Frankie Edgar is coming out of retirement, and yet, he’s taking the gloves off.
The UFC Hall of Famer will resume his combat sports career on Oct. 4 when he faces Jimmie Rivera in a bareknuckle boxing bout at BKFC 82. The event takes place near Edgar’s hometown at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The news was first reported by Ariel Helwani.
Edgar, 43, was last in combat sports action at UFC 281 in November 2022, where he was knocked out in the first round by Chris Gutierrez. “The Answer” decided to hang up the gloves after that result, walking away on a three-fight losing streak, all by way of stoppage. The former UFC lightweight champion’s last victory was a split decision over Pedro Munhoz in August 2020.
Standing on the other side of the ring will be Rivera, 36, who made the jump to BKFC in 2022 after his UFC exit. “El Terror” has competed five times, putting together a record of 2-2-1. In his last outing in November, Rivera challenged Kai Stewart for the featherweight title, but came up short on the scorecards.
BKFC 82 will feature King and Queen of Violence bouts. In the headliner, Mike Perry takes on Jeremy Stephens, while earlier in the event, Christine Ferea faces Jessica Borga.
