Frankie Edgar responds to concerns about quick turnaround following KO loss

Frankie Edgar last fought just a few weeks ago, when he was knocked out by surging featherweight contender Brian Ortega in the first round of the UFC 222 co-main event. Despite this recent, concussive loss to Ortega, Edgar will fight again on April 21 in Atlantic City, where he will rematch fellow featherweight veteran Cub Swanson.

Given that Edgar was knocked out so recently, many fans and pundits feel he should be taking a little more time off before he gets back in there. It’s the same kind of criticism Michael Bisping received for fighting Kelvin Gastelum mere weeks after he was defeated by Georges St-Pierre.

Edgar has heard these concerns, and he wants everybody to relax. He knows what he’s doing.

“I’m excited to get in there,” Edgar said on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour (via MMAFighting). “I know I’m getting flack from people and you guys, obviously on whether I’m taking this fight too soon or not, and that’s fine. I [expected] it and I know what I’m putting on the line here, and I feel comfortable doing it, so I’m ready to go prove people wrong here.”

“I’m the one in there. I’m the one putting it on the line, and there’s nothing like getting in there and getting a win to erase that last loss. And again, it’ll never erase it, but at least it’ll kinda help deal with that stink, and like you said, give me something positive to kinda focus on instead of focusing on the negative.”

Edgar also assured that his loss to Ortega wasn’t as bad as it looked.

“I was pretty with it,” he said. “I recall the knockout because I didn’t get turned off or anything. Even when I was going down, I knew I had a short time. In my head I was saying, ‘Alright, short time, short time. Let’s try to get through this.’ But obviously he was able to capitalize on it with that uppercut. And even when I fell, as soon as the ref came over me, I said I was good, and maybe I wasn’t — I’m not really complaining about the stoppage, I can see why he stopped it — but I was with it. As soon as he stopped it, I said, ‘I’m good! I’m good!’ I was trying to argue. Obviously I needed a little help [to stand up], but I wasn’t all the way out. I didn’t even have a headache afterwards that night at the hotel or anything.”

What do you think of Frankie Edgar’s choice to fight Cub Swanson so soon after getting KO’d by Brian Ortega?

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/27/2018.