Frankie Edgar surprised a lot of people when it was announced he was coming out of retirement.
The former UFC Lightweight Champion and UFC Hall of Famer will be days away from his 44th birthday when he makes the walk for the 37th fight of his professional career at BKFC 82.
Edgar is set to make his bare knuckle boxing debut against former top-five UFC bantamweight Jimmie Rivera on Oct. 4 in Newark, New Jersey—his home state.
Edgar’s decision to fight again, after three-straight KO losses in the UFC, has come under scrutiny from concerned fans, former foes, and even his family, who didn’t like the idea.
Jeremy Stephens says if he were a friend of Edgar, he’d tell him to back out while he still can.
A top UFC contender shares a totally different sentiment, hoping ‘The Answer’ does whatever it takes to win.
Sean Brady shares his take on backlash behind Frankie Edgar fighting again
Sean Brady thinks people should mind their business when it comes to Edgar fighting again.
The #2-ranked UFC welterweight addressed the backlash surrounding Edgar’s booking and defended the former champion’s decision on the BradyBagz Podcast.
“I see people b——-, like not b——-, but saying s— about Frankie coming back,” Brady said.
“I think, if I’m a grown ass man, you should mind your f—— business on how I want to make a living. If Frankie wants to go and fight bare knuckle, go let him fight bare knuckle.
“He’s probably been boxing… whether it’s bare knuckle or with gloves, it’s so much easier on your body than an MMA training camp,” Brady said.
“He already said, he’s like, my shoulders feel good, my knees feel good…’
“I’m hoping he’s on some performance enhancers since he was outside of the UFC and healed up a lot of injuries,” Brady added.
Retired fighters like Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone have taken steroids post-UFC, with former interim champion Dustin Poirier looking to join him after his retirement fight in July.
It’s worth noting Edgar has not been drug tested by the UFC’s anti-doping agency since 2022, according to their records.
Sean Brady wants to fight Belal Muhammad at Madison Square Garden
Sean Brady is looking for a fight.
Brady is coming off the biggest win of his career, a tap-out of former champ Leon Edwards at UFC London in March.
While he could have gotten a title opportunity off of that, former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is next in line for current welterweight champ Jack Della Maddalena in the main event of UFC 322.
Brady recently said he wants to face off with the winner inside the Octagon after another win.
“I want to push for the Belal fight,” Brady mentioned the former champ and foe Belal Muhammad.
“That’s what I lean towards. Me and him at MSG or hopefully sometime this year. I would love to do it at MSG,” Brady pitched fighting at UFC 322 in New York City.
“I think me and Belal have a great backstory. He lost recently, I’m on a nice run. I know he beat me but it makes more sense now. He’s #1. I’m #2.
“He beats me, he’s right back in the title picture.
“I beat him, you can’t deny me my title shot after that.
“Let’s do this, Belal,” Brady called out Muhammad.
Muhammad TKO’ed Brady at UFC 280 back in 2022. This marked Brady’s first and only pro loss.