Frankie Edgar Talks His ‘F-cking Bummer’ of an Injury and his Return

Max Holloway defending his new strap against Frankie Edgar is something everyone was waiting for. Somehow, amid the 11 fighters Holloway took out on his quest for the belt, he never ran into him. Unfortunately, as Edgar geared up for his third shot at the belt and his first fight with Holloway, an injured orbital took him out of the UFC 218 bout. It’s an injury that Edgar admits feels like he lost a fight, but he’ll be back on his quest for gold sooner rather than later.

“I definitely feel f-cking bummed and in a funk for the past couple of days. I feel like I lost a fight to be honest. I know these opportunities don’t always present themselves. I’m also not one to stay down, be negative and beat myself up about things. I’m going to heal up, keep training and make sure I’m ready for that fight when it comes. I’m a guy who keeps a positive outlook on things. I’m not going to sit around feeling sorry for myself, and I don’t expect anyone to feel sorry for me either. This is just the type of sh-t that goes down. It’s inevitable. I train at a high level out here with some really good guys and shit happens. There wasn’t any negligence on my part. I train hard for fights and I always have.”

Detroit, you guys are a bunch of tough mfers. I met many of you last month when we visited. You guys deserve the best fight card of the year and youre still gonna get it. I’m fighting no matter what

— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) November 9, 2017

“I almost wish it was a torn MCL or a torn shoulder or something where I could just put a f-cking shot in there and get through it, but there’s nothing I can do about it. By the time the end of the year hits, I should be back to 100-percent, doing everything and getting ready for a fight. I’m game, man. I’d love to be back in the cage in March. […] Facing the winner of [Max Holloway and Jose Aldo] would be ideal, and that’s definitely what I want. At the same time, I’m sure I’m not in the position to really pick, but that would be ideal. I hope everything works out and goes in my favor so that can happen.” — Frankie Edgar speaking to FloCombat. 

Chad Mendes and Frankie Edgar have perpetually switched in and out of the number two spot in the featherweight division for years, both having the title allude them under Jose Aldo’s reign. It’s almost an unspoken rule that before you’re really the UFC featherweight champion, you have to defend against one of those guys. Jose Aldo will get another crack at the scrappy Hawaiian to take back his belt, while Edgar will be watching and hoping to take on the winner in March.

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 11/14/2017.