgar will be moving from the gloves to his bare knuckles, signing with BKFC, per a report from Ariel Helwani.
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Pending an approval from the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board, Edgar will reportedly make his BKFC debut on October 4 at BKFC 82, which takes place at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey — Edgar’s home state.
His opponent will be fellow UFC veteran Jimmie Rivera.
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 — Edgar’s third consecutive knockout loss.
Edgar defeated B.J. Penn in upset fashion at UFC 112 to become UFC lightweight champion. He’d 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 — 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.
