Frankie Edgar says he did everything right ahead of his planned fight at BKFC 82 but still got pulled days before stepping into the ring.
The former UFC lightweight champion was scheduled to face Jimmie Rivera on October 4 in Newark, New Jersey, in what would have been his long-awaited hometown appearance. But according to Edgar, the promotion canceled his bout at the last moment without proper cause.
“I was training for six, seven weeks, I got a week out from the fight and we get an e-mail, my manager gets an e-mail from someone from BKFC stating that the owner of BKFC is leaving for Manchester and he doesn’t have a phone on him,” Edgar said on The Champ and The Tramp podcast. “He can’t call you, but he’ll call you eventually. But in the meantime, his doctor recommended I don’t fight based on my age, consecutive TKO losses, my layoff, and my record, which sounds fugazi. That was before he’d even seen my medicals, this doctor, or anything, which is kind of crazy, and the fact that he set me up a week before the fight.”
Edgar said that even though the BKFC president, David Feldman, claimed medical concerns were behind the decision, he had already been cleared to fight.
“Obviously, we signed a deal months ago. So all those facts were known much before we signed that deal, not to mention that I passed every single one of my medicals. I did a whole shit-ton of medicals,” Edgar added.
‘I Passed Everything’ — Edgar Lists His Medical Tests
Edgar detailed the full list of tests he underwent before the scheduled fight, insisting that everything came back clear.
“I got a physical, I got a blood test, I got an eye exam,” he said. “Then I had to go to three different heart things. I went to a stress test, an echo test, and a carotid test. Three different appointments. Then I also went to a neurologist. I got an MRI and an MRA. Every single doctor said my stuff was great. Eye doctor as well.”
He claims the organization mishandled or withheld his paperwork.
“The promotion was trying to say they weren’t getting my medicals, which is bullshit, they got all medicals. Now, they did not send my medicals to the commission at all. At all. I’m talking to someone from the commission, he’s like, ‘We don’t have your medicals. What do you mean you can’t fight, we don’t have your medicals.’ … So I gathered all my medicals and I gave it to them and actually I got a call from someone there, they said, ‘I had the doctor from the commission look at your medicals and you look f*cking fantastic.’ That’s what he said to me.”
According to Edgar, even the commission’s doctor told him he had a clean bill of health.
“He’s like, ‘Your MRI hasn’t changed since 2021. You have no white brain matter,’ that’s what they look for, I guess that signifies damage and whatnot. He said, ‘You have none of that.’ He even said, ‘I don’t know if you’re planning on doing anything, but you can tell your wife and family you’ve got a clean bill of health if you chose to fight more.’”
‘The Perfect Storm’ — Edgar Says He Was Lured Back
Edgar admits he hadn’t planned to return to fighting until BKFC made multiple offers.
“I was not thinking about fighting,” Edgar said. “They came to me, I ignored them once. Then they come to me again. Then [my manager and BKFC] come up with a deal. He gave me a number. It was a fcking pretty high number. I said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘No.’ They came back and gave me the number that I would do it for, which was a very significant amount of money. That’s the only fcking reason I got off the couch.”
Once he started preparing, Edgar says he was fully committed.
“Granted, once you woke up the beast, that’s all I wanted to do was fight. It wasn’t about the money. I wanted to fight, but I’m not going to do it for nothing either.”
‘They Dogged Me in My Home State’ — Edgar Accuses BKFC of Using His Name
Edgar expressed disappointment that BKFC 82 was in New Jersey — his home — and that the situation embarrassed him locally after doing months of promotional work.
“I don’t know what BKFC is going to do, but this ain’t a good look,” Edgar said. “I want to be more mad and more pissed off about it, but I just can’t let it consume me that much, but you guys dogged me in my home-fcking-state. That’s crazy. That’s fcked up if you think about it. They came to me. I did everything they wanted, too, by the way.”
“I went to every fcking promotion. I hosted a fcking watch party. I went to the Devils game. I did fcking podcast after podcast promoting the fight. So I’ve been doing everything for them, so that’s fcked.”
Speculation and Warning to Fighters
Edgar believes there may have been financial reasons behind his removal.
“They didn’t sell enough tickets and they figure let’s get one of the highest-paid guys on the card and get him off the card, we don’t have to pay him,” Edgar said. “Or they lost a sponsor. These are all speculations.”
He also claims BKFC wanted him to redo his medicals in another state for unclear reasons.
“I never even went to that appointment because it was bullshit,” Edgar said. “I think their doctor wanted to see me so they could tell me I wasn’t fit to fight.”
Ultimately, the ordeal made Edgar question BKFC’s treatment of its athletes.
“I thought I thought BKFC had something,” Edgar added. “I was like, wow, this is pretty entertaining. They got something. But not if they treat fighters like this. Because I’ll tell you what, fighters out there, beware.”
Despite the frustration, Edgar confirmed he does not plan to take legal action against the promotion.
He said, “I’m not trying to go to court with them. They paid me, maybe even more than some of the guys who fought. But it’s still a strange situation.”
What bothers him most is that the incident could make people think he was unfit to compete.
“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. “That’s what they’re going to say. ‘You were medically not fit to fight.’ That’s going to be the narrative.”
Still, Edgar stands firm that he was cleared, confident, and ready to go. “They took that chance away from me,” he said.
BKFC is reportedly preparing to launch a $25 million “World’s Baddest Man” tournament, expected to begin in March 2026.
