Conor McGregor’s betrayal of Michael Chandler pales in comparison to the move his co-owned promotion, Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), pulled on Frankie Edgar. The former UFC lightweight champion, who quietly stepped away from MMA in 2022 after three consecutive losses, had been gearing up for a much-anticipated return. He planned to make his combat sports comeback in front of his hometown crowd in Newark at BKFC 82, against his former Octagon rival, Jimmie Rivera.

Just days before fight night, BKFC pulled Frankie Edgar from the card and replaced him with Tommy Mason, stunning fans and dashing hopes for the veteran’s long-awaited return. BKFC CEO David Feldman later clarified that the promotion made the move not out of ill will but to “save” Frankie Edgar from potential injury, citing the fighter’s extensive history of taking damage throughout his career. Feldman also admitted that the promotion’s medical team could not fully handle a worst-case scenario that night.

Now, days after the controversy and a period of uncertainty, ‘The Answer’ has finally broken his silence on the situation.

Frankie Edgar calls out BKFC for mishandling his return

Senior American journalist Luke Thomas recently dropped a bombshell on X, revealing, “Edgar only speculates here, but one of the speculations is that BKFC may have used Edgar to sell tickets only to withdraw him under dubious medical reasons as NJ’s commission (typically pretty good) apparently cleared him to compete,” wrote Thomas. The situation has only intensified in recent hours.

Frankie Edgar appeared on The Champ & The Tamp podcast on YouTube to voice his frustration publicly, describing the moment he learned he wouldn’t compete at BKFC 82: “So I was training on that day until… and then, you know, one day I get the call, like, ‘Dude, you’re totally off the card.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not gonna fing make weight. What the f’s the point?'” The abrupt cancellation reportedly left the former UFC champion in a state of depression.

‘The Answer’ also directed sharp criticism at Conor McGregor’s promotion, accusing the promotion of using his name solely to sell tickets to his home crowd: “You guys dogged me in my home fing state…It’s just shady, bro. That’s shady. And listen — it’s the fight game. I mean, we should know this shady s** happens. But this f** don’t happen in the UFC, you know what I mean? It don’t happen in the UFC.”

Even after cutting Edgar just hours before the bout, BKFC CEO David Feldman insisted that he made the decision with the fighter’s best interests in mind, carefully exploring every opportunity to give the former UFC champion a fight under the promotion. “I think he’s a little upset with us, as maybe he should be, but at the end of the day, we were looking out for his best interests. He is getting a very, very respectable check. I don’t think he’s mad at us for that,” Feldman confirmed.

Meanwhile, UFC superstar Conor McGregor also weighed in on the controversy, noting that ‘The Answer’s withdrawal “upset” him. He further vowed to address Frankie Edgar’s concerns and promised to bring the New Jersey native back to his hometown.

Conor McGregor’s co-owned promotion accused of “writing check they couldn’t cash”

The UFC’s recent antitrust lawsuit highlights that laws and governing bodies fail to protect fighters, allowing them to be exploited. While such issues are not uncommon in major promotions, the recent Frankie Edgar–BKFC controversy has brought renewed attention to the problem. BKFC CEO David Feldman claimed that ‘The Answer’ could not clear his medicals, while the New Jersey star, insisted he had passed them—splitting opinion across the MMA community.

Jennifer Anderson, wife of former UFC star Corey Anderson, weighed in on the dispute during The Art of Fight show. She argued that Frankie Edgar had indeed cleared his pre-fight medicals, but David Feldman and BKFC lacked the funds to pay the former UFC lightweight champion. Anderson cited the example of Ben Rothwell, who has a similar condition and age as Edgar but was allowed to fight. Speaking on her podcast, Anderson said:

“Frankie’s a friend of mine. I care about him. But I also care about fighters being exploited. And what’s really upsetting about this story, ever since I heard about it, is that it’s not an instance of a promoter protecting a fighter from being exploited. It’s an instance of a promoter exploiting a fighter. They’re not protecting Frankie from himself…But those are all reasons they knew about when they signed the contract with Frankie….Those are also very similar bullet points that other fighters that have fought on their cards have met, as well. .. That’s not the story. The story is, maybe they wrote a check they couldn’t cash.”

With Frankie Edgar’s highly anticipated return now postponed, questions continue to swirl over BKFC’s decision-making. Was the promotion, co-owned by Conor McGregor, deliberately using the former UFC lightweight champion to drive ticket sales? Fans and insiders alike are weighing in on the controversy. What’s your take on the situation? Drop your thoughts below.