Joe Rogan and Yves Edwards argue Frankie Edgar is fighting too soon after KO loss

Just weeks after his UFC 222 KO loss to Brian Ortega, UFC featherweight contender Frankie Edgar will return to the cage for a scrap with Cub Swanson. The bout will co-headline the UFC’s return to Atlantic City on April 21.

Ahead of this fight, many fans have shared their concern for Edgar, arguing he’s fighting too soon after his knockout loss. UFC commentator Joe Rogan and FOX Sports analyst Yves Edwards share this opinion.

“I don’t like the fight,” Edwards said on a recent episode of the JRE MMA Show (via MMAJunkie). “Frankie just got knocked out, and that’s really soon to come back. If anybody can bounce back from something like that, it’s a guy like Frankie, but I felt the same way about (Michael) Bisping fighting after – he didn’t get knocked out, he got dropped by Georges (St-Pierre) and then got choked unconscious — it’s like, ‘Yeah, you shouldn’t have taken that (Kelvin) Gastelum fight so soon.’ I feel that way about this fight.

“I feel like Frankie wants this fight so he can get that taste out of his mouth, but it’s still going to taste the same. Any time you go back and watch that fight you’re still going to have those feelings. You’re going to win your next fight more than likely. You’re Frankie Edgar. You don’t have to rush it. Let your brain rest and recover.”

Rogan then chimed in, echoing Edwards’s sentiment.

“He fought Cub just a couple of years ago and just mauled him and got a last-second submission,” Rogan said. “Maybe he just thinks, ‘There’s not a (expletive) thing in the world this guy can do to stop me. I (expletive) him up before and I’ll (expletive) him up again. I’m not even going to get hit, I’m just going to get ahold of him and I’ll rag doll him just like I did before.’ But Cub Swanson can crack. He can crack. And he’s got a kid now, and he’s got a second kid along the way and he does not quit. That makes dudes hungry. That fight is probably a massive motivating factor for Cub Swanson.”

While Frankie Edgar has heard these concerns, he recently assured that he knows what he’s doing.

“I’m excited to get in there,” Edgar said on 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.”

This article first appeared on BJPenn.com on 3/30/2018.