Frankie Edgar can see the end of the road.
As first reported by TSN through Edgar’s manager Ali Abdelaziz. The former UFC lightweight champion, three-division competitor and UFC champ stated in an interview that he intends to fight for the final time at UFC in New York. 12.
“I think that would be cool,” Edgar said. “It would be a pretty cool sendoff at Madison Square Garden, it’s pretty much in my backyard. I trained up in Renzo’s for so many years, it would be a pretty cool sendoff.”
Edgar is a Toms River native who has now lost four out of five of his last fights. His past two outings have ended in brutal knockouts at the hands of Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen. Though Edgar was competitive in his fight with Vera, a front kick to the face put an end to the fight in the third round.
With a place in mind, Edgar also entertains the possibility of a legacy bout with Dominick Cruz (the future UFC Hall of Famer), who will be fighting Vera next month. 13.
“I’m never one to call anybody out or pick anybody, I usually let the UFC and Ali kind of figure that out,” Edgar said. “But I’ll say a name just because I think it’s more of a legacy fight and I know he has a fight coming up and who knows how it could happen, but I think Dominick Cruz. He was a champion at 135 when I was the champion at 155. Both of us were pretty close to the top in our division. I believe that this could make for an interesting fight .”
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In the course of an UFC career that began in 2007, Edgar was crowned UFC lightweight champion and twice challenged for featherweight Gold. He also won a victory over Pedro Munhoz at bantamweight, setting a new record in UFC victories across three divisions.
Edgar says that his decision to retire has as much to do with the wishes of his loved ones as his own.
“I’ve been kind of kicking the idea of retirement around since my last fight,” Edgar said. “The last couple of fights obviously didn’t go the way I wanted them to, but me, if I’m being honest I’d fight forever, you know? That would be selfish for my family, and those who care most about me. So I feel I should announce my retirement. Have a retirement to let everyone know that I’m retiring .”
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Edgar says that he underwent two surgeries in order to improve his life quality, but that they did not affect his ability to prepare for or perform fights. Edgar stated that he feels well both physically and spiritually, and is ready to retire when all is said and done.
Even so, Edgar plans to stay involved in MMA.
” “It’s bittersweet,” Edgar stated. “It’s got to happen, I’m 40 years old, looking at 41 in a couple of months. It’s great. I don’t feel tired going to the gym. I am not like that man.
“I heard [Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone] saying, he just recently retired, ‘Say goodbye to abs, say goodbye to working out.’ I’m not that guy. I like working out, I like looking good. It’s a little vanity, but still, I enjoy this life. This is not work for me. So it’s going to be tough walking away. I’ll always be in this sport, regardless.”
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