Conor McGregor was left disappointed after his request to the UFC for a fight on short notice was shut down.
Along with making his return to the Octagon, McGregor is set on fighting in BKFC at some point in the future.
BKFC has been a big priority for ‘The Notorious’ ever since he was announced to be a part-owner of the promotion in April of last year.
However, ever since McGregor’s knockout loss to Floyd Mayweather, which saw him earn a staggering amount of money, there have been questions about his motivation.
The former UFC lightweight and featherweight champion did look to completely subvert this just months on from the blockbuster boxing match.
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Conor McGregor claimed that the UFC turned down his offer to step in and face Frankie Edgar in 2018
Following an event last weekend, which Conor McGregor was in attendance for, BKFC 82 is shaping up to be one of the promotion’s biggest cards of the year.
This Saturday’s event in Newark, New Jersey features the BKFC debut of a hometown hero after Frankie Edgar shockingly joined the roster.
While McGregor was very happy to see Edgar join the fold, this isn’t the first time that their paths have appeared to align.
In March of 2018, Frankie Edgar was left without an opponent after Max Holloway withdrew from his featherweight title defense against the legend.
McGregor had only been beaten by Floyd Mayweather the previous August, but that didn’t stop him from trying to take the matchup on short notice.
‘The Notorious’ wrote on Instagram that he had put his name forward to the UFC and was very excited about the opportunity, but was turned down because the promotion wouldn’t have enough time to “generate the money that they would need”.
“I was excited about bouncing in last minute and taking out the final featherweight, without all the rest of the stuff that comes with this game. Please respect the insane amount of work outside the fight game that I have put in.”
In the end, it was Brian Ortega who stepped in and snatched Edgar’s title shot away from him by knocking ‘The Answer’ out in the opening round.
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Frankie Edgar’s BKFC debut has led to a lot of concerns ahead of October 4
Frankie Edgar’s resilience was one of his best attributes during the peak of his career, but his knockout loss to Brian Ortega wasn’t the only time where this appeared to be fading.
In his final eight fights in the UFC, five of them resulted in knockout losses.
| Frankie Edgar’s last eight UFC opponents | Event | Result |
| Chris Gutierrez | UFC 281 (2022) | Gutierrez via KO – Round 1 |
| Marlon Vera | UFC 268 (2021) | Vera via KO – Round 3 |
| Cory Sandhagen | UFC Vegas 18 (2021) | Sandhagen via KO – Round 1 |
| Pedro Munhoz | UFC Vegas 7 (2020) | Edgar via split decision |
| The Korean Zombie | UFC Fight Night: Busan (2019) | TKZ via TKO – Round 1 |
| Max Holloway | UFC 240 (2019) | Holloway via unanimous decision |
| Cub Swanson | UFC Fight Night: Atlantic City (2018) | Edgar via unanimous decision |
| Brian Ortega | UFC 222 (2018) | Ortega via KO – Round 1 |
Edgar has even admitted that his family wasn’t on board with him coming back to fight again having not competed since 2022.
At the Prudential Center on Saturday, he will face fellow former UFC fighter Jimmie Rivera.