Frankie Edgar would have returned to fighting in his hometown this month if he had his wish. However, it was not to be, and Edgar holds BKFC responsible for the cancellation of his fight with Jimmie Rivera. Edgar, a longstanding featherweight contender and former UFC lightweight champion, was scheduled to take on fellow octagon veteran Jimmie Rivera on October 4 at BKFC 82 in Newark, New Jersey. However, BKFC President David Feldman revealed Edgar was removed from the card because of health concerns a few days prior to fight night. Edgar has confirmed that Feldman told MMA Fighting that even though he did not compete, he was still paid for the fight. Edgar, however, expressed his opinion on his Champ and the Tramp podcast, indicating that he is not content with the current state of affairs. “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 stated. "He'll call you later, but he can't call you right now. However, his doctor advised me not to compete in the meantime due to my age, record, layoff, and consecutive TKO losses, which sounds fugazi. It's sort of odd that he set me up a week before the fight, and that was before he had even seen my medicals, this doctor, or anything else. We signed a contract months ago, of course. In addition to the fact that I passed every medical exam, all of those details were known long before we signed that contract. I completed a ton of medical exams. Edgar was scheduled to fight for the first time since leaving the UFC in November 2022 after losing to Chris Gutierrez via knockout in the first round, which was his third consecutive KO/TKO loss. This bout was scheduled for BKFC 82. Edgar maintains that the 43-year-old had a comprehensive battery of medical examinations prior to his planned bare-knuckle boxing debut, despite worries about his health. Edgar argues that after sending BKFC the findings of his medical exams, the commission never received them. Edgar stated, "I had an eye exam, a blood test, and a physical." After that, I had to visit three separate cardiac facilities. I had to go through a carotid, echo, and stress test. Three separate appointments. I then visited a neurologist as well. I received both an MRA and an MRI. All of the doctors claimed my stuff was excellent. also an eye doctor. "It was nonsense for the promotion to claim that they weren't receiving my medicals; they received all of them. My medical records were never sent to the commission. Not at all. "We don't have your medicals," says the commission representative I'm speaking with. What do you mean you can’t fight, we don’t have your medicals.’ … After gathering all of my medical records, I sent them to them. In fact, I received a call from someone there saying, "I had the commission's doctor look at your medical records, and you look f*cking fantastic." I heard him say that. This happened not long after I stopped fighting. "Your MRI hasn't changed since 2021," he says. They check for "you have no white brain matter," which I suppose indicates injury and other issues. "You have none of that," he remarked. "I don't know if you're planning on doing anything, but if you choose to fight more, you can tell your wife and family that you're in good health," he even remarked. Edgar refers to the BKFC opportunity as the "perfect storm" to persuade him to come out of retirement because it offers him the option to compete in New Jersey and a nice pay day. His frustration with the scenario is further compounded by the fact that he had no intention of fighting again and that BKFC made several offers to him before he signed up, only for the fight to fall through. Edgar stated, "I wasn't considering fighting." "They approached me, and I once disregarded them. Then they approach me once more. Then an agreement is negotiated between [my manager] and BKFC. I got a number from him. That was an incredibly high figure. "No," I replied. "No," I replied. When they returned, they gave me the amount of money—a substantial sum—for which I would perform the task. I only f*cking got off the couch for that reason. Granted, all I wanted to do was fight once you awakened the beast. The money wasn't the point. Although I didn't want to fight, I also won't do it for nothing. Edgar participated in multiple promotional appearances for BKFC 82 in addition to having to spend time away from friends and family to organize a proper training camp. He felt after the incident that the promotion might have utilized his name to sell event tickets even though they knew he might not be competing. "This isn't a good look, but I'm not sure what BKFC will do," Edgar remarked. "You guys harassed me in my home state, but I can't let it get to me that much. I want to be even more angry about it. That is absurd. If you consider it, that is f*cked up. They came to me. By the way, I did all they asked me to. "I attended all of the f*cking promotions. A f*cking watch party was thrown by me. I attended a Devils game. I did f*cking podcast after podcast hyping the bout. That's f*cked since I've been doing everything for them. Edgar continued his accusation by saying that BKFC preferred that he have his medical examinations performed in New York rather than New Jersey. He acknowledges that he disregarded the command, but only because he thought about the potential that the promotion would be looking for a second view that might be more advantageous. Edgar remarked, "I never even went to that appointment because it was bullshit." "I believe their physician wanted to see me in order to declare me unfit to fight." Edgar is wondering if there were financial motives to keep him off the card, but he has few hard answers after the fiasco. Edgar stated, "They decided to remove one of the highest-paid men from the card since they didn't sell enough tickets and we don't have to pay him." “Or they lost a sponsor. All of these are conjectures. Edgar said, "I thought BKFC had something." "Wow, this is really entertaining," I thought. They received something. But not if fighters are treated this way. Because, let me tell you, combatants, take caution. Edgar is not interested in battling Feldman and his crew in court, thus he does not intend to sue BKFC for his entire fortune. In addition, he thinks that he may have received a higher salary for not fighting than the majority of the boxers who participated in BKFC 82, which only makes the scenario seem more bizarre to him. The thing that irritates Edgar the most is how BKFC has handled the problem, giving the impression that he is incapable or unwilling to fight. Edgar wants it to be clear not only was he willing to step into the bare-knuckle ring, but as far as he knows, there is nothing stopping him from fighting again should another lucrative opportunity come up. "People will say, 'Yo, you weren't fit to fight,' regardless of what happened, even after this explanation," Edgar stated. "They're going to say that." "Your health prevented you from fighting." That is what the story will be about. "To be honest, I don't really care because my friends and family know that I was prepared to leave. When I think about it now, I haven't had any of these medicals since my fight, and I passed every f*cking one. I recently received a positive health report. I'm ready to go.